The Story of the Nobleman’s Son

Scripture Reference:

• John 4:43-54

Family Discussion:

Discuss the importance of letting God answer prayer his way:

• The nobleman had a plan for how he wanted Jesus to heal his son. He expected that it would require a personal visit from Jesus to his home. He was shocked when Jesus offered a different way to answer his prayer, but he believed and returned home to see his prayers answered.

• Discuss how God’s plans for answering our prayers are often not the same as our plans. Share some stories of how this has happened in your life, especially when God’s plan was so much better than your original one.

Discuss the lasting impact this miracle may have had on the boy’s life:

• How do you think this boy’s life was affected by this miraculous healing? Do you think he became famous in his town? Do you think he lived differently because his life was saved by God?

Discuss how God still answers prayer without being physically present in a given situation:

• God still answers prayers today, doing miraculous things all over the world because of the prayers of his people (James 5:16). Just as Jesus didn’t need to be physically present to heal the boy, he doesn’t need to be present to answer prayers all over the world today.

Activity:

• Make a short list of things to pray for related to people who aren’t geographically close to you (family, friends, entire countries experiencing difficulties).

Prayer Prompts:

• Thank God and praise him for being everywhere all the time so that he can help people all over the world

• Ask God for faith to trust him to answer our prayers in his own way

• Pray for the specific needs of people who are not physically near you (family that lives far away or missionaries serving in another country)