Incorporating Interactive Prayer Experiences into Youth Gatherings

For young people life is often full of loud interactions, bright phone screens, and endless schedules that keep them busy all hours of the day. When students slow down, it can be jarring to ask them to come to a screeching halt to meet with God. While we can all agree that prayer, silence, and solitude are all part of a deeply formed spiritual walk, we can invite students to experience prayer in a way that allows them to test the waters of silence before jumping into the deep end of the pool.

If you were to invite students to your next youth group gathering to pray silently in their seats for 10 minutes, you would probably have several wander to the bathroom, students who struggle to quiet their laughs, and others who almost fall asleep. Even the students who attempt to take the invitation seriously may simply struggle to sit in total silence. Many students today have an increasing fear of silence and stillness, and yet God meets them in prayer beyond the moments with neatly folded hands and perfectly quieted hearts. In fact, Scripture calls us to remain active in prayer and to teach young people to live lives of continual prayer, just as we see in Deuteronomy 6. Inviting students to spend time in both personal and corporate prayer can help them grow closer to God and strengthen their faith. Here are some ideas you might want to consider for your next youth group meeting.

Many students today have an increasing fear of silence and stillness, and yet God meets them in prayer beyond the moments with neatly folded hands and perfectly quieted hearts.

Prayer Walk

Devoting a service or small group time to a communal prayer walk can be a great way to get your group out of the mindset that prayer has to be a seated event. Have students pray alongside leaders and their peers or silently with prayer prompts along their walk. These moments can be impactful for students as they open their hearts to the practice of incorporating prayer into regular moments like walking to school, driving to the grocery store, or getting ready in the morning.

These moments can be impactful for students as they open their hearts to the practice of incorporating prayer into regular moments like walking to school, driving to the grocery store, or getting ready in the morning.

Prayer Stations

We often think of prayer stations as an event rather than something we can incorporate into our services. Prayer stations might be something to which you devote a whole evening, but they can also add to the information you are already presenting in a creative way. Next time you prepare a series, think of a way you can support the theme with a prayer station; give students space to interact with the content of your messages. You could use this interactive station as a response to a sermon or something you leave for students to interact with before or after services.

Prayer Wall

During your youth group gathering, you might consider creating a communal space where students can leave prayer requests for their peers or leaders to pray for throughout the week. This space could be used during services and would give your volunteer team insight into how to pray for students through praise reports and prayer requests. You could set up the space using limited resources—all you need is some Post-it Notes and some space on a wall to get started.

Prayer Partners

Allowing students and leaders space to pray out loud can also be a source of encouragement for students who may be struggling but are fearful to request prayer from the whole group. Encourage times in small groups or with one partner to pray for another person’s prayer requests and to request prayer. It may be helpful to use traditional spaces like inviting students to gather around an altar or it may be more natural to use part of their time as small groups to intentionally pray for each other’s needs.

Jen Willard
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