Creative Prayer: Star Spangled Prayer (Independence Day)

Focus: Independence Day (Fourth of July)

Before You Begin:

This creative prayer time can be used any time of year, but we it goes well with July 4 (Independence Day). You’ll need an American flag for this adventure. If you can’t find the real thing, a picture of a flag will work, too.

The Prayer Time!

As your family comes together for creative prayer time, ask if anyone knows the meaning of the stars and stripes on the flag. If not, explain that each star represents one of the 50 states in the Union, and each of the stripes represents one of the original 13 colonies. The colors of the flag also have meaning. Red symbolizes courage, white is for purity, and blue represents justice.

As you examine and discuss the flag, explain to your family that you’d like to use the flag and its symbolism as a guide to prayer. Join together in talking and praying as follows.

For every star on the flag, think of something your family is thankful for. As you think of each reason to give thanks, have different family members offer a one-sentence prayer of thanksgiving. For example, “Thank you that we are free to worship you in our country,” or “Thanks, God, for giving us food each day,” and so on. Continue until you’ve thanked God 50 times. (You may want to use this part of the adventure over the course of several days or a week.)
As the blue field behind the stars represents justice, pray for people who are oppressed and in need of justice. This could be people in America who don’t receive justice such as hungry children or people who are treated unfairly. You may want to include people in other countries who don’t enjoy the freedoms we do in America. You could also pray that we would continue to be allowed to exercise these freedoms.
For each of the six white stripes on the flag, ask God to bring purity to a different area of your lives. This might include purity of speech toward each other, purity in actions to each other and so on.
Pray for courage as guided by the seven red stripes of the flag. A family member may need courage to stand up for his or her beliefs at school or work, or you may all need courage to share about God’s love to an unfriendly neighbor.

Close your time together by thanking God for Independence Day and praying for America, asking Jesus to bring guidance and show his love to all who live under this flag.

Variation: If you live in a country other than the United States of America, use your flag and a national holiday to create a prayer adventure similar to this one. Research the symbols and colors used in your national flag and together determine ways to use these as a guide for prayer. Consider the specific needs of your country as well as reasons you are thankful for your country.