Keys for Kids - daily devotions and Bible stories for kids and families

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

Read: Proverbs 15:23; 25:11-13

“Whoa!” Lachlan yelled as his remote control jeep crashed. He picked it up and saw that a piece had fallen off.

Lachlan tried to fix the jeep—but it was no use. “Parker, can you fix this?” he asked his older brother.

“You’re always breaking things!” said Parker. But he held out his hand. “All right, give it to me.” In no time at all, the jeep was as good as new.

“Thanks, Parker,” said Lachlan. “I sure wish I could fix something myself.” Lachlan often knew in his head how to fix things, but the information seemed to get lost between his head and his hands.

Lachlan put the jeep back on the floor and raced it into his bedroom. He plopped down on his bed. I can’t fix anything, he thought. Last week when the chain flew off my bike, Parker had to fix it. When my bird feeder fell apart, Dad fixed it. I wish there was something I could fix.

Lachlan did the one thing that always helped him when he was struggling. He talked to God. “Jesus,” Lachlan prayed, “I know you’re able to fix anything. You fixed people who couldn’t see or walk, and you fixed me by taking away my sin. Please show me something I can help fix. Amen.”

Later that evening, Lachlan went to the kitchen where Mom was making dinner. Instead of smiling as she usually did, she looked sad. He heard her sigh, and Lachlan wondered what was wrong. “What’s the matter, Mom?” he asked.

“Oh, Lachlan,” said Mom, “it’s nothing for you to worry about. I’ve just had a difficult day, that’s all.”

Lachlan wrapped his arms around his mom and gave her a big hug. “Don’t be sad, Mom,” he said. “I love you. You’re the best mom a kid could have!”

Mom wiped tears from her eyes and began to smile. “Thank you, honey,” she said. “You’ve just made me the happiest mom in the whole world.” Lachlan smiled too. Jesus had answered his prayer and helped him fix something—his mom’s sad heart.

–Steven R. Smith

How about you? Do you ever feel like you can’t help anyone? One of the very best things you can do is encourage others. If you know Jesus, He has given you the ability to help discouraged people by showing them His love. He can use you to help bring healing to tough situations. Share His love with those who are hurting through kind words and a helpful heart.

Today's Key Verse: Pleasant words are like a honeycomb, sweetness to the soul and health to the bones. Proverbs 16:24 (NKJV)

Today's Key Thought: Encourage someone today

Read: Psalm 139:23-24; Jeremiah 17:10

“Why is there an old apple core inside a crinkled chip bag under your pillow?” Dad asked when Camila came into the kitchen.

Camila smirked. “The real question is why were you looking under my pillow?”

“I was just following my nose,” said Dad. “Your room is a mess! You need to clean it before going to Mackenzie’s house.”

Camila stomped upstairs, mumbling something about how unfair life was.

Dad had just finished his second cup of coffee and morning Bible reading when Camila scooted into the kitchen and opened the fridge. “I’m guessing you’re taking a snack break,” he said.

Camila crunched into an apple. “Nope. I’m finished.”

“How could you have cleaned your room in thirty minutes? I couldn’t have cleaned it that fast with a bulldozer.”

“Take a look if you don’t believe me.”

Camila followed her dad upstairs. He was amazed. There was no clutter to be found. Dad got down on his hands and knees. “What are you doing?” Camila asked. This didn’t look good.

“When I was a kid, my favorite cleaning method was to shove all the junk under my bed so everything looked clean. I didn’t think my dad was smart enough to look there.” Dad peeked under the bed. “And it looks like you didn’t think your dad was smart enough either. I guess you have a full day of cleaning ahead of you.”

“I thought it’d be easier to just hide everything by shoving it under the bed,” said Camila. “I didn’t know you were going to send out a search party!”

Dad sat on the edge of her bed. “Believe it or not, a lot of people think they can do the same thing with their sin—they try to hide it to make their lives look perfect. They may think they’re fooling everyone, but they’re not fooling God. In the Bible, David asks God to search his heart. He wanted God to find the sin in his life so he could confess it and be forgiven.”

“Well, God is our Father, and fathers are really good at finding stuff!” Camila said. “I guess I need to tell Jesus—and you—I’m sorry.”

“I forgive you,” Dad said. “And Jesus promises to always forgive us too.”

–Jared Hottenstein

How about you? Do you try to hide your sin and keep others from seeing the messes in your life? Even if you’re able to hide the wrong things you do from others, you can’t hide them from God. The Bible calls the wrong things we do sin, and the best way to handle sin isn’t to try to hide it from God, but to show it to Him. The Bible says that if we confess our sins, Jesus is faithful to His promise to always forgive us.

Today's Key Verse: Search me, God, and know my heart…See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting. Psalm 139:23-24 (NIV)

Today's Key Thought: Let God search for sin