Read: Matthew 6:5-8

Callum heard someone calling his name. “Amen,” he said quickly, then opened his closet door to find his dad standing in the middle of his room.

“I didn’t mean to interrupt you,” Dad said, “but I’m curious. Why were you praying in your closet?”

“Well, I always pray beside my bed, but our lesson at church this week was about prayer, and my teacher read a verse that said to go into your closet and shut the door when you pray. So tonight I prayed in my closet.”

Dad chuckled. “I think the closet in that verse means something a little different from the closets where we keep our clothes. In fact, most Bible scholars agree that the word closet in that verse could also be translated room. That’s the word many Bible translators use.”

“Really?” said Callum. “Well, that’s good! Then I can go back to praying beside my bed again. It was really stuffy in the closet!”

Dad smiled. “I think the main thing Jesus is saying in that verse is that we should pray in order to talk with Him and worship Him—not to show off in front of other people. That’s why it’s good to get away by ourselves—like in a separate room—and shut the door.” Dad paused. “Of course, we can pray anytime, anywhere. Then we just need to shut the door of our hearts and minds.”

“How do we do that?” asked Callum.

“That just means find a way to eliminate distractions,” Dad explained. “One way to do that is to close your eyes when you pray. But even if you’re doing something where you can’t close your eyes, you can focus your mind and shut out thoughts about other things.”

“Like making a prayer room inside my head.” Callum grinned. “And I’ll have it with me all the time, so I can pray anywhere.”

“Right!” said Dad. “It’s great to be able to pray at home, at school, when you’re playing—or anywhere else. But also having a special prayer time alone with God is a wonderful way to get to know Him better. He sent Jesus to save us so we could have a relationship with Him, and He wants us to spend time with Him in prayer.”

–Harry C. Trover

How about you? Do you spend time alone with God? Do you talk to Him when you’re afraid, thankful, happy, or in need? You can talk to Him anywhere, but it’s also good to talk with Him regularly in a quiet place by yourself. Tell Him what you’re struggling with, pray for the needs of others, and thank Him for His love and what He’s done for you.

Today's Key Verse: When you pray, go into your room, and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father. Matthew 6:6 (NKJV)

Today's Key Thought: Spend time in prayer

Read: 1 Corinthians 10:13; Hebrews 12:1-3

Austin watched as his uncle put a treat right in front of Trixie. “No, Trixie! No!” Uncle Josh told the puppy. “Look at me!” Trixie looked straight at her master’s face, then glanced down at the treat she wanted so much. “Trixie, no! Look at me!” The dog raised her eyes and gazed at her master again, ignoring the treat.

“Why does Trixie have to look at you?” asked Austin.

“If she looks at me instead of at the treat, she’s more likely to obey.”

Uncle Josh had Trixie sit and lie down, then picked up the treat and gave it to her. “Trixie just showed us how we should act when we’re tempted to do something wrong,” he said, patting Trixie on the head. “If we’re focused on whatever it is that’s tempting us, it’s easier to give in. But if we keep our eyes on our Master—Jesus—we’re far more likely to obey Him.”

“How do we keep our eyes on Jesus?” asked Austin. “We can’t really see Him.”

“You played in a tennis competition last summer,” said Uncle Josh. “You worked so hard to be in shape. Why did you do that?”

“I wanted to win the trophy,” said Austin. “And I did!”

“So you understand what I mean if I say you had your eyes on the prize?”

“Yeah,” Austin said. “I couldn’t really see the trophy, but I kept thinking about it and what I had to do to win it.”

Uncle Josh nodded. “We can do what God wants us to do by keeping our eyes on the prize—Jesus! But unlike your tennis competition, Jesus has already won the trophy for us. He saved us by dying for our sin, and He’s given us the Holy Spirit so that we have the power to do what’s right.”

“And that’s why we need to keep our eyes on Him,” said Austin.

“Right. When we’re tempted to do something we know is wrong, we need to remember that Jesus has already won the battle against sin and that we belong to Him. That’s how we resist temptation—by looking to Him and what He’s done for us.”

–Caroline E. Yost

How about you? Do you keep your eyes on Jesus? When you’re tempted to do something wrong, remember that He has saved you from sin and given you the reward of eternal life with Him. Sin doesn’t define you anymore, and you have the power to obey Jesus instead. Keep your eyes and heart focused on Him, and trust Him to give you strength to fight every temptation.

Today's Key Verse: Seek the Lord and His strength; seek His face evermore! Psalm 105:4 (NKJV)

Today's Key Thought: Look to Jesus

Read: Romans 4:6-8; 5:6-8

“Dad’s here!” Keziah peeked her head around the side of the house. “Jonah!”

Jonah stared at his older sister. “No. He can’t be here yet.”

Jonah’s eyes filled as he heard his dad greeting his sister. He wanted to join them, but he’d been working on painting the fence for their mom all afternoon. He didn’t want to look all messy when they reunited.

He heard his dad’s voice. “Where’s my Jonah?”

Jonah couldn’t stop himself from running to Dad as soon as he rounded the house. “You’re home!”

Dad opened his arms. “I’m home.”

Jonah let his dad hug him tight, then pulled back. “I’m probably getting your uniform dirty. I wanted to get cleaned up before you got home…”

“It’s fine.” Dad chuckled. “I’m just happy to be back home with you.” He pulled Jonah back into a hug. “I missed you.”

“I’m a mess,” Jonah muttered.

“You don’t have to get cleaned up for me.” Dad patted his back. “I love you even when you’re messy. You don’t know how much I’ve been looking forward to being back with you, your mom, and your sister.”

Later, after Jonah had taken a shower and put on clean clothes, his dad took him out for ice cream.

“You know,” Dad said. “I was thinking…I told you that you didn’t need to get cleaned up for me, and that’s true. God feels the same way—and isn’t it great that He does? When we make a mess of our lives with sin, we don’t have to get cleaned up before we go to Him—we can come to Him just as we are, and He will make us clean.”

“I could’ve used some help getting clean today—that paint was hard to scrub off!” Jonah teased.

Dad rolled his eyes. “You could take care of that yourself. But we can’t clean ourselves of sin. Yet God loves us even when we’re messy—that’s why Jesus died and rose again to save us. When we trust in Him, we become God’s children—clean and forgiven.”

–Emily Acker

How about you? Have you ever felt too messy for God? Have you wondered if you’ve done too many wrong things for Him to love you and accept you? The amazing news of the gospel is that God loved us while we were sinners. We can’t clean ourselves up, so Jesus died for our sins. When we trust in Him, He will forgive us and make us clean. (To learn more, go to Have You Heard the Good News?)

Today's Key Verse: See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! 1 John 3:1 (NIV)

Today's Key Thought: God loves us at our messiest