God Grants Hannah's Request

God is in control of everything, and He has a plan that no one can thwart.

Today's story was about Hannah, who yearned and begged God for a baby (a picture of Israel yearning and calling out for the promised Messiah) and the wonderful fulfillment of that request with a child (a picture of the long-awaited Jesus.) We also heard a little bit about the son God gave Hannah, baby Samuel, who went on to become the last judge, a good leader in dark times, delivering by wisely guiding the sinful Israelites from their idolatry -- just as God had planned. (We'll hear more next week.)
In our opening time, we played a matching game with our new verse, the opening to Psalm 1. The words were written on footprints so after matching them we lined them up by twos around the table and sang the verse to the tune of "Ode to Joy." (This is in the Verse Jingles link.)
In our class, we sang the song again, then I showed the children a little "bed" (actually a box) with a nice, soft baby blanket in it, and asked them what was missing from that baby bed. Eventually, after a few tries, we got the answer I was looking for...a baby! Then I acted out a woman hugging her empty baby blanket and crying because she had no baby and told them that we would hear about a woman who was crying out to God because she longed for a baby so very much.
As I told them the story, I emphasized that God hears His people when they pray and comforts them, but He doesn't always say Yes to what we ask for. He only gives us what He knows will be the very best for us.
I also said that God had waited to give Hannah her baby at just the right time. God had a plan for baby Samuel, just as He has a plan for each of their lives.
And I told them how this whole story points us to a much bigger plan that God had -- the plan to send Jesus -- a baby who was very much prayed for and longed for before his birth and whom God had planned to be The Deliverer for His sinful people.
The children were attentive and happy about this story. As a celebration of God's kind gift of Baby Samuel to Hannah, we blew up balloons and batted them around the room, keeping them in the air as long as we could. This was a good way to get our energy out.
Then we got back down to work and answered questions about the story. The children took turns choosing questions written on footprints. This is always such an interesting part of the evening as I get to see what they have grasped, and I get to see their little personalities.
The most touching moment was when I asked what Hannah did when she was sad (called out to God) and then if any of them ever call out to God when they are sad. Jacob told how he always prays for his Nana, and for a little boy he once saw throw up. SarahClaire told how she prays for Scarlett and her sleep. I encouraged them to keep doing this, and repeated the Truths from our story about God's loving attention to His children's cries, making sure to note that He sometimes says "Yes," sometimes "No," and sometimes "Not yet". But He always hears and cares and comforts His children.
When I asked "What baby was longed for and prayed for and eagerly awaited?" SarahClaire said, "Me!" I'm so happy that she knows how loved she is!
When I asked if anything could stop God's plan, C.J. said not even Satan could because God was th-i-i-i-is powerful (and he held his arms out really far apart) and Satan was only this powerful (and he held his fingers about a quarter-inch apart). Amen to that!
We will work on learning all the verses in Psalm 1, a verse at a time, over the next few weeks.