Here are the texts from the seven prayer circles.
GUILT
This station is a chance to apologize to God for anything that you feel you have done wrong this week. It’s also an opportunity to ask God to free you from any guilt feelings that may be clinging to you. Sometimes, even when we know God has forgiven us, we still feel guilty and perhaps find it hard to forgive ourselves.
GRUDGES
Sometimes we find it hard to forgive someone else for hurting us in some way, especially if they did so on purpose. Somewhere in the back of our mind, anger keeps nagging us, getting in the way of growth. This is what this bowl is about––asking God to help us forgive, to take away the pain and to give us a willingness to love once more.
EXPECTATIONS
There are many ways our expectations can get in the way of our becoming the person God wants us to become. We may have a preconceived idea of what it looks like to succeed. Our idea of success may have little to with God’s desires for us. Ask God to help you see what real success looks like through his eyes.
PREJUDICES
We all have prejudices; we make judgments that have nothing to do with reality. Ask God to reveal your prejudice. It may be a negative judgment about an entire group of people, a different faith group, a political party, a person with more or less education than you, or an age group. Ask God to be specific.
IMPATIENCE
Sometimes life is difficult. We may be ill, hurting inside, or if we have lost our way, simply confused for a very long time. If God doesn’t answer our prayer for help immediately, we may begin to believe that he will never help us. We may be tempted to give up. Ask God to help you remain faithful in prayer and to give you comfort while you wait on him.
CYNICISM
It’s easy to grow cynical in the world in which we live––dishonest politicians, scandals in the church, corporations that have more say-so in government than citizens. Money, sex, and power seem to be the bottom line motivations for them all. Christians are to be a people of hope. Ask God to help you see the good in the people around you this week.
PRIDE
Sometimes we are so proud that we refuse to ask for help. We want people to think we can make it on our own, that we can stand on our own two feet. Even Jesus asked for help. In Gethsemane, he asked his disciples to pray with him while he was grieving. Do you have higher standards than Jesus? Are you too proud to ask for help?
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