Goal! A Prayer Answered
Samantha was having a rough morning. It was the first day of summer soccer camp, and she couldn’t find her favorite soccer ball anywhere. She checked under the couch, behind the garage door, even in the laundry basket. “Mom, have you seen my ball?” she asked, nearly in tears.
Her mom shook her head. “No, sweetie. Didn’t you leave it in the car when I picked you up from your friend’s house the other day?”
“I already checked!” Samantha groaned. “This is my new soccer ball, it looks so cool. Everyone else will have theirs, and I won’t!”
Just then, Samantha’s little brother, Max, said softly, “Did you try asking God for help?”
Samantha blinked. “Ask God? For a soccer ball?”
“Jesus said we can pray about anything,” Max replied. “He even taught us how. Remember at church? ‘Our Father who art in Heaven…’”
Samantha thought about it. The pastor had told them that Jesus said to ask, seek, and knock—and God would answer in a special way. So, Samantha took a deep breath, closed her eyes, and whispered, “God, I really need my soccer ball. Please help me find it.”
She opened her eyes and glanced around. That’s when she spotted the bluejay fly from the porch chair on the back deck. She ran onto the deck, and there it was, in the yard, but on the side of the house!
“I found it!” Samantha cheered. She turned to Max with a big smile. “God heard me. Thanks for reminding me to pray.”
That evening, as the sun set and Samantha came home tired but happy from camp, she told her parents the whole story. Her dad gave her a high five and said, “Jesus was right—when we pray and trust, God listens and gives us what we need. This time it was a soccer ball, next time it could be something different, but God always hears your prayers.”
Moral: Even in the summertime, Jesus wants us to remember we can talk to God anytime. He taught us how to pray and promised that God is like a loving Father, always ready to hear and help us.
Based on Luke 11:1–13.
