Sticky Note Prayers of the People

Written for UWorship (2024), a resource provided by UKirk Collegiate Ministries Association. Download the whole thing here, including the full worship service in which this prayer is featured. The intro to that section, called Being a Person, reads: “There’s a lot going on in the world, and in our own backyards. Honoring our lament and grief is important, but we also know that there are glimpses of goodness and hope too. Young adults are figuring out who they are in the midst of all of that, often in new spaces, or learning to inhabit old spaces in new ways. With this service, we hope to offer a place for students to honor the depth and breadth of being a person.”

Supplies: space on a wall/easel/whiteboard/etc, writing utensils, sticky notes (blue, green, and yellow — or adapt for what you have on hand). Ahead of time, write “Lord, hear our prayers” on the board/easel or on a piece of paper on the wall.

Being a person is messy. Our hardest moments mix in with our happiest, not to mention the ones that don’t fit neatly into any category at all. We don’t have to pick one or the other – God is big enough for all of it, and this communal prayer makes room to hold what’s on our hearts together.

Offer some quiet time for people to write their prayers on the corresponding sticky note colors below, adding them to the board or wall as they go. Encourage pray-ers to draw or simply write initials on their sticky notes, if that feels more comfortable than writing things out. (If you want to play some music in the background, I like this instrumental playlist on Spotify.)

Yellow: Joy/celebrations

Blue: laments/concerns

Green: both/other

When everyone is done, offer this prayer:

Expansive God, we come to you today carrying so much. Joys that lift our spirits and laments that weigh them down. In-between times that feel harder to figure out. We offer you our prayers – the ones we have written here and the ones we carry quietly in our hearts – and we ask that you would send your Spirit move among us and assure us of your presence, whatever the coming days might bring. Amen.