A Bedtime Story

This is a story about a little boy named Kenney. Kenney is seven years old. One day, just before bedtime, Kenney’s mother read him a story from the Bible. The story was about Elijah, a great prophet of God. There was a contest between the prophets of Baal and Elijah to see whose God was the strongest.

For this contest, each side would prepare an offering and would call upon his God to burn up the offering with fire. The prophets of Baal failed. But when Elijah prayed to God, the offering was burned up. Then Elijah had the false prophets put to death.

The King’s wife, Jezebel threatened to kill Elijah for what he did. Elijah ran into the wilderness to hide. While he was in the wilderness, an angel came and brought him food every morning for three days.

When the story was over, Kenney thought about it for a long time. Then he said to his mother, “Do angels really come and help people?”

His mother smiled and said, “Of course dear, every one has a guardian angel. They are God’s helpers. You have a guardian angel too, although you may not be able to see him. Remember to love God with all your heart. When you love God, that way, Kenney, you are telling God that you want Him to be your special friend. Then when you need help, all you have to do is to pray to God and he will send your guardian to help you.”

“Really!” Kenney exclaimed. “You mean that if I love God and pray to Him, He will send an angel to watch over me.”

“That’s right,” said his mother.

That night Kenney was a long time going to sleep. He kept thinking about his guardian angel. He could almost see him. He was ten feet tall, had giant wings and a flaming sword! That made Kenney feel good.

Every night after that, Kenney made it a point to pray to God and tell Him how much he loved Him. Kenney wanted to be sure that he was protected. He did not want to have to run off into the wilderness when something went wrong. Besides, he did not even know where the wilderness was.

Several weeks later, Kenney’s dad asked him if he would like to go fishing next week with him and Sam, the next-door neighbor. Kenney said, “Do you mean that I can go out in the boat with you?”

“That’s right, son,” replied his dad.

Kenney was so excited he thought he would explode. Waiting for the next week seemed like a year. Then the day came. They left early in the morning and drove to the lake. When they got to the lake, they put all their fishing gear in the boat and shoved off. It was a big lake. It was so big that Kenney could not see the other side.

It was a beautiful day. Kenney was having the time of his life. His dad showed him how to bait his hook and how to cast his line in the water. He didn’t catch any fish, but he didn’t care, he was having too much fun just being out on the lake.

It was in the afternoon when the sky started to get dark and menacing. Kenney’s dad decided that they had better start back before the weather got too bad. They were about halfway back to the shore when the winds started howling and the waves started splashing water into the boat. Then it happened! A big wave washed into the boat and the motor stopped. Kenney’s dad and Sam tried and tried to start the motor, but it would not start.

Kenney was getting frightened. He looked to his dad for reassurance, but all he saw in his dad’s face was concern for their safety.

Suddenly Kenney thought he heard something, something so very soft he could barely hear it.

“Pray, Kenney,” the voice said.

At first Kenney did not know what to do. Then he remembered the story about Elijah and the angel who fed him.

He called out to his dad saying, “Dad, we gotta pray.”

“Pray?” His dad said, kind of puzzled. Then his dad’s eyes lit up and his face broke out into a big smile and he said, “Hey that’s a good idea, let’s do it. Kenney you start first, since it was your idea.”

Kenney was having a difficult time just holding onto the boat to keep from being thrown into the water. He took a deep breath and said in a loud voice, “Dear God I love you. You are my special friend. Please send someone to help us.”

His dad was going to pray next, but before he could get started, the winds suddenly died down, the dark clouds rolled away, and a bright ray of sunshine broke through and shined on the boat. Kenney looked at his dad with a great big smile on his face.

Kenney’s dad tried to start the motor again; it started on the first try.

As they were heading for the shore, Kenney heard that soft voice again. It said, “I love you too, Kenney.”

So you see, boys and girls, God loves you and He will send an angel to help you too. Just remember to love God with all your heart.