Creative Prayer: Coins in a Fountain

Focus: Forgiveness

Before You Begin:

Collect a handful of coins (such as pennies, nickels, dimes, or quarters) and place them in a small cup or other container. Take this cup and go with your family to a fountain for a time of prayer. (Check a local mall, library, or city building to find a fountain.)

The Prayer Time!

As you stand or sit together in front of the fountain, pass the container of coins and have each person select one. Say, “This is a time for each of us to tell God we’re sorry for things we’ve done wrong.”

Then begin by praying, “Lord, in this past week I know I’ve disappointed you in this way…” and finish by confessing to God one way you’ve fallen short in your spiritual life. Then toss your coin into the water of the fountain. Encourage each family member to pray in the same manner, ending the prayer by tossing his or her coin into the fountain. If anyone is too embarrassed to share a confession aloud, allow him or her to pray silently before tossing a coin.

Repeat this confessing and coin-tossing process as many times as you like. When everyone is done, ask family members to dip their hands in the fountain’s water for a quick washing.

Then close your family prayer by saying, “Thank you, God, for the promise of your forgiveness that buries our sins as this fountain has ‘buried’ our coins, and that washes our hearts as this water has washed our hands. In Jesus’ name, amen.”