Awards & Answered Prayers

“Matt,” said Justin, “we’ve been waiting for you.”

Justin and Jessie were standing outside of their kids’ club room waiting for Matt to come out.

“Oh, hi, guys,” said Matt. “Guess what! I prayed to trust Jesus as my Savior.”

“That’s wonderful, Matt!” Jessie exclaimed. “I’ve been praying that God would help you believe and trust in him.”

“Thanks,” Matt replied. “But now I have to tell my mom.”

“Do you think she’ll be mad?” asked Justin. He knew Matt’s mom didn’t believe in God.

“I don’t think so. She knew I was learning about Jesus here at church.”

“Hey, why don’t we all pray that Matt’s mom will come to church and hear about Jesus, too,” Justin suggested.

“That’s a great idea!” Jessie agreed. “Oh, and let’s pray for your brother, Craig, too.”

“I don’t know.” said Matt.

“Just ask God and trust him to work things out,” Justin assured him.

As the days went by, Matt, Justin, and Jessie each continued to pray that Matt’s mom and brother would come to church.

“I think I messed up yesterday,” Matt told his friends.

“What happened?” asked Justin.

“I bowed my head and closed my eyes to pray before I ate my dinner.”

“Why is that a bad thing?” Jessie asked.

“Well, Craig laughed, and my mom got mad at him. I think I ruined everything.”

Justin thought about this. “Maybe you should ask your mom if it’s okay for you to pray at dinner. Ask God to help you. It’ll be all right.”

That night at dinner, Matt asked, “Mom, is it okay with you if I pray before we eat?”

Craig laughed. “What for, Matt? Mom’s the one who made dinner. What does God have to do with it?”

“Yes, Matt,” Mom asked. “Why do you want to pray?”

Matt cleared his throat then replied, “Well, umm, my teacher at church says we should tell God thank you for our food ’cause he’s the one who gives moms and dads jobs so they can buy it.”

Mom listened then said, “That makes sense, Matt. Go ahead and pray.”

The next day, Justin, Jessie, and Matt got together again.

“I don’t know,” Matt said. “Mom did let me start praying at dinner, but I don’t think she’ll ever come to church.”

“Just remember, Matt, God is in control over everything and everyone,” Justin replied.

“Sometimes,” Jessie explained, “we have to wait awhile. But God doesn’t want us to give up praying to him.”

Matt nodded as he bowed his head to pray once again.

The next Sunday morning, Matt got ready for church.

“I’m going to Justin’s now!” he said as he ran out the door to get a ride with Justin’s family.

“Matt, wait!” His mom rushed out of her room. But it was too late, Matt had gone. “Oh dear,” she said as she rushed around getting dressed. “Craig!” she called running down the hallway and opening her son’s bedroom door. “Get up and get dressed. We need to go right away!”

“Huh?” Craig answered sleepily. “Where we goin’?”

“Today is your great-grandmother’s 90th birthday. We have to drive to the party. But the only way we can get there on time is to pick Matt up from church.”

Mom opened the blinds, letting sunlight stream into the room.

“Ah, that’s bright!” Craig pulled a blanket over his head. “You mean, we’re going to church?” he mumbled.

“Yes. We’ll pick up Matt then head to the birthday party. So, get dressed quickly.”

Craig rolled over—and to his surprise—he rolled right off the edge of the bed. “Whaa!” Ka-thunk!

A little while later at the church, all the kids were seated in the main room along with their parents. Today was a special day. The children would receive awards for saying their memory verses. Justin and Jessie sat in the front row with Matt and the other kids.

“I wish my mom were here to see me get my award,” said Matt.

“Well, we’ve been praying they would come. Maybe today is the day,” said Jessie encouragingly.

Matt squirmed in his seat and stretched. Then he saw something that made him stop and stare.

“Mom?”

Justin and Jessie turned to look.

“Wow!” they exclaimed together.

Matt jumped up and ran to his mother and brother as they walked down the aisle toward him.

“Mom! You came to church! I can’t believe it!”

“Matt, we just came to pick you up so we can go to great-grandma’s birthday party,” Mom explained.

“But you’re here. You’re really here!” Matt excitedly pulled his mom’s hand until she finally gave in and sat down by her son.

“I thought we were gonna pick him up and go,” whined Craig.

Just then everyone quieted down, and the pastor began to speak.

“Shh,” Mom hissed. “Just sit down, Craig. We’ll leave when they’re done.”

Matt sat up proudly beside his mom and brother. Soon, he was called up front to receive his award.

“Our friend Matt is new here,” the pastor explained. “But he has put his trust in Jesus to save him from his sins. Since then, he’s been working very hard memorizing God’s Word and learning to obey and to pray. Well done, Matt.”

He shook Matt’s hand and gave him his award while everyone clapped. Matt looked at his mom, who smiled and clapped proudly as he returned to his seat. Matt squeezed her hand.

“Thanks for coming, Mom,” he whispered. “God really did answer my prayer.”

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