I was once asked to talk to a group of about 120 eighth graders on
contemplative prayer. I was extremely excited because this is a subject that I
love to share with others. I’ve been practicing a particular form of
contemplative prayer for about ten years now. It has completely changed my
understanding of prayer to the point that I can’t even speak of prayer the way
that I used to because that has become a foreign concept. While I speak on this
topic on a regular basis to adults, I had never actually spoken to 13 and 14 year
olds on this subject matter.
I began putting my thoughts together, choosing words and examples from
teen culture that I knew would help me get my point across but I wanted some
type of object lesson; something that I could physically hold in front of them
to use as an analogy for this type of prayer. I love to use these object
lessons because I feel that it gives my audience something to walk away with. I
sometimes talk too much and while I like to believe that what I’m saying is
valuable information and that each person listening is glued to my every word,
the reality is that a lot of times they’re only hearing every other word, or
none at all.
The beauty of having an object is that when you hold it up, you have
the attention of everyone, including those whose minds might have wondered. But
also, this analogy gives them something to hold on to. They won’t remember
every word I said but hopefully they’ll remember the analogy associated with
the object. Also, it might stick with them every time they see that object
outside my talk, hopefully recalling whatever it is I intended for them to
learn.
I sat at my desk for hours
trying to come up with something to compare to this type of prayer, looking
around my office for something that would help me explain what could not be put
into words. I began to get frustrated as nothing in front of me seemed to lend me the ability to convey my message. Finally I decided I needed to move outside
of my office to find something. I decided that I would stop at the local Target
on my way home and I wouldn’t leave there until I found something that I could
use.
As I walked through the aisles of Target I continued to grow frustrated
as I failed to find anything, but I stuck to my mission and refused to leave
until I found something. Finally I walked into the bathroom section and stopped
dead in my tracks when I saw a plunger. I didn’t know how I would use it but I
knew that this was the object I needed.
I couldn’t shut my brain off as I drove home and within twenty minutes
I had it all figured out. I would use three different objects typically found
in a bathroom and compare them to the ways we might treat prayer. This is how they
ended up looking:
Toothbrush: We use it in the morning and the evening but we don’t give
much thought to it outside of those times. Brushing our teeth is a habit and
often we don’t really focus on what we’re doing because we’ve done it so many
times. Our prayer life can be treated the same way. We say a quick prayer when
we get up (maybe) and say a prayer before we go to bed. But we don’t give much
thought to it outside of those times. And when we do pray during these times,
we don’t give it much mental thought.
Plunger: When I held this up, the teens started cracking up while
simultaneously yelling “Ewww!” While sparing the details on what a plunger is
used for, I explained that sometimes we only pray to God during emergencies; when
our life feels clogged or when it feels full of, well, crap. While this example
might seem crud, it definitely got my point across and a lot of them understand
and could relate to what I meant.
Deodorant: This is the prayer life we’re meant to have. Putting
deodorant on allows us to feel confident throughout the day. During moments
we’re stressed and begin to perspire, we don’t have to worry about smelling
bad. If you’ve ever had a day when you forgot to put on deodorant and found
yourself in a close-crowded situation, you know the lack of confidence you
experience. Similarly, a contemplative prayer life affects us throughout the
day. No matter what the situation, we feel confident that God is in the situation
and will not abandon us.
In the weeks following my talk, I heard from parents who were not
present when I spoke about how their teen came home and shared these analogies with them
and the parents were so excited that this had stuck. Further the parents
expressed how much they appreciated the imagery for their own prayer lives.
This would not have happened had I given up and decided not use an
object lesson. I truly believe that this was inspired by the Spirit, who was
working through me to express the importance of deepening our relationship with
God. It also opened up the door so that I could then teach a method to these
teens for experiencing this type of prayer, which perhaps they wouldn’t have
been open to had I just talked rather than shown.
I often frequent places like Target, party supply stores and craft
stores in an effort to come up with object lessons. Sometimes I don’t find anything,
but often the effort pushes me to think outside the box and causes me to look
at things in a new way. Perhaps I end up not using an object lesson but what and how I say something is different.
I would encourage you to consider using objects as a way to inspire
creativity in your ministry. Whether it be a lesson plan or in giving a
reflection, to inspire a new ministry or strengthen an existing one, or just to
invite yourself to view ministry in a new way, try it. See what it stirs up.
Allow it to break open your thinking so that those juices start flowing.
May the Creative Spirit stir within you!
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