Getting outside and going for a walk can give you a new perspective, and the things you come across during your walk can also prompt and guide your prayers. If you or anyone in your group struggles with walking, you may want to choose a location, such as a park, that has benches so that everyone can join in.
Stop and spend some time enjoying the nature around you. If you brought a camera with you, try to find something new or unusual to capture. Praise God for his wonderful creation. Focus on the weather, plants and the conditions they need to grow and flourish. If you can, listen to a worship song as you do this.
Lament for the ways in which we have destroyed and damaged our world instead of protecting it, and the impact that is having on some of the world’s poorest people – such as those in East Africa. Pray for people who are suffering due to the effects of the climate crisis. Ask God what you can do to make a difference.
Pray using a map
Using our map above, invite the Holy Spirit to reveal a particular location to you. This could be a particular town or country in East Africa.
Once you have chosen somewhere, lay your hand above it on the map. Pray for that location and the people there. Ask God to reveal specific things you can pray for, or use prayer points in this guide to help.
If doing this activity as a group, you could take it in turns to choose a location to pray over.
You can right click on the image of the map, save it to your computer and print it off. You can then keep it up as a reminder to pray for East Africa during your week.
Write a psalm
The Psalms are full of prayers and songs of lament: of pain and hurt. Of crying out to God in the dark of the night, wondering if the sun will ever rise again. They can help us to verbalise our disappointment, desperation and anger at the world around us – such as the injustice that so many people are going hungry right now in East Africa. David, who wrote many of the Psalms, even voiced his anger at God himself (Psalm 13, Psalm 79).
Begin by reading some of the Psalms to help you find the words to bring to God (Psalm 130). Then, write your own psalm of lament to God over this crisis. Ask God to move in power to help end this crisis.
