Ask, Then Act

Bible Reading: Nehemiah 4:6-15

“Guess what? After class today, Logan trusted Jesus as his Savior!” Rayden excitedly told his family on the way home from church.

“That’s great!” Dad exclaimed.

“Wonderful!” added Mom enthusiastically. “Your prayers have been answered.”

But Rayden’s sister Esme frowned. “Why doesn’t God answer my prayers too?” she asked. “I pray for my friend Nisha, but I’m not sure it does any good.”

“Don’t be discouraged,” said Dad. “Sometimes it takes a long time for a person to come to Christ.”

“Yeah. I talked to Logan about my faith and answered questions he had about Jesus for more than a year before he wanted to come to church to learn more,” Rayden reminded her.

Mom turned to Esme. “What kind of response do you get from Nisha when you talk to her about Jesus?” she asked.

“I don’t know. I…I haven’t really said much to her about Him,” Esme admitted.

“Have you invited her to church or your Wednesday night Bible club?” Dad asked.

“Well, no,” said Esme. “But I let her know I go. And I pray for her all the time!”

“Praying for her is very important,” said Dad. “God is the only one who can change people’s hearts, after all, not us. But He often uses us to help people learn about Jesus and bring them to Him. That means we need to be ready to do our part in helping someone know Jesus.”

“That’s right,” said Mom. “Remember the Bible story of Nehemiah and the people of Israel building a wall around Jerusalem? When they heard their enemies were coming, they prayed—but they didn’t just pray. They also prepared to fight. It’s important to pray for Nisha, but there may be something else the Lord wants you to do in addition to praying.”

Esme was silent for a while. When they arrived home, she jumped out of the car. “I want to text Nisha and invite her to come to Bible club on Wednesday. We’re having a game night, and I think it would help me talk to her about Jesus.”

Dad nodded. “Let’s pray that Nisha will come—not only to church, but also to know Jesus as her Savior.”

-Hazel W. Marett

How About You?

Are you praying for something—for someone’s salvation, for money you need, or for better grades? Jesus tells us to bring all our concerns to Him, so keep praying! But also be ready to do something He wants you to do in that situation, such as talking to somebody about Jesus, mowing a lawn, or studying hard. Pray, and then be ready to act as you trust Him to answer your prayer.

Today’s Key Verse:
Nehemiah 4:9 We prayed to our God. And we put guards on the walls to watch day and night so that we could be ready to meet them. (ERV)

Today’s Key Thought:

Pray and be ready to act