Bible Reading: 1:23 &version=NIV" target="_blank">Psalm 139:7-12; Jeremiah 23:23-24; Matthew 1:23

"Can I have one of your French fries?" Gavin asked his sister as he snatched one from her plate.

"Hey, no! You have your own!" Hailey protested. She put her arm around her plate to defend her food.

"But you got the crispier ones!" Gavin held up one of his flimsy French fries.

"Our oven hasn't been cooking evenly. Here, Gavin, I got a few more crispy ones," Mom said and scraped some of her fries onto Gavin's plate.

"I thought that since we rented this place it meant the landlord had to fix things like that," Gavin said as he ate another fry.

"He does, but he also prioritizes repairs," Mom explained. "He oversees more than twenty apartments and does most of the repairs himself. Our oven not working is not as important as someone's broken heater, so we have to wait until the landlord has time to fix it." Mom got up and put her plate in the sink. She returned with her Bible and took the church prayer list out. Every night they prayed for the people and things on the list together.

"God has a lot more people to take care of than our landlord. Is that why we sometimes have to wait for our prayers to be answered?" Hailey asked.

"No, that's not why," Mom replied. "Unlike our landlord, God is able to immediately do anything we ask. But He doesn't always answer our prayers right away because His plan is often different from what we think is best. That doesn't mean He doesn't hear our prayers. God sees and hears everything because He's omnipresent."

"Omni-what?" Gavin asked with a puzzled look.

"Omnipresent," Mom repeated. "It means He's everywhere all the time. Millions of people could pray at the same time, and God would hear them all. But even though He's everywhere, God is present with Christians in a special way. The Bible calls Jesus 'Immanuel,' which means 'God with us.' When we put our faith in Jesus, God gives us the Holy Spirit, who will never leave us. Even though God doesn't always answer our prayers right away or how we want, He promises to be with us through everything."

"I'm thankful God is always with us to help us," Gavin said. "Let's pray that He'll help our landlord fix our oven soon!"

–Melissa Yeagle

How About You?
Have you ever wondered how God hears everyone's prayers all over the world? God isn't limited to being in one place at one time like we are. He is present everywhere all the time, so He sees, hears, and knows everything. And if you know Jesus as your Savior, you always have God's presence with you through the Holy Spirit. God hears your prayers, and even if you have to wait for an answer, He is with you.

Today's Key Verse:
The Lord is near to all who call upon Him, to all who call upon Him in truth. (NKJV) (Psalm 145:18 )

Today's Key Thought:
God is with us