Prayer

Hannah Prays

~ hebidsthemcome ~ Leave a comment

Hello all! Today’s lesson is from 1 Samuel 1-2. Last year’s lesson and craft can be found HERE.

During the time of the judges, there lived a woman named Hannah. She was married but she didn’t have any children. More than ANYTHING she wanted to be a mommy. She prayed and prayed and waited and waited…but no baby.

Hannah’s husband loved her very much and wanted her to be happy. But there was another mommy who DID have kids who was very mean to Hannah and said “Ha ha! I have kids and you don’t!”

Sometimes the things people say to us make us feel very bad. These words made Hannah feel worse too.

Each year, Hannah and her husband would travel across Israel to go to the tabernacle (the church) to pray and give their gifts and sacrifices to God.

One year, after a long time praying and waiting, Hannah was so upset, she went outside and prayed. She talked to God and said, “If You will give me a baby, I promise I will teach him about you, and he will serve You his whole life!”

She prayed and cried so much that Eli, the chief priest (the lead caretaker of the tabernacle) came out and said, “Why you are acting so crazy? Have you done something bad?”

“No! I haven’t done anything bad,” answered Hannah. “I was just praying!”

Then God told Eli to say, “May God give you what you have asked of Him.”

Hannah believed the words of God..that she would be given a baby and when she went home, God gave her a baby in her belly! She had a baby boy and named him Samuel. When Samuel was big enough, Hannah taught him all about God, and how God had listened to her and what a wonderful God He is. When Samuel got even a little bigger, Hannah took him back to the tabernacle so he could live with Eli and learn how to serve God.

Hannah promised to raise her baby to love God and to serve in the tabernacle. If God had given her a baby before then, she might not have taken him to the tabernacle to serve God…but God had big plans for Samuel.

God’s plan and His timing is always right. We know God hears us when we pray…but that doesn’t mean we can ask God for everything we want and we will get it right away. Sometimes God says yes, sometimes He says no, and sometimes He has us wait.

Waiting can be hard…but God has a good plan. We can always trust His plan, even if things don’t go our way (like Hannah did). She was a good mommy to teach Samuel about God and she was good woman to trust God, even when it was hard.

 

For our craft today, we just used watercolors to illustrate any part of the story they wanted to.

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“Hannah and the lady that was mean to her”
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“Hannah with a baby in her belly and a polka dot dress”

 

Thanks for joining us again. Love to you all!

Isaac and Rebekah

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Welcome! This lesson is from Genesis 24.

Isaac-Marries-Rebekah
Image from Wesleyan Kids

 

So our friend Abraham was getting really old and he was faithful to God and followed Him. God had given Abraham lots of money and people working for him. He was a pretty famous guy and God blessed him in every way.

Abraham knew it was time for Isaac to get married. Back then, people didn’t always go on lots of dates and date a lot of people before getting married. Sometimes they would pick someone and CHOOSE to love that person forever. (As my daughter said, you could line the boys up and do eeny-meeny-miney-mo to pick! Haha)

When you get married it’s forever…and sometimes you feel lovey and sometimes you feel sad or angry…but you always work together to take care of each other and show love.

Abraham called his servant and said “I want you to go back to where we came from…to our family…to the people who love God…and find a wife for Isaac. The servant was nervous! How would he know who to pick?!

When he got to the right place he prayed and asked God for some help. He went to a well (a place to get water…because you couldn’t just get water in your house like you can now) and said, “God, please send a woman out here and when I ask for a drink of water, the girl who says ‘Of course! And here’s some water for your camels too!’ Let that be the girl you have picked for Isaac.”

Before he had even finished talking to God, a girl named Rebekah came out. He asked her for some water and she said “Of course! And here’s some water for your camels too!”

The servant knew that was the right girl. He told her and her family all about Abraham and Isaac and how God had led him to her and then he asked if she would come to marry Isaac. She said she would!

So the servant brought her back and Isaac was in the field. He saw her and said “WHO is THAT?!” *wink wink*

And she saw him and said “WHO is THAT?!” *wink wink*

They got married and next time we will learn about their kids.

 

Did you notice in that story before the servant had even finished praying God was answering his prayer? God knows what we need before we even ask Him! And God even knows if you’ll get married someday and who that will be. (My older boy and girl insisted they are marrying each other haha).You can already pray to God for the person you will marry that they will love Him and do a good job taking care of you. And you can pray that you will do a good job taking care of them too! Mostly, you can pray and thank God that He had good plans for your life whether you get married or not. You can trust God’s plan and be sure when you talk to Him that He is listening.

 

Thanks for joining us, love to you all!

Sodom and Gomorrah

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Hey all. Welcome back! Today’s story is from Genesis 18:16-33 and 19:1-29. Our lesson from last year can be found HERE.

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So our friend Abraham was getting ready to move to the next place God told him to go.

God said,  “Abraham will become a great and powerful nation, and everyone else on earth will be blessed through him. I have chosen him, so that he will lead his children and his household to follow Me by doing what is right.”

God then told Abraham about two cities nearby. Sodom and Gomorrah. God told Abraham the cities were very bad and the people did terrible things to sin against God (disobey Him.)

Abraham knew his nephew Lot lived in Sodom and so he asked God: “Will you get rid of the good people just because some of them are wicked? What if there are fifty righteous (right with God) people in the city? Will you really sweep it away and not save the place for the sake of the fifty good people in it?

The Lord said, “If I find fifty righteous people in the city of Sodom, I will save the whole place for their sake.”

Then Abraham spoke up again: “What if the number of the righteous is five less than fifty? Will you destroy the whole city for lack of five people?”

“If I find forty-five there,” he said, “I will not destroy it.”

Once again Abraham spoke to Him, “What if only forty are found there?”

He said, “For the sake of forty, I will not do it.”

Then he said, “May the Lord not be angry, but let me speak. What if only thirty can be found there?”

He answered, “I will not do it if I find thirty there.”

Abraham said, “Now that I have been so bold as to speak to the Lord, what if only twenty can be found there?”

He said, “For the sake of twenty, I will not destroy it.”

Then he said, “May the Lord not be angry, but let me speak just once more. What if only ten can be found there?”

He answered, “For the sake of ten, I will not destroy it.”

When the Lord had finished speaking with Abraham, he left, and Abraham returned home.

****Abraham knew God would do what He wanted…and he knew it was a bold thing to ask God to save the city. We know we can talk to God anytime and ask Him anything…even if it seems crazy because we know NOTHING is too hard for God. But like Abraham, we must also remember God is in charge. Abraham was talking to God on behalf of the people of Sodom–he was interceding…that means to come between and negotiate…or to come between and bring peace between two people. Abraham was trying to help save the people. Can you think of anyone else in the Bible who intercedes? Someone who talks to God for US?

Jesus! Jesus talks to God for us and we can also talk to God for other people. When we pray for our friends who are sick or sad…or when we pray that they come to know Jesus that is interceding…we are coming to God FOR them, to ask God to help them, just like Abraham did for the people of Sodom and Gomorrah.****

Now let’s get back to the story….

Two angels came to Sodom in the evening, and Lot (Abraham’s nephew) was sitting in the gateway of the city. When he saw them, he got up to meet them and bowed down with his face to the ground. “My lords,” he said, “please come to my house. You can wash your feet and spend the night and then go on your way early in the morning.”

“No,” they answered, “we will spend the night in the middle of the city.”

But he insisted so strongly that they did go with him to his house. He made a meal for them and they ate. Before they had gone to bed, all the men from every part of the city of Sodom—both young and old—surrounded the house. They tried to do very bad and mean things to Lot and his family. Lot even made a bad choice and said “Don’t hurt me or my visitors! Here take my daughters instead!” Isn’t that a terrible thing to say??

But the angels saved Lot AND his daughters. God was merciful (nice even when they didn’t deserve it) to Lot and his family. He saved them because of his promise and love for  Abraham…not because they deserved to be saved. Then the angels said “Do you have anyone else here in the city who belongs to you? Any family? Get them out of here, because we are going to destroy this place. The people here are so bad that God has sent us to destroy it.”

So Lot went out and told his family, “Hurry and get out of this place, because the Lord is about to destroy the city!” But his sons-in-law thought he was joking and they didn’t go.

When the sun was about to come up, the angels urged Lot, saying, “Hurry! Take your wife and your two daughters who are here, or you will be swept away when the city is punished.”

When he hesitated, the angels took his hand and the hands of his wife and of his two daughters and led them safely out of the city. As soon as they had brought them out, one of them said, “Run for your lives! DON’T look back, and DON’T stop anywhere on the way! Flee to the mountains or you will be swept away!”

Then the Lord rained down burning sulfur on Sodom and Gomorrah. (THIS is a video of what burning sulfur in a volcano looks like). The whole city, all the people animals and plants were destroyed. But Lot’s wife didn’t obey the angels and she looked back, and she became a pillar of salt. God had told them not to look back. He wanted them to obey Him. When it says she became a pillar of salt that could mean she was covered in the ashes from the sulfur and died, or that the burning sulfur overtook her…she didn’t obey and move fast enough. When God gives us clear directions, we should always obey Him, and keep our focus on Him…not on what we are leaving behind. God’s way is ALWAYS the best way.

Early the next morning Abraham got up and returned to the place where he had stood before the Lord. He looked down at Sodom and Gomorrah, and he saw the smoke from the land, like smoke from a furnace. When God destroyed the cities, he remembered Abraham and kept him safe, and he saved Lot and his family too.

 

In this lesson we learn the importance of obeying God and putting Him first..not thinking about other things that might seem better (like Lot’s wife who was so sad about leaving she disobeyed God). We can always remember God’s way is the BEST way. We also learned about God’s favor toward Abraham and how Abraham used that favor to help others. He KNEW God and talked to Him to try to help the people of Sodom and Gomorrah. When we love God and follow Him the Bible says we become God’s children and can come to Him anytime. (Hebrews 4:16) We should always remember to come to God to intercede for others–we can pray to God for the things we need, but like Abraham, we can pray for other people too. Jesus does that for us. (Hebrews 7:25) In everything we do, we try to be more like Jesus and when we pray for other people we are bringing them before God, just like Jesus does for us.

God’s way is the best way by Veggie Tales.

(Interestingly enough, I found a slew you tube videos about prayer for kids…but not anything about praying for OTHERS. So…if anyone finds anything…please feel free to share in the comments. I may need to make up my own song for that one!)

Thanks for joining us today. Love to you all.

Don’t be anxious

~ hebidsthemcome ~ Leave a comment

Hey all. Today’s lesson is from Philippians 4.

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This is still part of Paul’s letter to the Philippians (the people of Philippi). In this part of his letter, Paul tells the people “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and petition (that means asking God), with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”

This means we don’t have to worry! If we start to worry should we cry? Or hide under our bed? Eat a lot of junk food? No…Paul says if we are worried to PRAY! We can always talk to God. We can talk to God with a thankful heart and ask Him for the things we need.

Now…can we ask God for a trip to Disney World TOMORROW??? We can ask…but He will probably say no. Sometimes God says yes, sometimes He says no, and sometimes He says wait. Just because we ask God for something doesn’t mean we’ll get it right away. But do you know what we WILL get? The Bible says He will give us peace. He will calm our minds and our hearts. If we are worried, and we talk to God, He will help us.

Maybe He will remind us of a Bible verse that says He is control. Maybe He will tell us He loves us, and we can trust Him.

No matter what you are worried about, God wants to hear it. And He wants to help you feel better.

Is there anything you are worried about today? Anything you want to talk to God about? Maybe you and your mom or dad or grandparent can pray right now and talk to God about the things that make you nervous or anxious. Then WAIT. And let God speak to your heart. Maybe He will tell your mom or dad what to say. Maybe He will remind them of a Bible verse they know. But talk to God always…He wants to give you His peace.

 

Thanks for joining us. Love to you all.

Prayer

~ hebidsthemcome ~ Leave a comment

Hello again friends.

We are continuing our lessons on the teaching of the New Testament (also referred to as “living a Godly life”). Today we’ll be talking about prayer with verses from James 4, 1 John 5, and Matthew 6.

Do you know what prayer is? Prayer is talking to God. We can talk to God anytime we want and about anything! In our house, we pray before we eat…do you do that at your house too? It’s a good time to remember to talk to God. When else do you talk to God?

God wants to hear it all. In the Bible it says if we are sad, we should tell God. If we are happy, we should sing praises to Him. If we need something, or just want to tell Him something…He is always listening and He hears us.

God is alive today and wants to hear from us. God knows everything that will happen, but the Bible also says, that He listens to us and we can motivate His heart with our prayers.

We can come to God and we don’t have to be afraid or think He’s far away. God is right here. We can hear Him talk back to us too! Sometimes through the words in the Bible…sometimes through other people and sometimes in our hearts.

Jesus even told us HOW we can pray. He said don’t pray just because you’re supposed to, or to show other people you love God…pray because you really want to. And when you pray, you should first praise God, and remember that HE is in charge. Then we can talk to Him about things we need or are thinking about and can ask Him to forgive us for any bad choices we’ve made. We can ask God to protect us and to help us follow Him.

What kinds of things would you like to thank God for? Are there ways you want to ask for help?

For our craft, we traced our praying hands. On one hand, we wrote what we are thankful for. On the other hand, we wrote some things we wanted to ask God to help us with.

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Also found these resources:

1. A “teach me to pray” hand: here

2. Free printable prayer cards from meetpenny.com: here

3. I have also seen the idea of writing prayers and praises on popsicle sticks, placing them all in a jar and then choosing a few to talk to God about at each prayer time.

Thanks for joining us today. We’ll have more soon! Love to you all!