Opening Activity

• Divide the class into two groups and allow them to come up with a list of people who prayed in the Bible and God answered them. E.g. Abraham – God blessed him with Isaac at an old age, Hannah – baby Samuel, Abraham’s servant – when he was sent to search for Isaac’s wife etc.
• Have each team take turns mentioning the names they came up with without repeating one that has been mentioned by the other
  team.

Bible Story

• Elijah was a prophet when Ahab was King (a prophet is someone who receives messages from God to share with God’s people). For a long time (three and half years) there was no rain in the land of Israel. The country had a drought because King Ahab wasn’t a godly King. He encouraged people to worship the idol Baal and mistreated people who worshipped the One true God. One day, Prophet Elijah competed with all the other Prophets of Baal to prove whose God was the one true God and the God of Elijah, the same God we worship today won and after that, everyone believed in God only.

• After this occasion, Prophet Elijah told King Ahab to go and eat because there was rain approaching. Elijah had faith that the drought which was a punishment from God was finally going to come to an end because the people now believed in God so he climbed to the top of Mount Carmel, bowed down to the ground, with his head between his knees and prayed to God. Then he asked his servant to go and look towards the sea and see if he could see any clouds.

• So the servant went and came back with this report; “I don’t see a thing.” Elijah sent him back again and there was nothing, six times the servant went back and forth and the seventh time the servant said: “I have seen a little cloud no bigger than a man’s hand, coming up from the sea.”

• Immediately Elijah knew that God had answered his prayers. He ordered King Ahab to get into his chariot and go back home before the rain came so that he would not get stranded. Surprisingly, within a few minutes, the sky was covered with dark clouds, the wind started blowing and heavy rain started falling. King Ahab got into his chariot and started going back to Jezreel.

• From this story, we learn that:
  1. We should always have faith when we pray – When Elijah told the king to go and eat because there was rain approaching, Elijah had faith that it was going to rain. Elijah had prayed, asking in faith for God to send the rain because He sensed this was the will of God. To pray with faith is to believe that God can do what we ask for as long as it is according to His plan and for His glory. When you ask God for anything, always believe that God can do it.
  2. Have faith that God hears and answers our prayers – When Elijah prayed for rain, He knew God heard him and expected an answer. He was sure God would answer his prayer that he sent his servant seven times to go and look towards the sea while he was still praying to see if rain was coming. When you pray, have faith but also be confident that God hears you and will answer according to His plans. We just need to believe He hears us, and be patient for His answer.
  3. Have faith that God is powerful – Elijah knew that God could do the impossible. He knew bringing rain was impossible for man but very possible with God. When he prayed and sent his servant to look out for rain, he had faith in God’s power and ability to bring rain. So after the seventh time of checking, when Elijah’s servant reported that he’d seen a small cloud the size of a man’s hand rising out of the sea, Elijah knew this was evidence of the rain coming slowly and in a small way, but out
  of this small evidence God brought heavy rain. God is mighty and powerful and when we pray, we should have faith in His might and power.

Lesson Application

Give the children a piece of sticky note/small piece of paper and a pencil.
Instruct them to write down their prayer items then stick them on the manila/whiteboard. 

Have the children kneel and pray for the prayer items they wrote down. Encourage them to stretch their hands towards the manila paper/whiteboard (where they stuck their prayer items) as they do so.

Discussion Questions

1. What does it mean to pray with faith? To pray with faith is to believe that God can do what we ask for as long as it is according to His plan and for His glory.
2. Did Elijah pray with faith? Yes! If yes, what shows us this? Elijah did not give up praying because he had faith in God and he knew that God would answer him. It took 7 tries before his servant saw a tiny cloud but Elijah kept praying and had faith that rain would come.
3. What have you learnt from this story and how will you apply it in your life? I should have faith in God when I pray and I should not give up when I pray.