A Sense of Advent Prayer Stations

Humble Beginnings – touch
A tiny insignificant town, a lowly birth – humble beginnings that launched radical transformation! This prayer station provokes a powerful reflection of what God can do with our ‘little’. Explore this prayer station through the sense of touch. 

Prayer station display ideas:

Option 1 – minimal display

• Print and display one (or both) of the posters provided. 
  There are two options: a standard poster that displays the name and theme of the prayer station to accompany the printed resources, and a version with a QR code that allows people to access the resources digitally. For the richest experience, we recommend printing the resources if possible.
• Place one or two small objects on the table for people to hold and use to reflect on – mustard seeds, a pebble or anything else you can easily find!
• Alternatively, fill a basket with small, tactile items (buttons, thread spools, tiny wooden crosses or scraps of cloth). Add a prompt to the basket: What might God do with your ‘little’?  (Find prompt in the downloadable pack).

Option 2 – decorative display

In addition to what is suggested above:

• Print and display the resources for people to read, write on and take away with them.
• Place out some pens/pencils/highlighters for people to engage with the printed resources.
• Lay out tactile materials like straw, rough cloth and/or wood to evoke the manger setting.
• Provide small, durable Nativity characters for children to engage with – encouraging storytelling through play. You may want to print a child-friendly version of the story of Jesus’ birth to support this.
• Lay out a simple map showing Bethlehem’s location and scale. 

Hunting for Stars – sight

The Magi awaited and sought a baby whose worth they knew well. They allowed their lives to be interrupted by someone more worthy of their attention, travelling hundreds of miles for days at a time, with a bright star as their guide. Designed to help you pause, reflect and breathe, this station will guide you to the feet of Jesus. Seek Jesus through the sense of sight.

Prayer station display ideas:

Option 1 – minimal display

• Print and display one (or both) of the posters provided. 
  There are two options: a standard poster that displays the name and theme of the prayer station to accompany the printed resources, and a version with a QR code that allows people to access the resources digitally. For the richest experience, we recommend printing the resources if possible.
• Place a source of light on the table/area – a torch, a lamp, a battery candle or battery fairy lights.

Option 2 – decorative display

In addition to what is suggested above:

• Print and display the resources for people to read, write on and take away with them.
• Place out some pens/pencils/highlighters for people to engage with the printed resources.
• Print off some adult and children’s colouring pages and provide crayons – a space to rest and pause, connecting with God through sight in creative ways. Provide a yellow crayon for the children’s prayer resource.
• Fill the station area with multiple forms of light: hang fairy lights high up, place torches and battery candles around, position lamps to face in different directions!
• Want to take this a step further? Create an environment that feels like stepping into the Magi’s journey under the stars:
  - Hang dark fabric overhead or behind the station, dotted with glow-in-the-dark stars or tiny LED lights to simulate a night sky.
  - Include printed visuals of real constellations or ancient star charts to evoke the sense of celestial navigation.
  - Lay out a mini telescope or binoculars – a prop to invite people to look closer and seek intentionally.
• Reflective prompt cards – scatter small cards around with questions like: What are you seeking? What interrupts your journey toward Jesus? Where have you seen light in the darkness?
• Invite participants to write prayers or reflections on star-shaped stencils and place them on a wall or board labelled ‘What I’m Seeking’. (Find accompanying stencils and prompt in the downloadable pack).
• Display a mirror of any size and write on it, ‘What do you see when you look for Jesus?’
• Scatter on the floor blankets or floor cushions. Encourage people to sit or lie down and gaze upward, mimicking stargazing.

House of Bread – taste
Bethlehem’s Hebrew name, Beit Lehem, means ‘House of Bread’, fitting for a future figure who would be called the ‘Bread of Life’. Here lies subtle foreshadowing of what Jesus will become to us all – our sustainer. This prayer station allows you to reflect on your current abundance or lack, and what it truly means for Jesus to be your sustenance. Allow ‘taste’ to take you deeper.

Prayer station display ideas:

Option 1 – minimal display

• Print and display one (or both) of the posters provided. 
  There are two options: a standard poster that displays the name and theme of the prayer station to accompany the printed resources, and a version with a QR code that allows people to access the resources digitally. For the richest experience, we recommend printing the resources if possible.
• Place out plastic/toy bread and/or other food items as symbolic props. If you do not have access to this, print and display an image of bread. 

Option 2 – decorative display

In addition to what is suggested above:

• Print and display the resources for people to read, write on and take away with them.
• Place out some pens/pencils/highlighters for people to engage with the printed resources.
• Consider printing John Mark Comer’s Spiritual Health Reflection, found here, for those who cannot access it digitally (in response to the reflection resource).
• Set out a crusty loaf of bread and a pot of olives. If you’d like people to engage the senses literally, include a note inviting them to eat from it (and remember to replenish as needed). Alternatively, if you prefer the items to remain untouched, add a note indicating they are props. If you’d rather avoid any food being eaten, you could display wheat in place of the bread.
• For an extra touch, decorate and ‘set’ the table: use a tablecloth, lay the food on a wooden serving board and place a battery candle in the centre. Place out name cards with names like ‘Beloved’, ‘Hungry’, ‘Seeker’.
• Print off images of wheat fields in abundance with crops.
• Place blank cards/paper in a basket with one of the relevant prompts found in the downloadable resource pack:
  - ‘Taste and see’ reflection cards: invite people to write what they’re spiritually hungry for, or what they’ve tasted of God’s goodness.
  - ‘Prayer bowl’: a place to leave prayers of gratitude or longing. People can then pray over the cards in the bowl too.
  - Write the prompt ‘Who do you want to invite to the table?’ Encourage people to write a name and pray for them.

Heavenly Encounters – sound
In Luke 2 we read of an entire host of angels appearing before the shepherds, gathering to give God praise. What an incredible encounter this must have been! There is a lot that can come from our worship to God. This prayer station explores the power of praise. Encounter Jesus through the sense of sound. 

Prayer station display ideas:

Option 1 – minimal display

• Print and display one (or both) of the posters provided. 
  There are two options: a standard poster that displays the name and theme of the prayer station to accompany the printed resources, and a version with a QR code that allows people to access the resources digitally. For the richest experience, we recommend printing the resources if possible.
• Place out a prop that links to sound: a radio, a speaker, headphones etc.

Option 2 – decorative display

In addition to what is suggested above:

• Print and display the resources for people to read, write on and take away with them.
• Place out some pens/pencils/highlighters for people to engage with the printed resources.
• Use sheer white or gold fabric overhead or around the station to suggest angelic movement or divine light.
• Place out pens and paper next to prompt questions such as, ‘What does praise sound like in your life?’ or ‘When have you felt Heaven draw near?’  for members to journal about. (Find prompts in the downloadable resource pack).
• Set up a literal ‘Creative Space’ to accompany the Creative Space resource: place out paper, colours, paint and any other craft materials you have access to.