No Joke

Bible Reading: James 5:16-18

“I wish I had a hundred dollars to put in the offering tomorrow!” Emma told her mom. “The missionaries in Guatemala really need it.”

“If you’ll clean the cupboards for me this afternoon, I’ll pay you—not a hundred dollars, but a little,” said Mom. “Have you prayed about the money you’d like to give?”

“Prayed for a hundred dollars?” asked Emma. “No.”

“You should,” Mom said. “Trust God to answer with whatever amount He wants you to give.”

Emma was cleaning the cupboards when her friend Violet came over. “I can play as soon as I finish cleaning this cupboard,” Emma told Violet. She sat down and looked at the cupboard. “I wish I was done.”

“Well, I’ll help you,” said Violet. “That’ll do more good than wishing.”

“I know.” Emma stood up. “I’m always wishing for things, and Mom keeps telling me that wishing doesn’t help. Praying and working does. So guess what I’m praying for now? A hundred dollars for the missionary offering!” She got down on her hands and knees to pull out something that was stuck in a corner of the cabinet. “Look,” she said, holding up an old penny. “This must be the start of the answer to my prayers!” The girls laughed at the joke.

The next morning, the only offering Emma had was the old penny and the money Mom had paid her. All together it was far from a hundred dollars. “Well, you’re giving all you can,” Mom told her. “Jesus doesn’t expect any more than that.”

That afternoon Violet came over. “My dad helped count the offering this morning,” she told Emma excitedly, “and he noticed that old penny. He collects coins, and he says it’s valuable—he said it might be worth over a hundred dollars! When I told Dad you were the one who gave it, he said I should tell you and give you a chance to take it back.” She stopped to catch her breath. “So? Do you want it back?”

Emma stared at her in amazement. “Of course I don’t want it back! I’m giving it to the missionary offering, whatever it’s worth.” She grinned. “I prayed and worked for money to give, and Jesus used the work I did to answer my prayer in a way I never expected!” – Agnes Livezey

How About You?

Are there things you wish were different? It doesn’t help to just wish for things. When you stop wishing and start praying and working for what you want, things happen. God works wonders when His people pray and work. Whether He answers your prayer the way you ask Him to or not, know that He will use your prayers and your work for good.

Today’s Key Verse: James 5:16 The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective. (NIV)

Today’s Key Thought:

Pray and work