Pray Lots
Posted by: Buffalo Dream Center
Topic: How To Be Popular With God
Verse: The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective. James 5:16
Props:
an angel food cake baked without the baking powder
the recipe
a knife
cardboard
telephone
heavy book
tape or stapler
seeds
Instructions:
Discussion:
Introduction
-There is an old saying “If I knew you were coming I’d baked a cake.”
-We knew you were coming today so we baked a cake. (Act all excited about the cake you baked.)
-I baked an angel food cake-it is so light and fluffy.
-Try to take it out of the pan. (The cake is hard and little)
-“Something bad has happened. My cake didn’t turn out!”
-Go over the directions to see if you added all the right ingredients.
-You realize that you left out baking powder. But it is only a teaspoon of baking powder-who would ever miss that ingredient?
-Ask an audience expert if the baking powder is and important ingredient.
-Prayer is just like the baking powder in a cake.
-Many Christians think prayer is insignificant.
-The Bible says, “The prayer of a righteous man (a Christian) is powerful and effective.”
-Does this mean our prayers are important?
-Is prayer and important ingredient to being a Christian?
How does prayer Work?
-Some people have a really hard time with prayer.
-Some people don’t know what to say.
-It is really easy to talk to God.
-Who has ever talked on the telephone?
-When you talk on the phone you can’t see the person on the other line, but you can have a great talk with them.
Story about how prayer works.
-When I was old enough to leave home, my mom told me that if I ever needed anything to give her a call on the phone. That was nice to know (pretend to make a call). No matter what kind of trouble I was in, I could count on my mom to be there for me. I needed that assurance especially when I first left home.
-I knew that if I ever had a question, all I had to do was pick up the phone and call my parents. I knew they could answer my questions. (Pretend to make a call)
-It wasn’t easy to make the first call when I got into a little trouble. But I did call my parents and they we able to help me.
-God is just like a parent in this regard. He says in the Bible that if you ever need help just ask Him. He will be there to help us. But we have to call Him. We have to ask Him to help us. What would have happened if I had not called my parents? If I hadn’t made the call, I would not have gotten the help, right?
-God is always there for us, but I believe that, even though God can help us and wants to helps us, many people don’t get the help they need because they don’t ask. God never leaves us. He promises to always be there for us. Just call on Him.
How to activate God’s Power.
-Let’s do a science experiment.
-Give a volunteer a heavy book and a flat piece of cardboard. Tell them to use the flat piece of cardboard to hold the book up.
-It is impossible because the book is too heavy. This flat piece of cardboard is not powerful enough to hold up the book on its own.
-Our prayers are not powerful to change situations when all we do is talk to God about all our problems.
-Now I am going to take the same piece of cardboard and make it into a cylinder, and tape it.
-Give another volunteer the cylinder and the same heavy book. Have the volunteer try to hold the book up now.
-The piece of cardboard was reinforced and now it is strong enough to hold up the book.
-When we reinforce our prayers with God’s Word especially His promises our prayers become powerful and effective.
Conclusion:
The Bible says that when you have faith in God as small as a mustard seed.
-(Hold up a seed) then nothing will be impossible for you.
-The Bible also says that whatever we ask for according to God’s Will (God’s Word), that God hears us, and gives it to us. (1 John5: 14-15)
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