Do not give up! Keep trusting
key words
biblical reference
Luke 18:1-8
lesson objective
To help the children discover that God answers our prayers when we trust him
memory verse
“He answered, ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind’; and, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself’” (Luke 10:27, NIV*).
prepare yourself to teach
Many children the age of your group are often accustomed to getting what they want and getting it quickly. Children who attend church know what prayer is. However, they may have some doubts about the reasons for which we pray; also, they may have misconceptions about how God answers our prayers.
This lesson will help them discover what Jesus meant when he taught us to pray without giving up. They will understand that God delights in answering prayer; and we can always trust that he wants the best for us.
introduce the lesson
Activity: Our requests
Give your group Student Activity Sheet #289-A entitled “Our Requests.” Ask them, “What kind of prayer do people pray in which they may not get the answer they want?” Have them write an example of this kind of prayer on the hand.
Then ask them, “When a person prays for something good, why do you think that sometimes God does not answer ‘Yes’ to their prayer?” Discuss this with your group and explain that God always answers our prayers, but not always, as we want Him to. He can answer with “Yes”, “No”, or “wait.”
teach the lesson
Start with the following Questions and Answers:
1. Does anyone know what the inside of a courtroom is like? (Wait for answers.)
2. Have you seen a lawyer or judge on TV? (Opportunity to respond)
3. What does a judge do? (Decides what is right according to the law.)
4. What is another synonym for the word “justice”? (Equality, right, fairness, etc.)
Judges have to hear both sides of a problem so they can make a fair decision. In this story, the widow has a problem with someone she calls her adversary. Who is an “adversary”? (Someone who fights against one or more enemies.)
Prior to the session ask children to be ready to act out the story. Help them pronounce the difficult words and ask them to try to feel like they are their characters. You will need the following actors: two narrators, a judge and a girl to play the role of the widow.
Narrator 1: One day Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up. He started by saying, “In a certain town there was a judge who neither feared God nor cared what people thought. And there was a widow in that town who kept coming to him with a plea.”
Judge: Next case! Oh no! You again! How many times have you come here? What do you want now?
Widow: I am here today for the same reason I came last time. “Grant me justice against my adversary!” Please resolve this conflict so that I can live in peace.
Judge: I am still thinking. Now go. Leave me alone.
Narrator 2: The woman left sadly. But she soon returned.
Judge: The next case. Oh no! You again. Do not tell me. Let me guess why you are here.
Widow: “Grant me justice against my adversary!”
Narrator 1: For many days that followed, the widow returned to the judge.
Judge: What? You? Again?
Widow: “Grant me justice against my adversary!”
Narrator 2: For some time, the judge refused to do what the widow asked. But after a while, he said:
Judge: “Even though I do not fear God or care what people think, yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I’ll see that she gets justice.”
Narrator 1: It was not long until the widow returned to see the judge again.
Widow: “Grant me justice against my adversary!
Judge: “All right, you win! You will receive justice. Now leave me alone!”
Narrator 1: Then Jesus said to his disciples, “Listen to what the unjust judge says. And wo not God bring about justice for his chosen ones, who cry out to him day and night? Will he keep putting them off? I tell you, he will see that they get justice, and quickly.”
activities
CONNECT THE LESSON
Judge the judge
Give your group Student Activity Sheet #289-B and #289-C. Guide the group’s attention to the “Judge the Judge” activity. Rate the judge from the Bible story in each of the following categories. Draw an X on the line to show how he rates in each category.
1. Did the judge know the facts of the case? (A little knowledge/ a fair amount of knowledge/ full knowledge)
2. Did the judge show signs of care and concern for the widow? (No concern/ a little concern/ a lot of concern)
3. Was he a fair judge? (Not at all fair/ somewhat fair/ very fair)
What did you learn?
Give your group Student Activity Sheet #289-D titled “What Did You Learn” and then ask:
“What have you learned from the parable Jesus told about the unjust judge?”
Discuss the answers that are printed in the speech bubbles of the children on the activity sheet.
The Bible teaches that God listens to us no matter how many times we go to him.
We can trust that God is fair and does the right thing.
We cannot manipulate God to give us what we want.
If even an unjust judge does good when we are persistent in asking, we do not have to worry about whether God will do good.
We can trust that God will do the right thing, even if at times it seems that he does not answer our prayers the way we thought he would.
practice the memory verse
Write the memory verse on a piece of poster board:
“He answered, ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with your entire mind’; and, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ ”
Now, draw or find pictures that represent the main words in the verse. Then for example for the words, “He answered”- place a picture of Jesus above the phrase.
You can place hearts above the word “love” and the word “heart”. Place a child showing his muscles above “strength” and place a picture of children from different countries to make sure you can distinguish the difference for the word “neighbor”, etc. Each time place the picture above the word it represents.
Have your children repeat the verse. Then cover the written words with paper, or if you can, remove or erase the words, one at a time until only the pictures are left and the children can say the verse with the pictures only.
wrap-up
Pray
Ask the group to tell their prayer needs. Conclude this time with a prayer. Also let some of your students present their requests, believing that God will answer them.
Encourage
Thank your students for their attendance and encourage them not to forget what they learned.
Invite
Announce something about the next lesson to increase the group’s interest and encourage them to welcome others to the group.
* Scripture quotations marked (NIV) are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.com The “NIV” and “New International Version” are trademarks registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by Biblica, Inc.™