I recently spent time with my niece, an adorable toddler who loves to talk. Although limited today by a vocabulary of less than a dozen words, she somehow mastered the word "why" relatively early. Maybe she figured out that when she uses that word, big people stop what they're doing and talk with her.

Especially Uncle Dave (me).

After a kid's cuteness fades, however, many adults feel frustrated with all those questions and neglect to stop what they're doing to offer answers. Yes, this can even happen in children's ministry. No volunteer, leader, or teacher is immune from this feeling.

Especially me.

While leading a third-grade boys small group discussion one Sunday morning, I saw that we had only a minute left and said, "Guys, let's pray before your parents come from big church." The lesson plan specifically called for a prayer, and our group had finished every other activity for the day.

Before I started the prayer, one boy asked, "Mr. Dave, how can God hear all the groups pray if everyone ...

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