Saturday, November 14, 2009

A Banana Seat Bike Prayer

I can't remember if I've told you or not, but on Fridays, I volunteer in Carson's class to give the Science Devotion. What is this you ask??? Well, Carson's teacher uses Friday devotion time to highlight Science experiments as object lessons in faith.

I've been doing them for a little over a month. I usually try to tie the week's memory verse or Bible story to the lesson. This week Matthew 7:7&8. "Ask and it will be given to you, seek and you will find, knock and the door will be opened to you".

Prayer became the focus and I used a pre-planned lesson from a book with an experiment that used soda water & salt to fizz up and over the top as we "bubble up" with prayer to God. Before the experiment though, I talked with the kids about prayer and we looked up additional scripture. I had planned what I was going to share, but as I was sharing, I found myself compelled to tell about my first tangible memory of answered prayer.

I'd like to say that it was a memory of a healed family member or a resolved personal problem, but no it was nothing like that. I told them how my Dad was going to the bike shop to buy an inner tube to fix my sister's bike. I tagged along and on the way began to pray that I would get a bike myself. The ride there in my Dad's old white pick up truck was not a long one around 12 blocks or so.

We went in to get the inner tube and there on the show room floor was a collection of used bikes for sale. A yellow bike with a pink daisy covered white banana seat caught my eye. Oh that was the bike I had prayed for, I just knew it. My parents did not have extra money. It was not my birthday or any special day and my parents did not spend money on a whim. Despite all that, I left the shop that day with the bike for which I had prayed.

Now, I was quick to point out that God is not a giant wish machine (like on Webkinz Carson added). I know that God does know the desires of our heart and He does delight in answering our prayers. After many disclaimers that God does not take special orders for Wii games and the like, I went on to tell them about the power that God has in answering our prayers. His power is what bubbles up like our soda water and salt. Without Him, we are nothing like what we can be with His power.

God's power is evident as we see the world around us. As we see changes in ourselves and in the people around us. I've said it before and I'll say it again, God's Word tells in in Isaiah 59:1, "His arm is not too short to save, nor His ear to dull to hear". What is your prayer today? You may not get the "bike" that you've prayed for, but you will see an answer to the needs you lift to Him. His timing is perfect and so is His will.