God Listens When I Pray

Host

Welcome to the Train Station, Jr. Conductors!

Co-Host

(Whispering) I’m glad that you’re here, too.

Host

Did you hear our friend? Was he/she speaking loudly or softly? (Pause) Yes, he/she whispered. Let’s put our hands by our ears to help us hear him/her.

Co-Host

(Whispering) Are you ready for a fun day?

Host

Did you hear that? Let’s play a fun game! Our friend will whisper some silly sentences. Let’s see if you can guess what he/she says.

Co-Host

That was fun. Do you think God could hear us if we whispered?

Host

I have good news. Today we will discover the answer to that question. Let’s get ready to visit our friends at the station. Let's hear a loud, “Choo-choo!”

Co-Host

I’m sorry that Mia isn’t feeling well. What do you like to do when you feel sick? (Allow for answers) I like to sleep.

Host

The worst part is that Mia thinks God isn’t listening to her prayers. Do you think that is true? No, our Big Point tells us the truth. Let’s stand and practice what the Big Point says,

Host

God Listens When I Pray!

Co-Host

The Big Point says that God does listen. What if we told God lots of things that happened in our day? Could God listen to all of those things?

Host

I have an idea. Let’s see how well the Jr. Conductors can listen to a story about Conductor Carl.

Co-Host

But what about the pictures that go along with the story?

Host

That’s the game. You have to listen closely without seeing any pictures.

Host

One day Conductor Carl was sitting in his office when the phone rang. Ring! Ring! Conductor Carl answered, “Hello.” It was Conductor Gordon. His train was stuck. A big herd of cows were on top of the Train Tracks, and they wouldn’t move! Conductor Carl asked what they were doing there. “Just mooing,” Conductor Gordon replied. Conductor Carl scratched his head and thought about what to do. He could try pushing the cows, but they are really heavy. He could tell them that they needed to move, but Conductor Carl doesn’t speak cow. That’s when he had an idea. Maybe the cows were hungry! Conductor Carl drove to a nearby farm and found Farmer Faith. He asked her if cows liked turkey sandwiches. Farmer Faith explained that her cows mostly eat hay. Conductor Carl asked if he could have some hay to help Conductor Gordon. Farmer Faith smiled, and said, “Sure!” Conductor Carl arrived with a truck full of hay. As soon as he backed up to the tracks, the cows started following him. He led them all to a safe place, and Conductor Gordon was able to finish his trip.

Host

• What blocked the train? Cows

• Who helped Conductor Gordon? Conductor Carl

• What were cows doing? Blocking the train / Standing in the tracks

• How did Conductor Carl get them to move? He brought what they like to eat, hay

Co-Host

The Jr. Conductors remembered lots of things about that story.

Host

If they can listen that well, then just think of how well God can listen to us. He can hear and remember everything that we say when we pray. God will never forget anything or forget that you prayed. He listens to us. Let’s share that good news with Mia.

Co-Host

Those goggles look like fun. Did you enjoy seeing some cool things from outer space?

Host

I did, too. Thankfully Professor Beaker helped Mia understand the Big Point. Let’s practice singing the Big Point again,

Host

God Listens When I Pray!

Co-Host

Professor Beaker shared a helpful verse from the Bible.

Co-Host

1 John 5:15 (NIrV) says, “If we ask anything in keeping with what He wants, He hears us.”

Host

If we pray for the same things that God wants, then we can be sure that our prayer will be answered with a “Yes.”

Co-Host

But what if we ask God to do something that we want really badly, but it’s not what He wants to do? Do you think that God would answer with a “Yes?”

Host

Let’s think about asking for things from our mommies and daddies. I’m going to show you some pictures of things that kids might want and ask you if you think your mommy or daddy would say, “Yes” or “No.”

Co-Host

If you think it’s “Yes,” then hold your arms high and shout, “Yes.” If you think your parents would say, “No” then say, “No” with a deep voice and shake your head back and forth.

Co-Host

Your mommy and daddy probably won’t say, “Yes” when you ask to do things that aren’t good for you. But, if it’s something that will help you, then they might.

Host

God has a good plan for us, one that will help us. He doesn’t want to say, “Yes” to anything that might not be good for us. Sometimes God will answer, “No.” That’s okay, because we know that He always does what’s best.

Co-Host

I think this would be a good time to stand and sing to God.

Let’s take a moment to tell God “Thank You” for always listening. Let’s bow our heads and close our eyes. You can pray quietly at your seat. (Pause) Now I’ll pray for us, too. Dear God, thank You for always listening when we pray. We are glad that You help us make good choices. Help us to always listen to You, too! Amen.

Co-Host

I’m so glad that Mia feels better.

Host

God wasn’t ignoring her. God loves to heal us! Let’s all practice our Big Point again,

Host

God Listens When I Pray!

Co-Host

Jesus didn’t ignore Mary and Martha when Lazarus was sick. Jesus waited for the right time to do a big miracle. Lazarus was dead, but he came back to life.

Host

You can tell your family about what you learned about Lazarus when you do the Big Do this week.

Host

Have everyone in your family share about a time when God answered a prayer.

Co-Host

I think that we should play a fun game to remember the Big Story. When Lazarus came out of the tomb, he was wrapped in strips of cloth. In this game, we’re going to have an engineer (Adult or teen volunteer) and two Jr. Conductors wrap another Jr. Conductor with toilet paper as fast as they can.

Host

We have two teams playing. Let’s cheer for them and see which team can wrap their kid up and then unwrap him or her the fastest.

Co-Host

Everyone did a great job!

Host

Let’s say our Big Point once more,

Host

God Listens When I Pray!

• Did our Big Point say God Doesn’t Listen or God Listens When I Pray?

• What do you sound like when you feel sick? Can you pretend your tummy hurts? Let’s pretend to blow our noses really loud. Now do a tiny sneeze. Who was sick at the Train Station? Mia Did God listen to her prayer? Yes Who did God use to help her? Engineer Courtney

• I’m going to make the sound of an animal. See if you can guess which animal I’m pretending to be. (Play the game) 1 John 5:15 (NIrV), “If we ask anything in keeping with what He wants, He (doesn’t hear / hears) us.” Does God hear your prayers? Yes

• Show me what you look like when you feel sad. (Pause) Who felt sad in our Big Story? Mary and Martha Why were they sad? Their brother died What did Jesus do when He visited Lazarus’ tomb? He prayed What happened? Lazarus came back to life

• What did Conductor Carl tell us to do in the Big Do? Have everyone in your family share about a time when God answered a prayer.