We used this prayer activity at a Consistory meeting on 12/12/12. (In honor of the date, we had three dozen delicious “Herwaldt” cookies. )

We dedicate the first hour of the Consistory meeting to prayer, so we did all three “rounds” listed below.  Rounds one and three can stand alone; Round 2 is helped by doing Round 1. The first round takes 5-10 minutes.  The second round took twenty minutes; the length depends on how many people are at the meeting.  We spent twenty minutes with the round three small group interactions, and closed with the large group prayer time.  Each person had a one page copy of the instructions, with room to write responses to Rounds 2 and 3.

Psalm 136 has the famous refrain after each verse: “for his steadfast love endures forever”

 Round 1:  Go around the room, each consecutively reading the first part of a verse, and all responding with the refrain: “for his steadfast love endures forever”

 Round 2:  Take a few minutes to write down your personal add-on verses.  Note Psalm 136 extols God for who he is, both as creator and sustainer.  Go around the room twice, each person saying one of their verses, and all responding with the refrain.  Note: you might want to have four or five “verses” ready, in case you don’t want to repeat what others have said.

Examples:

“To Him whose blood set us free from the tyranny of the devil.”  for his steadfast love endures forever…

“We praise our triune God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.”   for his steadfast love endures forever…

“To the one who assures us of eternal life.”  for his steadfast love endures forever…

 Round 3:  God’s steadfast love is all about Him keeping His promises.  Break into small groups of 3-4.  Each person will share an instance/event/God sighting from their life emphasizing how God kept His promise.  To prompt your memories, a partial list of God’s promises follows (supplied by Pastor Ben F.):

– God works all things together for our good (Romans 8.28)

– Whatever you give, He will give more (Malachi 3.10; Mark 10.29-30)

– Eternal life (John 3.16)

– Blessings, love, redemption, wisdom, inheritance, hope, Holy Spirit and more (Ephesians 1)

– Will never leave us or forsake us (Hebrews 13.5, Joshua 1.5)

– Answers our prayers; hears our prayers (John 15.7, Romans 8.26)

– Disciplines us because he loves us (Hebrews 12.3-11)

– Keeps us (Psalm 121)

– Hope (Hebrews 6.13-20)

– Wisdom (James 1.5-6)

– Forgives us when we confess our sins (1 John 1.9)

Close in large group with prayers of thanksgiving.