On William's Prayer Beads
Hello internet! My name is William and this post is on my prayer beads (pictured above). Before I begin discussing the beads, I must get a few basics out of the way.
1) Thank you Cecelia for trusting me enough to hand me your computer and let me type literally whatever I want. I probably won't let you down.
2) Writing isn't my thing. Cecelia loves words and junk. I say 'and junk'. Therefore, I'm sorry to tell you this post will not be the quality you're used to. That is evident by the number of contractions I've already used (Sorry to every English teacher I have ever had).
3) Texas Forever
4) Thanks for reading this blog. It means the world to Cecelia when she enters into conversation with you through her writing. Y'all, this really does mean a lot to her.
Now, without further ado, on beads.
I love the Vincents. They are wicked cool, loving, and warm. They are the right kinds of quirky and weird. They are fun. My motivation for wanting to make prayer beads was twofold. First, it was to learn more about something I knew nothing about, protestant prayer beads (or just prayer beads in general). Second, it was to hang out with Kristen with the intentionthat she would consider me a friend. The Vincents are THAT cool. However, as we sat on the back porch and she began teaching us about the history and significance of these strands, I was overcome with appreciation for the actual craft. Through this process I have gained a deep appreciation for prayer beads and the significance they can have in our prayer lives. I went in wanting a new friend, and came out with a new tool to connect with God. I'm a bead-liever.
Although I am a zany, spontaneous, and "plans averse" fellow (and handsome too), I put a lot of thought and symbolism into my bead design. Y'all, I even sketched it out before I began to build it. I told you... #beadliever. My bead structure is as follows:
My prayer beads contain a total of 42 beads because 42 is the answer to life the universe and everything. In total, not counting the inviting and resurrection bead (I'll explain those in a bit) the part of my beads I pray through has a total of 40 beads, a significant number throughout the Bible.
Also, each section has a total of 7 beads, the number of perfection and completion. Not only is that just a cool number thing, but it reminds me to express everything in prayer, holding nothing back from God.
My strand is divided into five sections because my prayer structure normally works through the five sections of the Lord's Prayer. Therefore, each section of my beads is a different topic of prayer. Each section of beads is divided by a larger bead. These are normally called cruciform beads because 'traditional' protestant prayer beads have four sections, so these four dividing beads make the shape of the cross. I have five sections, so mine doesn't really make the shape of the cross but... details... but my cruciform beads are those big, blue ones. I picked blue because it means trust and loyalty. Also, it reminds me to trust God. This website describes blue's meaning as, "It symbolizes trust, loyalty, wisdom, confidence, intelligence, faith, truth, and heaven." Finally, between each bead is a filler bead. I picked the color black (it's actually blue black, but whatever) to represent the mystery of God and how God always seems to be in the gaps.
Most strands have a symbol at the bottom. Mine is this metallic cross. This is because the cross is of central importance to my faith and understanding of Christ. The next bead is the invitation bead. I picked that red/orange/yellow one because it reminds me of the sun, warmth, welcoming, and fire. It also looks legit. This bead is to remind us that we are invited into relationship with God and God wants to hear our prayers. The next bead is called the resurrection bead. This is the largest bead on my strand because the resurrection is super important to me. I probably wouldn't be a Christian without the resurrection. I picked this bead be cause it is white, like a lamb or the snow. All of this is imagery used to describe Jesus after the resurrection and how He will wash us white as snow, removing our sins from our lives. Personally, this is my favorite bead and I think it looks SO COOL! The third bead you see in the picture is actually my first cruciform bead, but I wanted to include it here because I wanted three beads to represent the Trinity. Now, to explain each section.
"OUR FATHER WHO ART IN HEAVEN, HALLOWED BE THY NAME."
Like I said, I pray in the format of the Lord's prayer, so the first part of my prayer always focuses on hallowing God's name. In this section, I spend time praising God and appreciating just how incredible God is. This can be in the form of astonished observation, simple praise, thanks, or just silent awe. This part of the prayer is significant for me because it reminds me who I am talking to. I am talking to GOD! It helps put the rest of the prayer in perspective. I picked these beads to represent this section because they are magnificent, yet mysterious. The black represents the mystery of God, that we cannot even comprehend God's being, but the glitter reminds me of the beauty in that mystery. God is marvelous and so are these beads.
"THY KINGDOM COME THY WILL BE DONE, ON EARTH AS IT IS IN HEAVEN."
The next section of prayer focuses on God's will for both the world and our lives. It is about aligning my heart and mind with God so that what I do might help bring about the kingdom of God on Earth. This section involves a lot of praying for direction, discernment, and guidance. It also involves giving God control of aspects, or the entirety, of my life. For this section I used beads that look like the Earth. This is to remind me that salvation is not just for when we die, but dramatically affects how we live on Earth. That the Earth is our mission ground and place of service to God.
"GIVE US THIS DAY OUR DAILY BREAD."
In this section I ask God for help and provision. It is important to remember that this is only part of the prayer, not the entire thing. I talk about goals, desires, and dreams. I discuss things I need help with. Often it devolves into a rambling about how I actually don't really even know what I need, so I just ask God to provide whatever because God knows better. The beads I picked represent this section because they look like bread to me, mostly because they're brown.
"AND FORGIVE US OUR TRESPASSES AS WE FORGIVE THOSE WHO TRESPASS AGAINST US."
In the forgiveness section, we acknowledge before God that we are unworthy. We openly admit the ways we have failed. Hopefully, we promise to do better. We also acknowledge that while others have done terrible things to us, they are just as deserving of forgiveness as we are. For this section I chose red beads to represent the blood of Christ.
"AND LEAD US NOT INTO TEMPTATION, BUT DELIVER US FROM EVIL."
I end each prayer asking God for protection. Protection from temptation, my own faltered mind, and satan. This section normally involves Armor of God references so I picked these beads because they look like armor to me. It looks like a turquoise bead is wearing metal armor. These beads remind me that we live in a spiritually dangerous world and God alone is our ultimate protection.
So there you have it, a probably way too long explanation of my prayer beads. I really did love making them and have found them to be a meaningful part of my prayer life. Thank you Prayer Works Studio for introducing me to such a cool spiritual practice. Remember, this post was by William, not Cecelia, so please don't let it discourage you to keep reading her posts. I love sharing life with her, and am glad that through this blog more people get a chance to share a bit of life with her too. Thanks y'all! Go Cowboys!!!!
William