Hezekiah prays when he is sick
key words
bible reference
2 Kings 20:1-11
lesson objective
To help the children learn that God listens to their prayers when they are sick.
memory verse
“Pray continually” (1 Thessalonians 5:17, NIV*).
prepare yourself to teach
Something that identifies us all as human beings is that on some occasion we have become sick, or we know someone who was ill. We are familiar with the pain and sadness that disease brings.
In the same way, King Hezekiah faced diseases. However, his experience was even worse because he was going to die due to his suffering. When the prophet Isaiah gave him this message from God, Hezekiah wept bitterly. He had lived a pleasing life before God. Unlike his father, he had been a man faithful to the Lord in every way.
In the midst of his pain, Hezekiah prayed to God with honesty and expressed his feelings.
God heard his prayer and had mercy on him. Before the prophet Isaiah crossed the courtyard of the royal palace, God sent him back with a different message for the king. Hezekiah would live 15 years longer and enjoy good health. God heard Hezekiah’s prayer and blessed him for his faithfulness and honesty with another sign of his great love and power.
Does this mean that God always affirmatively answers our prayers when we pray for healing? No, but it reminds us that God takes care of his children in good and bad times. Whatever our circumstance, we can approach him confidently.
adaptation
Some things that are insignificant for us can be of great importance to children. A simple cold is enough to worry them. Mention the concern they feel when they are sick or a family member or a friend is sick.
Pray that God will heal them or the people they know. Your children will see your example of prayer and learn to pray to God when they go through illness or difficult situations.
Preschoolers immediately perceive the changes around them. They know when someone they love is not in good health. Many times they feel desperate, sad or frustrated when they face disease.
In this lesson, they will learn that there is always something they can do for the sick: pray for them. Encourage your children to pray for the members of the church who are sick.
introduce the lesson
Use some of these activities to introduce the lesson.
Preschool vets
For this activity you will need dolls or toy animals.
Give each child a toy and tell them: “Imagine that we are veterinarians and these animals are so sick. What can we do to help them?” (Allow them to respond.) “There is something very important that we can do when we are sick, or when someone we love is sick. Do you know what it is?” (Pray) “The Bible teaches us that God is near us and he listens to us when we pray. This means that we can pray and trust that God will help us in times of illness.”
Prayer cards
You will need white cards, pencils or colored markers.
Write on each card the following note: This card was made especially for you by (leave space for the child’s name), who is praying for God to touch your life during this week.
Invite the children to make a card for a friend or relative who is sick. Allow time for decorating. When they finish, pray together for sick people.
A special visitor
Plan ahead and invite a doctor, nurse or other medical officer to meet with your group. Ask this person to wear medical clothing and bring a medical instrument such as a stethoscope so that the children can see it. Present your visitor by saying: “Today we have a special visitor. Our guest is _______________ (a doctor, nurse, medical officer) and has something special to show us before the Bible story.”
Ask the visitor to show the medical instrument/ stethoscope and briefly explain what it is for. Have him/ her mention that when people are sick, this is an instrument that is used to examine them. Today’s lesson is about a king who was very sick.
Prayer requests
If possible during the week, get wooden sticks, like the ones that are used by doctors. With a permanent marker write on them: “I can talk to God when I am sick.” Then hide them in the room.
Gather your children, show them a wooden stick and ask them: “Have you ever gone to the doctor? What do doctors use this for?” (Allow them to respond.) Say: “Doctors use them to keep the patient’s tongue down and get a good look at their throat. I have hidden some sticks with a special message for each one of you. While I count from 1 to 25, you must find them.” When all the sticks are found, have the children return to their seats to hear the Bible story.
teach the lesson
Use this activity to help you teach the biblical truth behind this Bible lesson.
A king prays
Hezekiah was a king who loved God and tried to do everything correctly. One day, Hezekiah became very sick and could not get out of bed. Every day his health got worse. Isaiah, a prophet of God, went to visit him. Prophets gave messages from God to the people.
Isaiah said to him, “Hezekiah, God has sent me to tell you that because of this disease, you will soon die.” This made the king very sad.
After the prophet Isaiah left, King Hezekiah prayed to God for help, He cried out, “Please, God, heal me! You know that I love you and that I’ve tried to do the right things all my life.”
Before Isaiah left the palace, God spoke to him and told him to return to see the king. “Tell Hezekiah that I have heard his prayer and I will heal him. In three days he must go to the temple to worship me.” Isaiah returned to give him the good news. “God is going to heal you!” he said, “and in three days you must go to the temple to worship him.”
God heard the prayer of King Hezekiah and healed him completely. You can also pray and trust that God will hear your prayer when you are sick.
connect the lesson
Who helped Hezekiah?
Hand out Student Activity Sheet #72-A and #72-B plus pencils. Allow time for the children to write their names and trace the word of faith from this unit. Point to the two figures of King Hezekiah and allow them to color them. As they do so, review what they studied in the Bible story.
Turn to Student Activity Sheet #72-B and hand out colored pencils/ markers so the children can color the marked boxes and find the hidden words.
Encourage the children to take their activity sheets home as a reminder of the Bible story as they share the lesson with their families and friends.
practice the memory verse
Surely most of your children already know the memory verse. Review it briefly and pay special attention to those who have difficulties learning it. To help them, print the text on paper and give it to their parents so they can study with their child during the week.
wrap-up
Pray
Intercede for the group’s prayer requests. Say goodbye by singing a song that talks about prayer.
Encourage
Encourage the children to pray for sick people during the week and to put into practice what they learned, also for when they themselves become ill.
Invite
Say something interesting about the next session so the group will want to attend. If some of your children are absent due to illness, we suggest that you visit and tell them this Bible story. Be sure to pray with them too.
* 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.™