Keeping Two Boys Quiet

By Marci Evans

Keeping children quiet in church became a real challenge when my niece, who was struggling with drugs, gave her two sons to my husband and me.

Image © Pacific Press

Five-year-old Omarion and his brother, Diamonte, 6, had no experience in church. They were full of energy, and they were not used to kneeling for prayer. Moreover, the formal prayer seemed to go on and on up front.

“How do I keep them still and quiet?” I wondered as the boys shifted restlessly during prayer one Sabbath. “What do I want to teach them about prayer?”

As I cried to God for help, an idea popped into my mind. Why not pray quietly with the boys? Immediately, I began to pray.

“Oh Lord, thanks so much for Diamonte and Omarion’s school, their teachers, their shoes, their toys, and for all Your blessings,” I whispered.

The boys stopped fidgeting.

“Please Lord, be with their Mama,” I said. “She loves them so much. Please heal her from drugs and be near her today. You know just what she needs.”

The boys listened spellbound. They were thinking about their mother, whom they missed and loved so much. The prayer continued at the front of the church.

“Lord, please be with Diamonte’s Dad, who is living in prison,” I said. “Please give him a good cellmate. Oh Lord, please be close to Omarions’ Dad. You know just what he needs! Let him know you are right beside him now.”

I prayed until the prayer ended up front. The boys remained quiet and reverent the entire time. Never once did I have to say, “Hold still!” or “Be quiet!”

The next Sabbath, I again whispered a special prayer for my nephews during the time of the formal prayer up front. The boys listened attentively. My prayer was about their lives and their loved ones. It mattered to them. I prayed with the boys every Sabbath until they learned to be quiet and reverent during the formal prayer time at the church. Of course, we kept praying at home.

Who would have thought that such a simple solution would calm twitchy boys? With that solution, the Lord allowed me to be a missionary in the most important mission field, the home. Ellen White tells us, “Let not parents forget the great mission field that lies before them in the home. In the children committed to her every mother has a sacred charge from God. ‘Take this son, this daughter,’ God says, ‘and train it for Me. Give it a character polished after the similitude of a palace, that it may shine in the courts of the Lord forever’” (Testimonies for the Church, Vol. 9, p. 37).

God is so good. He gives us mission-minded ideas when we need them most.

Marci Evans is a member of the Milton Seventh-day Adventist Church in Milton-Freewater in the U.S. state of Oregon.

Produced by the General Conference Office of Adventist Mission.
Find more mission stories at adventistmission[dot]org

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