Tasting the Bible
Rhythm Prayers
During the unit of our Faith
Foundations teaching on the land that
Jesus walked, I decided to provide
the teens with several types of foods
to taste that Jesus might have eaten.
Each week I brought different foods for
the teens to taste. From my research
on the types of foods that Jesus may
have eaten, I brought in hummus with
Mediterranean flat bread, pistachio
nuts, and fresh dates.
In Psalms, David used song and
music to pray to God. Rhythm and
tonal melodies are innate abilities
within all of us, whether we think so
or not. Music abilities are part of our
natural souls’ connection with God.
God created us with musical instincts
to worship and pray to Him. David
understood this very well.
How will you encourage teens to
tap into their natural music abilities
to pray? Prayer doesn't have to
be traditional. Think about using
new and different forms of prayer.
Use drumming and tones. Have
teens create rhythmic songs with
drumming, and accompanying
prayers. Simple objects you have
sitting around can be used as drums
for worship: various sized buckets,
water bottles, tape measures, rulers,
paper, sand paper, the bottoms of
chairs, etc. Once your teens have
written their prayers in small groups,
have them share. Have everyone else
join in on the prayer by drumming or
humming along. God will surely be
delighted.
We also explored the taste of baklava,
which contains foods that He would
have eaten: honey, walnuts and
cinnamon. Cinnamon is mentioned
in the Bible in the following verses:
Exodus 30:23, Proverbs 7:17 and Song
of Solomon 4:14. Other foods that
Jesus might have eaten include yogurt,
lentils, dried figs, grapes, olives, olive
oil and cucumbers. In Genesis 43:11
honey, pistachio nuts and almonds are
included in a description by Joseph's
father as being of the best products of
the land! My hope is the next time one
of the teens eats some grapes, walnuts
or cinnamon, they will be reminded of
their lesson and Who else may have
eaten that very same type of food.
Debbie Smith, volunteer at New
Covenant Fellowship, Manassas, VA,
www.ncfweb.org
Beth Crumpler, volunteer at Lifepoint
Church, www.adaptivelearnin.com/
7
WildFrontier.org