Throughout His ministry, Jesus told many parables to help explain a Biblical truth. This week we will study the one found in Luke 18:1-8 to teach us about prayer.
Key Points:
- We should pray without ceasing.
- Perseverance is important.
- God is good and always does what is best.
Lesson Guide – The Parable of the Persistent Widow
Ask your child is they know what perseverance means? They likely understand it in the negative sense of nagging. Share how it means to keep working at something even when it’s hard or takes a long time to learn. Have you ever taken a long time to learn something? Share something that takes a while to learn like a musical instrument, drawing, or cooking.
It is really important to show your child that the judge in the parable is not God. He is not even close to God. God is good! Jesus uses the judge as a contrast to God. Speak about some contrasts such as light and dark, slow and fast.
Sometimes when we pray, God will seem to answer right away. Other times, we will have to wait a long time for God to answer. God is answering all along. Sometimes, He says yes. Sometimes, He says no. And sometimes, He says wait.
Play a game with your child. The goal is to cross a space. The child may ask to take a certain amount of hops, skips, or steps. Each time the child asks, answer either yes, no, or wait. If you respond, wait, give the child a specific time, and count off the seconds together before the child can proceed with his request. Make sure to tell the child no more than once. Surprise the child with a treat at the end of the game. Remind the child that if they had given up halfway across the floor, the child would not have received the treat.
Waiting can be hard—especially when it seems like no matter how much we try, the goal we have is out of reach. Yet God knows everything. He knows if we need a yes to our prayer or whether we need a wait or a no.
Discuss some wishes that you have made in your life or that your child has. For illustrative purposes, these can be silly. Example: Talk about a wish like wanting your hair to grow very fast. Then discuss some of the problems that might happen. Also, talk about a time your child requested to do something, and you said no or wait. Explain that just as you know best for your child, God knows best for his children.
God will always do what is best for His people, whether he says yes, no, or wait.
Put a fruit like strawberries or apples on the table. You will need one that is fully ripe and ready to eat, and one that is green and unripe. Cut both the fruits up and try them with your child. As you pucker at the sour, unripe fruit, talk about how waiting for the proper time is important. The fruit is sweet at the right time. Read Galatians 6:9.
Share some personal answers to prayer, yes answers, no answers, and wait answers. Share how just like the woman in the story, we should continue to pray and trust God that He will answer our prayers in the best way.
Thank God that He answers prayer. Ask Him to help you pray without ceasing.
Free Printable Bible Story
Lego Bible story video
We are really thankful to Rebekah who created this short video to go alongside the lesson.
Games and Activities
Challenges
Give your child some doable but difficult challenges. Such as walking across a room balancing a pillow on their head or catching a ball ten times without dropping it. Encourage them to keep going until they master it and congratulate them. Talk about how if they had given up, they would never have achieved the goal.
Hide and Seek
You can never go wrong with a game of hide and seek. Kids love it. Take turns to hide or to hide an object. As you play, congratulate your child on not giving up until they found the person or object.
Learn the 5-finger prayer
There are a few methods for using fingers as a reminder for prayer. Here is one popular example. Thumb pray for those closest to you, such as family and friends. The index finger is for those who point you in the right direction (teachers, pastor etc.). The middle finger is for our leaders. Ring finger for those who are weak, ill, and in need. The little finger is for ourselves.
Worksheets
Free Bible Coloring Pages – The Parable of the Persistent Widow
Craft – Prayer Book
You will need:
- Card or foam
- Paper
- Pencil
- Scissors
- Hole Punch
- String
- Optional: photos
What to do
- Draw around your child’s hands in a prayer shape onto the card or foam. Cut out two copies and as many copies as desired on the paper. Each hand will make a page.
- Stack all the paper on top of each other. Place the card hands on the top and bottom. Punch two holes.
- Thread the string through the holes and tie together to make a book. Write or put picture into your prayer book.