In an effort to teach my Pioneer Clubs members the importance of prayer, and to give them lots of opportunities to express their concerns to God, we begin our weekly club meetings by taking prayer requests. I jot down the requests on an index card, and we pray for each item. The next week, before we take new requests, we review the previous week’s list and get an update on how God has answered.
The kids are eager to share their needs and concerns. We’ve prayed for family members who are sick, tests at school, parents under a lot of stress, and even lost pets.
One week Luke came to club wearing his sports glasses. He told us he lost his regular glasses on the school playground, and he’d like us to pray that they would be found. He even added that he’d like them found in one piece because broken glasses would cost his parents money to repair.
Now, I can attest to God’s faithfulness in answering prayer. I also know that God doesn’t always answer the way I want him to. Since the glasses had been lost a week ago and on a playground, I had pretty strong doubts that they would be found at all, never mind in one piece. But I jotted down Luke’s request, and we prayed that God would help him find his glasses.
For the next several weeks we checked with Luke to see if his glasses had been found, but we could tell by looking at him that they hadn’t. So we continued to pray that God would help someone find the glasses—all in one piece. I still wondered how God would be able to deliver on this request.
Then Luke was late getting to club one week, but his friends couldn’t wait to tell us that Luke found his glasses. The boys shouted this good news in unison, giving the rest of us all the details. When Luke arrived, he was wearing his regular glasses. He told us that someone found them on the playground, and they were not even broken. No one was more surprised than I to hear the news. When we prayed for the lost glasses, I didn’t really expect a positive answer.
All of my club members were very excited to hear Luke’s story. They cheered when Luke told them it was a miracle and an answer to our prayers. But for me, the miracle went beyond finding the glasses. The true miracle was seeing how God chose to reveal himself to a group of third and fourth graders who sincerely made their requests known. I was moved by the kids’ enthusiasm for answered prayer. I think God must have smiled when they cheered.
I’ve been a Christian for a long time. Prayed a lot of prayers. Seen God answer prayers in significant ways. But the miracle of the lost and found glasses will stay with me forever. What a faithful God we worship. How refreshing to know that God delights in the details of our lives, no matter how small they may seem. How wonderful to experience a firsthand miracle with the kids in my club.
The children in Pioneer Clubs are learning to trust God with their everyday concerns. They are learning how to put Christ in every aspect of their lives. We are all learning about God’s gracious love for us, and we are working at living our lives so he would be pleased and glorified.
I’m sure you have a miracle prayer request story or two in your walk with the Lord. Today, reflect on Luke’s lost glasses and one or two of your own answered prayers. May they cause you to stop and reflect on God’s glory and goodness.
Judy Bryson is president/CEO of Pioneer Clubs®—a church-sponsored midweek ministry for children, ages two through middle school. Pioneer Clubs is a relational ministry that helps children come to faith in Christ and learn how to live daily by his Word. The ministry slogan, “Christ in every aspect of life,” is the foundation for all that is done in club.
