Bible Story Snack: God Hears You

In this Bible story snack, kids enjoy a snack mix as they discover how God hears their prayers.

Bible Story: David escapes Saul and writes psalms to God. (1 Samuel 23:1-14; Psalm 86)

Bible Verse: “I love the Lord because he hears my voice and my prayer for mercy” (Psalm 116:1).

Bible Point: God hears you.

Consider This

Saul, jealous of David’s popularity, kept David and his men on the run. But David repeatedly resisted opportunities to harm Saul, in spite of the danger he faced daily. Not only did David have to flee from Saul (his own king), but he also chose to fight the Philistines (his people’s enemy) at the same time!

After David escaped Saul in Keilah, the Ziphites located David and planned to deliver him to Saul. During this time, David wrote Psalm 54, in which he cries out, “Listen to my prayer, O God. Pay attention to my plea.”

Scholars are unsure exactly how long David ran from Saul. However, some historians estimate it to be around seven years! During that time, David had countless reasons to call out to God in desperation, triumph, sorrow, and loneliness.

Why It Matters

Kids can tell you exactly what it’s like to be ignored or unheard. They know what it feels like to talk to a busy parent or teacher who responds with a distracted “Mm-hmm.” They’ve been that hand, waving in the air, that didn’t get called on to share an answer. And even when someone is tuned in, kids may not have the words to express what they’re feeling. What a gift to discover that God hears every whispered worry or spoken celebration. The God who treasures us is eagerly awaiting conversation with us! Today help kids realize that not only does God hear our voices, but he also hears our hearts!

Bible Story Snack

Supplies:

Bible
Rice Chex cereal (1/2 cup per person)
Skittles or dried fruit (2 tablespoons per person)
popcorn (1 cup per person)
sandwich-size resealable plastic bags (1 per person)
measuring cups
tablespoon
napkins (1 per person)

Tips

You can swap the popcorn for gluten-free pretzels for an allergy-sensitive alternative.
For preschoolers, consider using Puffcorn instead of popcorn. The kernels and kernel hulls in popcorn can be a choking hazard for preschoolers.

Easy Prep

Measure scoops of ingredients into a resealable plastic bag for each person. Create bags of the Bible story snack that include:

½ cup Rice Chex cereal
2 tablespoons of Skittles
1 cup popcorn

God Hears You

Give each person a bag of the Bible story snack. Have each person eat a piece of square cereal. Invite them to call out words to describe the flavor.

Say: God listens to us when we talk with him. The plain flavor of this cereal reminds us God hears and cares about our prayers about simple, everyday things, such as hopes to make a sports team or wanting to make new friends.

Next, everyone can eat a piece of popcorn, then call out descriptions of the flavor.

Say: This salty snack reminds us of salty tears we may cry when we feel sad or afraid. Our prayers can seem bigger or more important when we’re facing something sad or scary.

Now everyone can take a piece of candy from the bag to taste and call out descriptions of the flavor.

Say: The sweet candy reminds us we can pray to talk with God when life is sweet—when things are good and our hearts feel like celebrating! Invite everyone to tell about something they’re looking forward to that they’d like to celebrate with God.

Say: No matter what you pray about, God hears you! Psalm 116:1 says, “I love the Lord because he hears my voice and my prayer for mercy.” God listens for your voice and cares about every prayer you pray.

This Bible story snack comes from one of Group’s previous Easy VBS programs. Check out this year’s Easy VBS Scuba, where kids dive into friendship with God! For even more snack ideas, check out these posts.