When God Finally Answers Our Prayer

Devotionals for Kids

“And let us not get tired of doing right, for after a while we will reap a harvest of blessing if we don’t get discouraged and give up.” Galatians 6:9 [The Living Bible]

Sometimes we pray and pray for God to help us in our problem and nothing changes. Does that ever happen to you? It happens to all of God’s children

Maybe you’re praying for a special friend to come to Jesus. Maybe you have been praying for a long, long time for God to heal you. Maybe you have been praying that God would give you a special friend or that God would remove that bully from your life. Inspite of you praying, nothing happens. In fact, the situation looks more hopeless than ever.

Joseph, the slave in Egypt must have felt that way. First he was a slave and then he became a prisoner. He saw God restore the king’s butler to his palace but God didn’t seem to be helping him. It had been two long years since the butler was gone. He hoped the butler was telling the king about how he had been wronged. Perhaps the king would pity him and help him.

Then at the end of two years Pharaoh had two unusual dreams. None of his wise men could tell him what they meant. Suddenly the butler remembered Joseph. He told Pharaoh about the dreams he and the baker had in prison and how Joseph told them what they meant. So Pharaoh, the king, sent for Joseph.

How surprised Joseph must have been. Here he thought God had forgotten about him and now Pharaoh wanted to see him. The Bible says he shaved quickly and changed his clothing and came straight to Pharaoh.

“I have heard that you can interpret dreams,” Pharaoh challenged him.

Joseph was very wise. Now that God had remembered him and helped him by bringing him to the attention of the highest authority in Egypt, Joseph gave God the glory. He said, “It is not me, but God who will give you an answer.”
Then Pharaoh told Joseph his dreams.

“In my dream I was standing by the river. Seven cows came up on the bank from the river. They were healthy and fat and began eating the grass in the field.

“As I was standing there, watching them, suddenly seven more cows appeared, coming up from the river. They were ugly and skinny. To my amazement the seven skinny cows ate up the fat, healthy cows. But after they ate them they were just as ugly and skinny as before. Then I woke up.

“After that I had another strange dream. In my dream seven ears of corn grew out of a stalk. They were full, good ears. Then, again, as I was watching, seven more ears of corn appeared on the stalk but they were thin; shriveled and withered by the east wind. These thin ears swallowed up the plump ears. I told my dreams to my magicians but they couldn’t tell me the meaning.”

Right away Joseph knew what the dreams meant. God revealed their meaning to him.

“Your dreams are wonderful. They both mean the same thing. God is telling you what He is about to do.

“The seven fat cows and the full ears of corn are the same thing. They represent seven good years of plenty throughout Egypt. The seven lean cows and the seven thin ears are also the same thing. They are seven years of famine. The years of famine will be so bad that the seven years of plenty will be forgotten. Everything will be eaten up in all of Egypt.

“God gave you two dreams to prove that this will really happen. He is telling you to prepare for the time of famine. You must appoint a wise man to look after the harvest of the years of plenty to save up extra food for the years of famine.”

Pharaoh was so relieved to hear the explanation of his dreams. He decided that Joseph was the wisest man in his kingdom to do this great job. He then appointed him ruler over all of Egypt. He gave him royal robes and a gold chain to wear around his neck. He even gave Joseph his special signet ring. Now Joseph was next only to the king himself in his position of power.

Joseph had been faithful to God all those years. He kept serving God by doing his job the best he good. He was as obedient and helpful to the jailer as he had been to Potiphar. He interpreted the butler and baker’s dreams and the king’s dreams even not knowing what was in it for him.

That’s something that we need to do too. In our hearts and actions we still need to honor God and do what’s right, in helping others and doing the good things God teaches us in the Bible, even if we can’t see God working. In the end, even if God doesn’t answer our prayers the way we thing He should, He will reward us in heaven.

Memory Verse for the week:

“And let us not get tired of doing right, for after a while we will reap a harvest of blessing if we don’t get discouraged and give up.” Galatians 6:9 [The Living Bible]

Going deeper as parents:

Joseph is one of my heroes that stuck with God no matter what. He was sold by his brothers, became a slave, and then a prisoner. He stayed faithful to what he had been taught about God.

You might say to me; but he had no choice. I think he did. He could have thought, OK, I’ll adjust to the Egyptian’s culture and gods and work my way up somehow. I’ll think about “me”.

He kept himself free from sin in Potiphar’s house, even if it meant going to jail. He was helpful in prison and thought about others; that’s why the jailer promoted him. Obviously he stayed closed to God, or God wouldn’t have been able to show him the meaning of all four dreams.

When I think of Joseph, I also think of Job. Job was tested beyond what most humans can endure. Yet he stayed true to God inspite of his questions. He even said that though God slay him he would still serve Him. He then acknowledged that after God tested him, he would come forth as gold.

Like me you’re probably thinking, that’s fine for these men of the Bible but I hope I’m never tested to that degree. I think my faith would hold out and I think I would still find God at the end of my rope. It’s my flesh that gets in the way; the pain I would have to go through.

God has made us. He knows our limitations. He promises He does not break a bruised reed. God bless!

Ruth Willms

Author: The Lion Tree
http://ruthwillms.com
ruth.willms@gmail.com

Want to know more about how God can help you every day? Check out my new book The Lion Tree at http://ruthwillms.com

Look for my new unpublished story, The Rubik’s Cube, at http://ruthwillms.com