When I was a kid, I loved looking through my illustrated story Bible. I can still picture the cover and imagine the feel of the pages between my fingers. Between my home life and church, I heard and read many Bible stories. I learned a lot, but I wanted to know more. Were there things I could learn from the Bible characters that applied to my own life? What did it look like to follow Jesus when I was playing on the playground with my friends? How did God’s love for me make a difference when I felt left out? I talked about some of these questions with my parents, but when I ended up in a new or uncertain situation, I didn’t always remember the truths I’d been taught. Even now, as an adult, it’s easy for me to forget what I know to be true about God and his promises.
So younger me would have loved to get a copy of God Hears Her for Girls: 90 Faith-Building Devotions. The beautifully designed, soft (yes, truly—it’s soft!) cover makes this book beg to be held and, once inside, the invitation to read continues. Many of the devotions include stories about interesting characters—a man who climbed Mount Everest, an Olympic gold medalist, even a sheep named Shrek who grew sixty pounds of fleece. Others highlight biblical characters such as King David; Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego; and Adam and Eve, connecting these stories from long ago to girls’ lives today. There are also examples of everyday girls like Julie, who felt awkward and embarrassed praying out loud but who learned an important lesson about how God hears us.
In one of my favorite entries, we’re reminded that Noah and his family spent more than a year on the ark waiting out the rain and then waiting for the land to be dry enough for them to leave. To kids, waiting a year can sound like the equivalent of waiting forever! This story is such a great example of the ways God sometimes calls us to wait when he says something is right, which I need to continually be reminded of even now. It concludes with a prayer, “Jesus, waiting isn’t easy for me. When I’m waiting for something, please help me to be patient!” I’m sure we could all do with a few more prayers for patience in our lives.
All throughout the book, readers are continually pointed back to the ultimate source of truth—the Bible. Each entry starts with a verse or two that pertains to the story or illustration, and each one ends with a suggestion of an additional passage to read. Since the additional passage isn’t printed in the devotional, it encourages girls to pick up the Bible and seek out the passage. It’s a small, but important, nudge to always be returning to God’s Word; and it’s one step girls can take to fall in love with reading the Bible on their own. There are questions and activities woven throughout the book that help turn the words on the page into life-changing action.
While God Hears Her for Girls is aimed at third to seventh grade girls, I found myself nodding along at the truths I need to be reminded of too. This devotional provides a great starting point for conversations between adults and the young girls they care about on how faith grows and shapes our lives. Worry, busyness, and fear may look different when we’re kids than when we’re adults, but the promises of God apply at any age. A fourth grader might read this passage differently than I do, but we’re no less in need of it: “God’s love for us doesn’t change. No matter if we’re good or bad, performing the best or failing at everything, on the top or at the bottom. The fact is: we’re His kids, and there’s absolutely nothing that can separate us from His love.”
—Written by Brianna DeWitt. Used by permission of the author.
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