Prayer Beads

Not everyone finds it easy to sit still to pray. As a Community we’ve been experimenting with ‘tactile prayers’. Making our prayer beads was fun and everyone could join in. We’ve followed the Anglican Prayer Beads model where you have seven small beads separated by 4 larger beads called ‘cruciforms’.

Once you’ve made your bracelet, the prayer can be constructed from words of Scripture. We’ve chosen to use the beads to help us meditate and pray through John 15 which is becoming an important passage for us.

We start with the three large beads and say on each one:

I am the True Vine and my Father is the Gardener

I am the Vine, you are the branches

Apart from me you can do nothing.

Then for each of the smaller beads we repeat the words of Jesus,

Abide in me as I abide in you.

On the next large bead we say,

If you abide in me and my words abide in you ask for whatever you wish and it will be done for you.

We pause and make our prayers to God.

Then we continue our ‘abiding’ by praying around the seven small beads.

One the next large bead we say,

As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. And we pause and take a few moments to rest in His love.

More abiding with the seven small beads, then we come to the fourth cruciform bead and say,

I have said these things to you so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete.

We pause again and revel in the joy and delight that Jesus has in us and for us.

Finally, we complete the circle, ending as we began.

We have found that the physical connection through the beads helps with concentration. This prayer practice is helping us to memorise and meditate on John 15 so that these words of Jesus are becoming embedded in our lives.