To Sabbath School teachers: This story is for Sabbath, Dec. 1.

By Andrew McChesney

Fifth grader Jacinth noticed something odd about the family cat.

Every time Jacinth sat down with his parents and nine older brothers and sisters to eat around the table, his mother placed a dish of food on the floor for the cat. The food was supposed to prevent the cat from leaping up onto the table while the family ate in their home in the Philippines.

But one day, he saw that the cat wasn’t eating from the dish. Instead, the cat looked down at the food, looked over at the family, and waited.

Jacinth’s father prayed for the meal.

“Dear God, thank you for this food that we are about to eat,” he said. “Please help it to nourish and strengthen us to serve You. Amen.”

As soon as Father finished praying, Jacinth glanced over at the cat and saw that it was eating.

“Look!” Jacinth said. “We have a praying cat!”

Father and Mother were surprised that the cat had only started eating after the prayer.

At the next meal, Mother put some rice and fish onto a dish and placed it on the floor. The cat walked over to the dish, looked down at the food, and looked over at the family.

Father prayed for the food. Jacinth peeked out of one eye as Father prayed. When Father said, “Amen,” the cat bent down its head and began to eat.

Jacinth’s brothers and sisters couldn’t believe that the cat might actually want to pray. So, they decided to make an experiment. Several hours later, when the family wasn’t eating at the table, they put some food onto a dish and set it down in front of the cat.

The cat looked at the food and over at the curious children. It didn’t eat.

Jacinth broke the silence.

“Amen!” he exclaimed.

Immediately the cat began to eat.

The cat taught Jacinth an important lesson about Proverbs 22:6, where King Solomon says, “Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it.” The cat became part of his family when it was a tiny kitten, so it grew up watching Father, Mother, and the children take turns praying before every meal. When the cat grew older, it waited for prayer before it would eat.

Jacinth’s parents also followed the advice of King Solomon. They carefully trained Jacinth and his nine brothers and sisters to love God with all their hearts and to thank Him for all things, including meals.

So, Jacinth and his brothers and sisters grew up to be faithful to God. Jacinth went on to get married, have two sons, and serve as a missionary in Zimbabwe and South Africa. Today he lives in his native Philippines and works as under-treasurer of the Southern Asia-Pacific Division, which oversees the Adventist work in 14 countries, from Pakistan to Indonesia.

Jacinth is glad that his cat waited for prayer before meals. “Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it,” he said.

Part of this quarter’s Thirteenth Sabbath Offering will help open a school to teach children and adults to read on Lake Sebu in the Philippines. Pray that those who learn to read will also know God through the Bible. Thank you for your mission offering.