Prayer is talking with God.

You can pray in all sorts of ways – in silence on your own; out loud in a group; using prepared words such as others’ prayers or psalms; singing and making music; doing activities such as arts and crafts; and many more besides. Prayer can be scheduled, perhaps for the same time every day, or can take place spontaneously, perhaps when you need to shoot a quick request to God (some people call this an ‘arrow prayer’).

Wardie Church has a dedicated prayer area where you can sit comfortably, hang prayer requests on our prayer tree or write your thoughts on paper panels, and offer your own prayers in a quiet space.

Wardie Church’s Prayer Discovery Group meets on most Wednesday nights in the prayer area, to pray and to talk about prayer. The group aims to help people pray, and we will regularly add suggested prayer activities and resources below. If you’d like to find out more about our Prayer Discovery Group, contact Cathy Ballantine.

Wardie Parish Church also holds Friday Prayers every Friday at 9.30am and everyone is welcome. Buzz at the Netherby Road door for entry. If you’d like to find out more about these prayer meetings, or if you have something you’d like us to pray for, contact Rev. Dolly Purnell.

What’s on this page:

• Try Praying
• Prayer A to Z
• A is for Art

Try Praying

You may have noticed our ‘Try Praying’ banner outside the church. Inside the Netherby Road door and in the prayer area there are a number of ‘Try Praying’ booklets that you’re very welcome to take.

Prayer A to Z

The Prayer Discovery Group is creating an A to Z of prayer for 2025. Every fortnight we’ll explore a new letter to help you think about new ways to pray. By the end of 2025, we’ll have reached Z! Check below every couple of weeks to see what we’ve suggested under the latest letter of the alphabet.

A is for Art

As part of our A to Z of prayer we’ll be looking at a new letter every two weeks. A is for Art.

In the prayer area at the back of the church we’ve put up a few artworks that help us think about God. ‘Christ Blessing’ (‘The Saviour of the World’) by El Greco, a picture of Jesus blessing the world, is one of them – you can see the original at the National Galleries of Scotland in the centre of town.

Rembrandt’s ‘Return of the Prodigal Son’ (below) is a favourite of many of those in the group, with its depiction of our Heavenly Father’s unconditional love and acceptance despite, or most likely because of, the shocking state of his wayward child. Henri Nouwen was so deeply inspired by this painting that he wrote a book about it: The Return of the Prodigal Son: A Story of Homecoming. This book and Rembrandt’s painting are discussed in one of Pete Greig’s sermons.

When the Prayer Discovery Group met to talk about art, we thanked God for creative people, created things and God’s own creation. This opened our eyes to the creativity all around us, which made us even more thankful! Why don’t you study a painting or another type of artwork and then spend some time thanking God for creativity, created things and his creation?

If you have a favourite artwork that makes you think of God, please add it to the display in the prayer area next time you’re in church. There will be some sticky tack there for you to stick your artwork to the wood panelling.