Children’s Lesson 10

MAKING GOOD DECISIONS

LUKE 6:12-13

12 It was at this time that He went off to the mountain to pray, and He spent the whole night in prayer to God. 13 And when day came, He called His disciples to Him and chose twelve of them, whom He also named as apostles

At some point in life, everyone has to make decisions.  Some are everyday decisions, like what to wear or where to go or what to do that day.   Others are BIG decisions.  Decisions that change your life, like what you want to be when you grow up, where to live when you leave your family’s home, what person to marry, etc. 

You may be wondering “How should I choose? What’s the right answer? Where do I look for help?” 

We need to take our example from Jesus. Even though He was God the Son, He believed it was still necessary to spend time talking with His Father in heaven.  Before Jesus made His decisions or took action on healings, miracles, and even going to the cross, He talked to God the Father. 

In the scripture above, Jesus was faced with a decision that would shape the rest of history. Jesus, at this time, was selecting 12 men who would be trained and carry on his ministry when He went back to heaven.  

If Jesus, God Himself, felt the need to speak to God the Father before making a decision, how much more should you and I need to talk to God the Father about our decisions?

God has a plan for your life.  You need to talk to God in prayer before making any decision, just like Jesus did.  Talk to God about things and tell Him how you feel and what you are wanting to choose and ask Him what He wants you to choose.

Don’t think that God will immediately give a clear answer to you for every decision you need to make. He may not answer you right away because it is not time for you to make a choice.  He probably will not write the answer in the clouds or give you a neon sign showing your answer either.

Continue to pray until you get God’s answer.  It may not be the answer you are wanting, but God’s ways are not Our ways
..   Our ways should be God’s ways.

When the answer is slow to come or unclear, God provided us with some ways to help us to know what God would want us to choose.

  1. The Bible (His Word)  This is how we ‘hear’ straight from God
  1. As you pray and read the bible God will give you a very important thing to help you make decisions – WISDOM.
    1. James 1:5 – If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him.
    1. Prov 2:6 – If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him.
    1. Do you want to make good decisions? – seek wisdom. Where? – from God. Go to God in prayer and ask for wisdom. He won’t necessarily tell you which choice to make, but He’ll give you all the wisdom you need to make the best choice.
  • Godly People (Friends, Family, Preachers, Church people, Teachers, etc…)
    • Ask people who are close to God what they think about your situation and get their opinion.  Ask others to pray for you as you make your choice.
  • Circumstances (Things that happen or don’t happen. Conditions, Events, Situations)
    • Examples: Do I wear shorts today?  The weather person says it’s going to snow today.  Easy answer: don’t wear shorts.    OK, that one is obvious, but other decisions in life, although they probably won’t be as obvious, can be affected by other things that are going on in our lives.

All of our choices must honor God and follow His teachings.  If your decision doesn’t do that, then it is the WRONG decision.

Do you take your decisions to God in prayer?  God wants to hear from His Children.

You can only do that if you are His child, if you have chosen His Son Jesus as your Savior.

THAT is the most important decision you can ever make! 

Do you know Jesus? Is He Lord, the Boss, of your Life?  If not, 

Go to Romans Road to Salvation and/or Prayer of Rededication