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Main idea: The fact that almost everyone has called out “upward” at some point is no coincidence: God is not far from any of us. The connection becomes firm when we start talking to him.
Key verse: “God did this so that they would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from any one of us.” (Acts 17:27 NIV)
Bible text: Acts 17:22-28 · Time: about 45 minutes (short version 15 minutes) · Age: 14+

Note for youth leaders

Almost everyone has prayed at some point, even without believing in God. This session starts from exactly that experience. It doesn’t begin with a statement from the Bible but with something everyone in the room knows, and only then interprets it. The goal is for the teenagers to take their own experience with prayer seriously, to start thinking about it, and to be willing to try prayer regularly for one week.

Expect someone to say, “I prayed, and nothing happened.” The Bible itself is full of prayers like that (Psalm 13 begins with “How long, Lord?”), and in the Garden of Gethsemane Jesus prayed for something he didn’t get.

The video speaks of a “higher power.” Use that expression in the first round of discussion so that seekers feel included. Only in the “Going deeper” part do you speak of God as the Bible describes him.

It’s up to you whether you use all the elements described below or just one of them. They offer different ways of engaging with the topic of the session. They are tools for you. You decide how to use them. What matters:

  • Be flexible and adapt the activities to the group dynamic.
  • Make sure all the teenagers are included and feel comfortable.
  • Be sensitive to emotional reactions, especially when it comes to personal topics.
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Short version (15 minutes): one icebreaker question (2 min.), video (5 min.), two questions from the discussion, for example “Have you ever prayed?” and “Is the higher power interested in you?” (6 min.), next step (2 min.). Skip the experiment and the deeper dive; you can send the question from “Going deeper” home as homework.

Icebreaker questions

⏱️ 5 minutes

Ask two or three of these questions to the group; short answers are enough.

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Voice message or phone call: which one do you go for, and why?
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Who do you call first when something really goes wrong or you need help?
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When was the last time you thought “please, please, please” inside? What was going on? (A test, the score of a game, a lost phone or keys.)
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Who was that “please” addressed to? Can you remember?

Video

⏱️ 5 minutes

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Materials: projector or large screen, Bluetooth speaker, video

Throughout the video, questions appear on screen to prompt reflection. You can pick them up later in the discussion, where they fit:

  • Why have almost all of us prayed at some point, even if we don’t believe or aren’t sure whether we believe?
  • Why do we look for help beyond ourselves?
  • Could that be a clue that we are spiritual?
  • Why do we pray?
  • Why do we long to connect with a higher power?

Soul Stirrers: Prayer, by Start to Stir (3:43)

Discussion

⏱️ 15 minutes

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Why do you think many people pray, even those who don’t believe or aren’t sure whether they believe?
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Why do we humans long to connect with a higher power?
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Have you ever prayed? Would you like to share what that was like?
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What made you do it? What were you hoping for?
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What did you feel or experience while praying? Did anything change, in you or in the situation?
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If you got a response to your prayer, how did you make sense of it? Coincidence, imagination, an answer?
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Do you believe the higher power you talked to (God, the universe, another deity) is interested in you and your life? What makes you think so?

If someone says, “I’ve never prayed,” follow up: “And ‘please, please, please’ before a test, does that count?” That usually leads to a conversation about where wishing ends and praying begins. Leave it open; you don’t have to settle it.

With a larger group (about twelve or more), have them discuss the first three questions in pairs, then bring two or three voices back to the whole group.

Experiment “Ice cube fishing”

⏱️ 5 minutes

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Materials: a bowl of cold water, ice cubes, a piece of wool yarn, a stick or pen as a fishing rod, salt

Preparation
Tie the yarn to the stick. Put the ice cube into the water only right before you use it. Try it once at home beforehand so you know how long it takes with your salt.

Watch this video beforehand.

How to do it
Give a volunteer the bowl with the water and the ice cube, the fishing rod and the salt, with this task: “Get the ice cube out of the bowl without touching it or the yarn with your hands.” Let the group help with ideas. If they get stuck, guide them step by step: lay the yarn on the ice cube, sprinkle a pinch of salt over it, wait about ten to twenty seconds, then lift carefully. The ice cube hangs from the yarn.

If it doesn’t work right away, let the volunteer try again. You can also work the experience of trying again into the application.

Explain what happens: The salt makes the ice melt at the surface, and a small puddle of water forms around the yarn. It freezes solid again because the cube underneath is still cold, and it locks the yarn in.

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What was needed for the connection to hold? (Contact, the salt, patience, several attempts.)

Explain: The yarn is already lying on the cube before anything happens. The Bible says that God is close to each one of us, whether we notice it or not (Acts 17:27-28; Isaiah 65:1). But the connection only becomes firm when something is added from our side. That is prayer.

Going deeper

⏱️ 10 minutes

📖 Read Acts 17:22-28

Paul is standing in Athens in front of people who believe in all kinds of things and, just in case, even have an altar to an “unknown god.” He doesn’t tell them their searching is wrong. He says that God arranged it this way so that people would seek him, and that he “is not far from any one of us.” The calling out upward that almost everyone knows is no coincidence. It is built into us.

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Why have people always looked for help outside themselves, and why do we still do it today? Is that a clue that we were made for a connection with God, and that we don’t find answers and happiness in ourselves, as we are so often told, but in God?

Take this question home with you and think it over.

Next step

⏱️ 2 minutes

And then I have a challenge for you:

If you’re not sure whether anyone is listening, run an experiment for the next seven days. Take one minute every day for it, more if you like. Just start talking to God and tell him what’s going on right now. If you’re not sure he exists, you can start with “If you’re there.” Then watch for a week whether anything changes, in you or around you.

If you’re already walking with God, take one minute every day, more if you like. Pick one thing that matters to you and talk to God about it every day. Then watch what happens in you and around you.

Closing

⏱️ 2 minutes

Close with a prayer.

In partnership with Start to Stir. The video is part of the Soul Stirrers series: youtube.com/@starttostir. Bonus tools and add-ons for church and school groups at starttostir.com.