Bible Reading: Mark 11:24; Ephesians 6:18; Hebrews 4:16

Kyle stared out the window, his homework forgotten on the table in front of him. He had been daydreaming, not very interested in solving his math problems, when he noticed a praying mantis perched on the bush outside. Kyle was mesmerized by the interesting creature. The mantis didn't move; he stood still with his front legs held together, looking like he was praying.

As Kyle continued to watch, he saw an insect land on a branch right in front of the creature. All at once, the praying mantis lunged forward and grabbed the insect. Wow, he's hunting! Kyle thought to himself.

He was still watching the praying mantis when his mom walked in.

"Homework done?" Mom asked.

"Not yet, but look at this praying mantis. Is he cool or what? He just caught his dinner a few minutes ago." Kyle proceeded to tell his mom about how the praying mantis had remained still in a praying stance until an insect had appeared on the branch in front of him and then snatched it up.

"That's pretty neat. God sure created some interesting creatures. You know, Kyle, the praying mantis always reminds me of how the Bible tells us to pray. There's a verse that tells us to stay alert and be persistent in our prayers."

"That sounds like a praying mantis waiting to catch a bug," said Kyle.

Mom nodded. "The praying mantis is in his ready stance, waiting with confidence, knowing he will catch his dinner. As Christians, we need to be in that ready stance of prayer too. The Bible reminds us that we are dependent on God to provide for us and help us in everything we do, and He wants us to bring our needs and requests to Him in prayer. Just like the praying mantis is confident he will catch his dinner; we can be confident that God will hear us when we pray and that He will answer us. We are His beloved children, so even when He doesn't answer the way we want, we can trust Him to do good things through our prayers, knowing that He gave His own Son so we could have the joy and peace of Jesus in our lives."

"Wow, that's really cool!" Kyle grinned and folded his hands. "Now I'm in my ready stance too."

–Lisa Fuller

How About You?
Are you in a ready stance of prayer, trusting God to listen to your requests? You can be confident that He hears you and will answer your prayers. That doesn't mean He'll always answer the way you want, but He promises to use your prayers to do good things in your life and in the lives of others. So keep praying, and be ready to take hold of the answers God provides.

Today's Key Verse:
Never stop praying. (NLT) (1 Thessalonians 5:17)

Today's Key Thought:
Keep praying

Bible Reading: Galatians 6:6-10

Tired and sweaty, Gabriel came into the house. "Mom! Do we have any more lemonade? It's like a billion degrees out there."

"I'm making lemonade right now," Mom said. "I can't believe the weather we're having this early in the year! I'm surprised you and Max are playing basketball in this heat."

"It's basketball season," Gabriel said, as if that would explain everything. "We're going to sit in the shade of the oak tree while we drink lemonade and cool off."

"Good idea," said Mom. "And since you're taking a break from basketball, why don't you and your brother help me sort these things when you finish your lemonade?"

Gabriel frowned. "Do we have to? I mean, we will if you say we have to, but…" He paused and looked at the piles of new and used items on the table and floor. "You're giving all those things to the organization that helps people in need and tells them about Jesus, right?" he asked. "We've done that before, but then we never hear anything more about it. If it does any good, we never see it."

"Well, we do get reports now and then," Mom assured him. She stared out the window a moment. "But even when we don't, it's like that old oak tree in the backyard."

Gabriel looked up, puzzled. "It is?"

"Your great-grandfather planted that tree as a sapling, knowing he'd never enjoy its cool, refreshing shade on a hot afternoon." Mom smiled at Gabriel. "But he planted it anyway."

"And now we enjoy the shade on hot days," said Gabriel.

Mom nodded and put glasses of cold lemonade on a tray. "We don't always see the fruit of our labors right away--if ever. We help others because of the love Jesus has shown us, and we want them to know about His love too. We can trust Him to use our efforts to bring more people to faith in Him, maybe now or maybe years from now. He doesn't waste any work that's done for Him."

Gabriel picked up the tray with the lemonade and started for the door. Then he stopped and looked back at his mom. "We'll come help you as soon as this lemonade is gone," he told her.

–Mike Dize

How About You?
Do you wonder if the good things you do for others even make a difference? We can't always see how our work for God affects others, but God puts all the things we do for Him to good use, whether we see the results right away or not at all. So keep doing things that show others the love of Jesus. He promises that anything you do for Him will not be in vain--it will not be useless. Trust Him to bless others through your efforts and help more people know about Him.

Today's Key Verse:
Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain. (NIV) (1 Corinthians 15:58)

Today's Key Thought:
God's work never goes to waste

Bible Reading: Ephesians 3:18-19

Next week we will have a pet show," Ivy's teacher announced to her class.

Ivy's feet did a happy dance. She couldn't wait to bring her dog Mose to school.

Violet waved her hand. "Do you want my mother to be the judge? She knows all about dog shows because my French poodle, Queenie, is in lots of them."

"It's kind of you to offer, Violet, but it's not a contest, so we won't need a judge."

"Queenie can do eleven tricks," Violet said.

Uh-oh. Mose didn't know any tricks. Ivy better get on the ball. Hey, that would be a good one. He could stand on a ball and add numbers. When Ivy said ten plus one, he could bark eleven times. Even Violet's dog probably couldn't do that.

"Violet's poodle can do eleven tricks," Ivy said that night at supper. "Plus, she's a queen. And she came from France, which is a very fancy place."

Ivy plunked her elbows on the table and plopped her chin in her hands. Mose had come from the plain old animal shelter.

Hey, wait a minute. She didn't know where he had been before the shelter.

She sat up straight. "Do you think Mose could be from a royal family?"

A loud snore came from under the table where Mose was lying.

"He doesn't sound very royal to me," Mama said.

Daddy shrugged. "Even kings snore."

"So, he could be a king!" Ivy poked her head under the table. "Did you hear that, boy? You're a royal dog!"

When they finished eating, Daddy got his Bible and turned to a page near the end. "This verse says we are God's children. Since he's our King, that means we're royal. But that's not the most important thing. What matters is that we belong to Him."

"Just like Mose belongs to me." Ivy gave her dog a pat. "It doesn't matter if he can do amazing tricks or if he's a king. I love him because he's mine."

Mama winked at Ivy. "That's the same reason God loves you."

Ivy grinned. "Even though I can't stand on a ball and do math!"

–Martha Hynson

How About You?
Do you ever feel like you need to be or do something special so God will love you? The Bible says we can never earn God's love. That's why Jesus, who is perfect, died for us. When we trust Him to save us from sin through His sacrifice on the cross, we become part of God's family. He loves us more than we could ever imagine simply because we are His.

Today's Key Verse:
See how very much our Father loves us, for he calls us his children, and that is what we are! (NLT) (1 John 3:1 )

Today's Key Thought:
God loves you

Bible Reading: Romans 8:26-28

It hadn't been a good week for Isaiah. Nothing seemed to be fun anymore since his best friend Thomas moved away. "Please, dear God," Isaiah prayed every night, "let Thomas come back and live here again."

"I know you miss Thomas very much," Dad said one afternoon as he and Isaiah washed the car. "But I don't think his family is going to move back here."

"Yes, they will! I asked God to bring them back, and He'll answer my prayer. Won't He?"

"Well, yes…" Dad frowned a little and scratched his head. "Oh, I forgot to tell you--Mom's fixing stuffed green peppers to go with dinner tonight. She wanted to know if you'd eat some."

Isaiah wrinkled his nose. "No thanks, I don't like stuffed green peppers."

"I'll let her know," said Dad as he headed to the house. He came out a few minutes later. "Isaiah, Mom is fixing stuffed green peppers for dinner. Should I tell her you'll eat some?"

Isaiah stood up from the wheel he'd been cleaning. "You already asked me about that, Dad. And I already said no! Don't you remember?"

Dad laughed. "Yes, as a matter of fact, I do. Your answer was no surprise, by the way. It just wasn't what your mom was hoping to hear--she really likes those stuffed peppers. She wants you to like them too, but your answer is still no. It's like that with God--He will always listen to our prayers, and He will always answer, but sometimes the answer is no. We need to remember that He cares about us--that He loves us so much Jesus died for us--and trust Him to do what's best."

Isaiah put down his sponge. "Why wouldn't God let Thomas come back here? It would make me a lot happier."

"But it might not be best for Thomas's family. His father was very sick, you know, and the doctors said a warmer climate would be better for him. Instead of praying that Thomas will come back, maybe you could ask God to help his family adjust to their new home. This move might be harder for them than for you."

Slowly Isaiah nodded. "Okay. And after I pray for Thomas and his family, I'll ask God to help me find a new friend here too."

–Katherine R. Adams

How About You?
Do you think God should answer all your prayers exactly the way you want? If things don't go your way, do you think God doesn't care? That's not true. He does care, and He knows what's best for you and for all His children. So even when God's answer to your prayer is no, trust Him and remember that His way is best.

Today's Key Verse:
We know that all things work together for the good of those who love God. (CSB) (Romans 8:28 )

Today's Key Thought:
Accept God's answers to prayer

Bible Reading: Romans 6:1-11

Jaxon hadn't meant to break the window. The ball had slipped out of his hand, and now he stood in front of a mess. If only there was some way to hide it, Jaxon thought.

But there wasn't. He couldn't fix it. He'd broken his bedroom window, and his parents were going to find out. They were probably going to ground him.

Jaxon sighed. "It's my own fault. I shouldn't have been playing ball in the house."

Instead of trying to hide things, Jaxon went downstairs. "Dad?" Jaxon said.

Dad turned toward him. "Yes?"

Jaxon looked at his feet. "I broke my window."

Dad got up. "How did that happen?"

"I hit it with a ball," Jaxon mumbled. "I'm sorry."

They went upstairs to look at the damage, and Jaxon waited for his dad to tell him what his punishment was going to be. "I'm sorry," Jaxon said again. "I know I shouldn't have been playing with the ball in here."

Dad nodded slowly. "You did know it's against the rules to play ball in the house, right?"

Jaxon nodded. "I guess I thought I could get away with it if no one saw me."

Dad sighed. "I need to talk to your mom," he said.

Jaxon waited for his parents and was surprised by how calm they looked when they came into his room.

"We decided to give you grace this time," Mom said.

"Grace?" Jaxon asked.

"Yes," said Mom. "We're not giving you what you deserve for breaking the rules. We've decided to give you grace instead." She smiled. "Just like how Jesus gives us grace all the time. He died to take the punishment we deserve for our sins so we could be saved and enjoy life with Him. Whenever we do something wrong, He offers us grace and forgiveness."

"Right," Dad said. "But the Bible says that those saved by grace shouldn't go on sinning. We're trusting that there will be no more ball playing in the house."

"There won't be," Jaxon quickly agreed.

Mom hugged him. "We forgive you and we love you."

"We do," Dad said.

Jaxon smiled. Grace felt pretty amazing.

–Bethany Acker

How About You?
Has anyone ever given you grace when you didn't deserve it? How did it feel? Have you received God's grace by trusting Jesus to forgive your sins? His gift of grace covers all your wrongs. Instead of getting the punishment you deserve--eternal separation from God--He forgives you and gives you eternal life with Him. Trust in Him so you can enjoy His grace every day. (To learn more, click the "Good News!" button in the right column of this page or go to www.keysforkids.org/goodnews.)

Today's Key Verse:
For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith--and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God. (NIV) (Ephesians 2:8)

Today's Key Thought:
Grace is a great gift