Listen up, little ones
Listen for the words body and risen.
Reading
John 11:21-44—Father, I Thank You that You Heard Me
Optional Reading
Psalm 4:1-8
Keys for kids
- David asks God in Psalm 4 to hear his prayer.
- Jesus prays, knowing God hears His prayers.
- We can also pray, confident that God hears our prayer.
Questions
- How could David dare to demand that God hears his prayer?
- How could Jesus know that God hears His prayer?
- What can hinder our prayers?
Notes
(See Saturday for authors. )
In Psalm 4, David asks, even demands, that God listen to him and hear his prayer. In our reading, as Jesus prepares to raise Lazarus from the dead, He calls out to His Father in confidence that God listens to Him. Jesus was always praying. His Father was always hearing.
Kruse points out that on this occasion Jesus’ prayer was not for his own benefit, but for the benefit of those standing around him. His public prayer was to make it clear that what he was about to do was connected with his commission from God. All this was to make it easier for the people, his disciples, Mary, Martha and ‘the Jews’, to believe that he had been sent by God.
Are you always praying? Your Father is always listening. You can ask Him to hear your prayer. Though sin can hinder our prayers (see Ps 66:18, Ps 80:4, 1 Pet 3:7), we know that prayer offered in obedience, in faith, and in Jesus’s name will always be heard and answered. Do we always know how God will answer? Of course not. But Our Father invites our prayer and hears our prayer.
Swedish Method questions
Praise
Psalm 4b, 65c
Prayer
- Thank your Father in heaven that He hears your prayer.
- Pray for change in you from last Lord’s Day’s sermons.
- Pray for a member of our church, for your family, and for a non-Christian friend/family member.