What Are Miracles?
Write out each of the following “assignments” on a piece of paper and give one to each child.
Make it rain.
Create snow.
Make a sick person well.
Make a plant bloom.
Create a sun.
After they have read it and complain that they can’t do the assignments, talk about miracles.
Why couldn’t you do the task I assigned you? (No one could; It’s too hard; It’s impossible; etc.)
It would require a miracle to do these. What is a miracle? (A miracle is something powerful only Jesus (God) can do.)
I could draw rain on a piece of paper, but I cannot make it rain. Only Jesus can. I can help a sick person by sending a “get well” card or taking them food, but I cannot heal them. Only Jesus can. A miracle is something only Jesus can do. Jesus fed over 5000 people with a small lunch from a little boy. We can help other people with God’s help, but we cannot do the things God does with His power. A miracle is something only God can do.
Too Much to Handle
Read or tell the following story to your kids:
Jake’s dad announced at breakfast, “The lot where we are going to build our house is filled with rocks. Jake, I want you to clear the yard of rocks.”
Jake was excited about their new house, so he got the wheelbarrow and began picking up the big rocks and carting them to the woods nearby. He worked hard because he wanted to help out and please his dad. But Jake soon realized that some of the rocks were just too big for him to move. He pushed and shoved, but they just wouldn’t budge. Finally, Jake went back to his dad and said, “Dad, I tried to move the rocks, but I just can’t do it.”
“Have you done all you can?” his dad asked.
“I have. I’ve pushed and pulled and just can’t do it.” Jake admitted.
“Jake, I appreciate what you’ve done. But you haven’t done all you can to move the rocks,” his dad said.
“I don’t understand,” Jake added.
“You haven’t asked me to help you,” Jake’s dad explained. “I will help you move the rocks you can’t move by yourself. All you need to do is ask me.”
Do you ever feel like you have to do things by yourself?
Do you ever feel like some things are too big for you to handle?
What can you do?
Jesus’ disciples needed help in providing food for all the people listening to Jesus’ teaching. They had a lunch of five loaves and two fish. Jesus had the power to do turn a young boy’s small lunch into lunch for over 5000 people, and they even had 12 baskets of food leftover! Jesus helped the disciples. No one else could have done what Jesus did. We can ask Jesus to do things that we cannot do ourselves—things that are too big for us to handle. Jesus can do miracles.
Our Deepest Needs
As you put your child to bed, ask:
Does God still do miracles today? Why or why not?
What did Jesus’ disciples bring him when the people He was teaching were hungry? (a young boy’s lunch; five loaves and two fish)What did Jesus do with the lunch? (Jesus turned a lunch of five loaves and two fish into enough food to feed over 5000 people.)
Will God do a miracle when we tell Him our needs? (He might!)
Read Jeremiah 33:3. What does God promise? (He will do great and mighty things if we call out to Him.)
Even though God is not a magic genie waiting to answer our requests, He is a loving Father who wants to help us. We can tell Him our deepest needs and wait for Him to answer. (Sometimes He does say no or wait, but many times He says yes.)
Pray together and encourage your children to tell their deepest needs to God.