We welcome Visual Faith Coach Marsha Baker to the blog today:
As the war in Ukraine continues, we are hearing less and less about it. It’s not being reported on the nightly news and seeking out information can be a challenge. Yet millions of people in Ukraine are suffering and hurting, and I felt the Lord was calling me to keep them in prayer for a season.
If you’re like me, prayer is more effective when I put pen or markers to paper. I've combined images and color with prayer to help create some visual reminders to pray daily for the people of Ukraine during the month of May. Here are 2 simple ways to create visual prayers as you pray for the Ukrainian people and an end to the war in Ukraine. Won’t you join us?
1. MINI PRAYER CARDS - SUNFLOWERS
Create mini prayer cards. You might create 31 cards, one for each day in May. Doodle something (see above) on the front, and then write a prayer on the back.
The Process:
Take a sheet of card stock or water color paper and put down some color. If you are using watercolors, tape down the page before you add water to minimize the buckling. I recommend blue painter’s tape, but I used green Frog tape in the picture below. Wait until the paper is completely dry before doodling.
Section off your sheet into small sections, for a 9 x 12 sheet I make my cards 2’ x 3”. This will create 18 cards. I did two sheets to create 36 cards.
Start doodling. I decided to challenge myself to draw 36 different sunflowers. Sunflowers are the national flower of Ukraine, so it seemed like a great image to use.
(I would love to see your sunflowers. Use #visualfaithministry, #prayforukraine, and #snboss if you post your cards, and if you’d like to see my sunflower cards, you can follow me @blessinks on Instagram.)
Here’s a quick tutorial on how to draw a sunflower:
Other ideas: Look up other national icons of Ukraine, like the national bird, tree… and draw something different on each card. You could also just write the names of various cities on each card and pray for a different city every day.
[Source: nationonline.org]
HOW TO USE THESE CARDS?
Simply keep them together or bind them with a book ring and write a different prayer on the back of each card every day
Expand your circle of prayer and give away a card to friends, acquaintances, and even strangers. Ask them to put the card in a prominent place to remind them to pray for Ukraine every day.
Host a prayer meeting at church and give everyone who attends a card to take home as a reminder to pray for Ukraine until the country is restored.
2. JOIN VISUAL FAITH® MINISTRY'S ZOOM EVENT TUESDAY MAY 17TH
Visual Faith® Ministry is hosting a live prayer meeting on Tuesday May 17th at 10:00 AM and 8:00 PM EST. The event is FREE! You can attend one or both of the ZOOM meetings. You must register to receive the ZOOM link. Join us as we pray together that this war ends soon and that God will heal this land and restore His people. To register and receive the ZOOM link click here https://www.visualfaithmin.org/events or on the VFM Homepage, click Events on the top right.
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Visual Faith® Ministry appreciates and is grateful to Marsha for sharing her compassion and visual prayer ideas for Ukraine. Here is another prayer resource specific to the situation in Ukraine that you may download and print from our website: