Praying All the Time

To Sabbath School teachers: This story is for Sabbath, October 7.

By Andrew McChesney

C

eleste is 5 years old and lives in the African country of Cameroon.

She prays all the time. When something happens, she always tells Mother, “Do you know why that happened? It’s because I prayed.”

Once Mother complained about a headache. Her head hurt very much. Celeste felt sad for Mother, and she quietly slipped away. A little while later, she returned to Mother.

“Mommy, do you still have a headache?” she asked.

“No,” Mother said.

“Do you know why?” she said. “It’s because I prayed for you.”

Mother smiled. She was happy that her little girl had prayed for her.

Celeste goes to kindergarten, and sometimes her homework seems very difficult. The other day, she struggled and struggled with an assignment. When she finally finished, she ran to Mother. “Mommy, do you know why I was able to do my homework?” she said. “It’s because I prayed.” Mother smiled. She liked how Celeste talks to Jesus all the time.

One day, Mother summoned Celeste.

“Celeste,” she said. “Your friend is sick.”

The girl looked worried.

“Which friend?” she asked.

“The pastor,” Mother said.

Celeste always called the church pastor “my friend.”

“OK, Mommy,” Celeste said. “I’ll pray.”

She began to pray right away. That evening at family worship, Father, Mother, and Celeste held hands as they knelt in a circle for prayer. When it was Celeste’s turn, she prayed for the pastor. “Dear God, please make my friend well,” she said. Celeste kept praying until the pastor got well. Then she said, “Mommy, do you know why my friend is well? It’s because I prayed.”

One night Celeste had a bad dream. It scared her terribly. At the next family worship, she asked Father to pray for her, and he did. The next morning, Celeste woke up with a smile. “Mommy, I didn’t have a bad dream!” she exclaimed.

Now, Father prays every night for Celeste not to have bad dreams. Every morning, Celeste smiles and exclaims, “Mommy, I didn’t have a bad dream!”

The other morning, Celeste woke up with an especially big smile. “Mommy, I had a good dream!” she said. “I dreamed about Jesus. I was in a crowd with many children, and Jesus gave me a gift.”

Then she looked a little sad. “But I can’t remember what the gift was,” she said.

Now it was Mother’s turn to smile. She was happy that Celeste had had such a lovely dream. She curious to know more.

“How do you know it was Jesus?” she asked. “What did He look like?”

The little girl could not describe Jesus or explain how she knew that it was Him.

“I just know,” she said, firmly.

How did Celeste know that it was Jesus? Maybe it was because she spends all her time talking with Him. She is always praying, and Jesus has become her Best Friend. Certainly, she would recognize her Best Friend!

The Bible teaches us to be like Celeste and talk with Jesus all the time. It says, “Pray without ceasing” (1 Thessalonians 5:17, NKJV). Do you talk with Jesus all the time?

Part of this quarter’s Thirteenth Sabbath Offering will help open a Seventh-day Adventist school in Celeste’s home country of Cameroon where children will be able to learn about the joy of talking with Jesus all the time. Thank you for planning a generous offering.