1. Who are we really praying to?
Images of God
Who are we really praying to?

2. Learning Intentions To develop skills to critique prayers
To understand the difference between critiquing and criticising prayers
To develop skills for enabling students to depth their prayers
To develop skills for enabling students to further develop their images of God

3. Success Criteria I can:
Critique prayers in terms of the image of God presented within in the prayer
Be able to develop a culture for students to become confident in writing prayers (building capacity for prayer writing – rather than criticising prayer writing)
Name at least 1 strategy for enabling students to depth their prayers
Formulate some questions to enable students to further develop their images of God.

4. When you were a child, what was your image of God?
What did you imagine that God was like?
What would a google search reveal?

5. Has your image of God changed from when you were a child?
If so, can you name 1 or 2 factors that contributed to that change?

6. Images of God video
View video on the REAP website for day 3

7. Old Testament Images of God
Ezekiel 34:11-16 (God is like a Shepherd)
Jeremiah 18:1-6 (God is like a Potter)
Isaiah 49:15 (God is like a mother)
Deuteronomy 32:10-12 (God is like an eagle)
1 Kings 19:11-20 (God can be found in the sound of sheer silence)
Isaiah 42:13-15 (God is like a soldier, and a woman in labor)
Old Testament Images of God

8. Images of God from the Greek world
The introduction of one God (instead of a God for this, another God for that…)
The introduction of the monarchical images of God (King, sits on a throne in heaven…)
God was perceived as male, creator of the world but apart from it (in heaven).
Images of God from the Greek world

9. So let’s CRITIQUE some images of God in prayers Do these images come from the jewish perspective or the greek world perspective?

10. Glory to God in the highest,
and peace to His people on earth.
Lord God, heavenly King,
Almighty God and Father,
we worship You, we give You thanks,
we praise You for Your glory.
Lord Jesus Christ,
only Son of the Father,
Lord God, Lamb of God,
You take away the sin of the world:
have mercy on us;
You are seated at the right hand of the Father:
receive our prayer.

11. Activity:
Read the following prayers.
What does the prayer say about what God is like? (Is this depiction of God accurate or does it need to be rewritten slightly to portray a more accurate image of God?)
Suggest ways that the prayer could be rewritten to portray a more accurate image / understanding of God.

12. Dear God,
We pray that your presence will be with us today, as we gather for this special occasion.
May we be blest in our work.
May we be blest in our lives.
Amen.

13. Almighty and ever loving Father,
We pray that you will bring about peace in our world, and in our lives.
We ask this prayer through your son, Jesus
Who taught us how to pray. Amen
We pray for Dominic, that he will get well and be healed from all illness.
Heavenly God, hear us.
Heavenly God, hear our prayer.

14. We pray for the poor of our world
We pray for the poor of our world. Please lift them from poverty and ease the burden they carry in their lives.
We pray for rain. Send water on our parched earth and have compassion on our farmers, who need rain so desperately. Lord hear us.

15. God is beyond gender. How does the language we use about God teach students what God is like?
“God is not only our father, but even more so our mother”. Pope John Paul I

16. We come to know God through our own personal experiences.
If I only talk about God as a loving Father, do all my students have the experience of a loving Father?
A little girl once described growing up with no experience of a loving father, or a loving mother, but of having a little dog who loved her unconditionally. So as a child she thought about God being like her dog.

17. Naming God in Prayer God of Wisdom God of Mercy God of Love
Creator God
Compassionate God
Forgiving God
El Shaddai
Comforting God
Create a list of names with students – keep adding to this throughout the year. Whenever it is time to pray (or write a prayer), encourage students to choose a name for God that is relevant and meaningful for them at this point in time.

18. To assist students to write great prayers:
Start with a name for God that is meaningful
Allow God to be God in the prayer and avoid telling God what to do
Create a list of useful verbs for prayer (e.g. instead of ‘May we be’…empower us; strengthen us; guide us…)
Critique the theology coming through in the prayer (what is this prayer saying about what God is like?).

19. The following slides show work of year 5 and 6 students
The following slides show work of year 5 and 6 students. Their task was to create a mandala, and then choose an image / way of naming God that was most meaningful for their lives at this point in time.
Mandala prayer – start with a blank circle. Place a dot in the middle to show that God is in the centre of our lives. Use colours and shapes to fill in the rest of the mandala that are appropriate for how you are feeling at this point in time.

22. Note the wording in this prayer
Note the wording in this prayer. Mandala prayers are intensely personal, but anything that raises a red flag that all is not okay in the student’s life needs to be followed up privately, sensitively and appropriately. E.g. “I noticed that you wrote about dark emotions. Are you okay? Would you like to talk with me or someone else that you trust?”

23. The following two prayers are examples of prayer through drawing.
Student activity:
Take 5 minutes to draw about anything you like – whatever comes to mind today (ensuring it is appropriate for a public audience).
Now look closely at your drawing. What could you say to God about your picture? What might God want to say to you? Choose a name / way of describing God that is appropriate to go with your picture and write your prayer to go with this picture.
Note: Never tell students that their drawing is for prayer or immediately many students will start drawing religious symbols etc and the focus of the prayers is narrow. If you tell students after they have completed their drawing that they now need to compose a prayer to go with their picture, the prayers will have wide diversity, much greater depth and more accurately reflect the needs / joy of the world and their own lives.

26. And what about songs people use for prayer?
God is watching us Sometimes songs about God become popular in mainstream music. Assist students to critique the lyrics. How accurately do the words of this song portray God? God is watching us, but not from a distance. God is intimately part of our lives, wanting us to be loved, to know our own giftedness…

27. Listen to Amy Grant’s song: El Shaddai (God of the mountain tops) and critique the lyrics. How is God portrayed in this song?
Amy Grant in concert singing
El Shaddai

28. A beautiful children’s story book that can be used with people of all ages to explore images of God is ‘In God’s Name’ by the Jewish author Rabbi Sandy Eisenberg Sasso.
Click here for a link to Amazon books - view a preview of this book
Click here for a youtube clip about this book

29. Our challenge: In time to come, how will our students today name the way they thought about God when they went to a Catholic school? What part will you play in their response?