Calming the StormOne day, Jesus and the disciples had been teaching a large crowd of people. That evening, they got into a boat and went across the lake. Jesus was resting, his eyes closed. The sky became a little bit cloudy, then more cloudy and then it became very dark with clouds. The wind began to blow and waves began to rock the boat. The storm was frightening. "Oh help us!" the disciples cried, very frightened. Jesus woke up, calmly. He raised his arms and said "Be still" to the storm. The wind quietly stopped blowing and the waves stopped rocking the boat and the lake was perfectly still. The disciples felt a sense of calmness. "Even the wind and the waters listen to him," they said. Discussion: In this story, "Oh help us" and "be still" are kind of like prayers. When the disciples said "oh help us," what do you think they were picturing in their mind?" (Maybe they were picturing the boat filling with water from the storm and waves.) When Jesus said "be still," what do you think he was picturing? (He said it calmly. Probably he pictured that the storm would calm down.) Jesus and the disciples prayed everywhere they went: On a mountaintop, in a garden, on a boat. Sometimes they prayed with words and sometimes they prayed silently with their hearts. God listens and helps. We are changed by our prayers too. The more we pray, the more we start to live in a way that helps to make our prayers come true. Craft: Create a "prayer picture." Cut & decorate some people and a boat. Use staples, yarn or glue to attach the sides of the boat together and attach the people in the boat. Write a short prayer on the side of the boat:
J.M.L. |
