Theme

General

Age Range

7-18

Type

Prayers

Number of Participants

4+

Timescale

30-60 minutes

Quick Overview

Great for use as a prayer station, the Graffiti Wall is brilliant for helping those with a passion for art express themselves to God in a way that is most meaningful to them.

Time Scale

5-45 minutes

Requires

Very large pieces of paper, Blu-Tack, colouring pens, pencils, paints etc. Optional music. Optional Focus (this is less necessary than with other prayers as the wall itself will be the focus).

Run through

Stick the large pieces of paper onto a wall so all the pieces are all right by each other and cover a large portion of the wall.

Lay out pens, pencils, paint and other artistic supplies by the wall.

Begin with the sign of the cross.

Explain to the group that art is a way of expressing thoughts, feelings and desires that often can tell a deeper, fuller story than can be done in words. In this prayer, what they draw is their prayer to God and they can express their prayer in any images they feel best express their feelings.

If you are using this as one of many prayer stations, you may like to write some variation of the above paragraph on a piece of paper stuck up by the graffiti wall.

One reason certain groups take so quickly and passionately to this prayer form is that the drawing and colouring focuses their mind on the prayer while the generally relaxed nature of the prayer allows them to slow down and think deeper about their lives and what they want to say to God.

If you are doing this prayer by itself, rather than as a prayer station, it works best to have all the young people drawing at once and, therefore, you may need a larger wall area to do this prayer. Alternatively, you can just lay out the paper on the floor; however, this can often change the mood of the prayer and certain more restless group may find it harder to engage.

Optional reflective music can be played in the background as this helps create a good atmosphere for the prayer.

Once you come to the end of your group’s prayer time with the prayer wall, it’s nice to lead a short concluding prayer thanking God for this time to reflect and talk with him and praying for all the intentions written on the wall.

Finish with the sign of the cross.