The Right Way

TEXT: Psalm 119:11; Matthew 6:9-13

One day, when I was a little girl, I decided it would be fun to make some cookies all by myself. I asked Mom, and she said it would be OK. She helped me find a recipe for some chocolate chip ones.

After Mom went back to her ironing, I started reading the recipe. There were so many things to mix together. It looked kind of hard, so I decided I didn't really need the recipe.

I remembered that Mom always started making cookies by mixing up some butter and sugar. I put some of each into a bowl, got out a wooden spoon, and stirred them together. Eggs went in next. The mixture looked pretty thin till I put in the flour. Then, rather than get out the measuring spoons, I just poured some salt and baking powder into my hand, the way I'd seen Mom do. I stirred them into the dough. Last of all, I put in the whole bag of chips, except the ones I had already eaten.

I put globs of dough all over the cookie sheet. Mom had already turned the oven on for me, so in a little while the cookies were done. They didn't smell too bad, but they sure didn't look like the ones Mom makes. And when I took a bite - yuck! They tasted awful!

Mom came in about then, so I gave her one. When she took a bite, she got a funny look on her face. She asked me what I had changed in the recipe. I was afraid she might be upset with me, but I told her why I hadn't used it.

She just looked at me and shook her head. Then she took the recipe and showed me the right way to make cookies. It took a little longer, but they tasted so much better. I was very thankful that Mom showed me the right way.

There's a lesson in what happened to me. Shall I tell you what it is? Well, just like the recipe told me the right way to make cookies, God gave us a Book that tells us the right way to live. That Book is the Bible. He wants us to do what the Book says. He doesn't want us to make a "mess" out of our lives like I made out of the cookies when I tried to make them my own way. God is so happy when we take time to read His Book.

If we have questions about how we should do something, we can ask God in prayer. I could have asked Mom about the cookies, but I didn't. She probably wished I had when she tasted that cookie! God likes to have us talk to Him in prayer too. He doesn't want us to do things the wrong way and get into trouble.

Reading the Bible and praying to God are two ways we can show Him that we really want to do what He wants us to do.

PARENT'S CORNER

Set aside a special time each day for talking to God with your child. Explain that God likes to have us talk to Him. One of the best ways to teach your child to pray is to pray yourself in words he can understand. Help him to express himself in prayer by suggesting that he first think about what he wants to say to God, and then put his prayer into his own words.

Little ones might enjoy learning this little rhyme, and saying it together with you several times during the week.

God loves to have me talk to Him,
He hears the words I say.
I know He's always listening,
No matter when I pray.