Creative Prayer: The God Puzzle

Focus: Recognizing answered prayers

Before You Begin:

For this creative prayer adventure you’ll need a jigsaw puzzle. Choose the size and difficulty of your puzzle according to the ages and abilities of your family members. If your children are preschool aged, a puzzle with 30 to 40 pieces will work best. For school aged children and older, choose a puzzle with 50 to 150 pieces. (You probably won’t want a puzzle with more than 150 pieces.)

The Prayer Time!

Place the puzzle pieces and a pen on a card table or other flat surface where the puzzle can be left for a period of time. Then explain to your family that this is a “God Puzzle” and will be put together as prayers are answered in your home.

Here’s how it works:

Every time a person in your family realizes that God has answered a prayer, this person should choose a puzzle piece. On the back of the puzzle piece, the person should write a word or two (depending on the size of the piece) as a reminder of what the answer to prayer was.

For example, “A+” might be an answer to a prayer for help on a spelling test. “Sweet dreams” might mean a child’s prayers not to have nightmares was answered. Or “$” could remind a college student (or the student’s parents) that God provided money to make the tuition payment this month.

When two puzzle pieces have been written on, they can be attached together. Leave the puzzle pieces out until each piece has something written on the back and has been attached to the rest of the puzzle.

When the God Puzzle is complete, have your family admire the finished product. Then thank God for being involved in your family’s prayers. Thank God for using your prayers to demonstrate the greater picture of his power.

If you like, leave the God Puzzle on display for a while as a reminder of all the answered prayers your family has seen. Then take the puzzle apart and store it for later use. When you do pull it out to, see if family members can remember what the answers to prayer were by the notes written on each puzzle piece.