The Nudge

Marvin Washington has just won the school fundraiser's grand prize - a brand-new Stingray twenty-one-speed bike - and he won't let anyone touch it, least of all Grady, whose own bike was flattened by a car. But after a Sunday school lesson on prayer, a strange thought keeps nudging at Marvin: give the new bike to Grady. Marvin tries everything to wriggle out of it, from demanding a sign from God to donating his rickety old bike instead... which the garbage men promptly haul away as trash. Meanwhile Grady, sure that prayer works like a vending machine, starts praying for a bicycle - and even buys an illegal lottery ticket to hurry things along. With Whit's help, Marvin learns how to test whether a nudge is really from God, and secretly leaves the Stingray on Grady's doorstep. When a newspaper photo gives the secret away, Whit shows them both that God often answers prayers through people - and Grady's grateful thank-you is all the sign Marvin needs.

Found on Into the Light Album 47 · 12 episodes

The run See every episode

1 of 2 0594 A Time for Action A singed guidebook among his late parents' belongings sends Eugene and Whit chasing a mysterious train ticket to Africa, while young Grady learns what it really means to help someone in need.

2 of 2 0595 A Time for Action While tracing a mysterious fax to its true source, Eugene follows a trail of clues through a gas station, a homeless shelter, and a cemetery in his desperate search for his long-lost father.

0596 Cover of Darkness Twenty years after a tragedy tore them apart, Eugene Meltsner reunites with the father who believed him dead - but a shadow from their past forces their reunion into secrecy.

0597 Out of Our Hands When their parents' separation upends everything, a sister stakes her hopes on a play meant to reunite the family - while her brother plots a very different kind of response.

0598 My Favorite Thing A family's meticulously planned birthday surprise built around Mom's favorite things collides with a scheming couple, an overdue school report, and a lobster liberation at a fancy restaurant.

0599 Blood, Sweat, and Fears When a hospital blood drive comes to Whit's End, its most confident organizers and promoters must confront the hidden fears that threaten to derail it.

0600 The Nudge A middle schooler's hard-won fundraising prize becomes a test of conscience when a quiet nudge during a lesson on prayer suggests it may not be meant for him.

0601 Bernard and Jeremiah When Marvin gives up on evangelism because no one listens, Bernard takes him back in time to meet a prophet who spent forty years delivering a message nobody wanted to hear.

0602 Mum's the Word A well-meant secret about an anonymous valentine snowballs into a web of promises, plagiarism, and blackmail that threatens to spill out over Odyssey's airwaves.

0603 The Family Next Door Feeling invisible in her own quiet house, Mandy finds warmth next door with the Washington family - until her constant presence starts to strain the very household she's leaning on.

0604 Like Father, Like Wooton A fatherless boy's carnival lie and Connie's undercover hunt for a dramatic story both collide with the truth in Odyssey.

1 of 2 0605 The Chosen One A gifted young runaway with a mysterious past arrives alone in Odyssey, and her stay at Whit's End brings a string of strange troubles no one can explain.

2 of 2 0606 The Chosen One A troubled runaway's cry for help forces one family to weigh their comfortable plans against what it truly means to choose someone.

Featured characters

Minor characters & crew 5 more roles

5 supporting roles

Bus Driver John Fornof Kristi McKay Julianne Buescher Samantha McKay Mary Mouser Emcee John Fornof Home Resident John Fornof

Made by

Chris Anthony Host John Fornof Writer Bob Hoose Director · Producer Jonathan Crowe Sound Designer Marshal Younger Producer Dave Arnold Executive Producer

The story

Read the full synopsis 3 min

Marvin Washington becomes Odyssey Middle School’s fundraising champion by selling more candy bars than anyone else. His prize is a new Stingray twenty-one-speed bicycle, and he proudly refuses to let Grady ride it. On the school bus, Marvin celebrates by drumming on Grady’s seat and then on his head. Grady angrily throws the drumsticks out the window, earning his third violation and losing his bus privileges.

Marvin apologizes for causing Grady’s anger, but the apology does not solve the problem. Without the bus, Grady must walk to school, and his own bicycle has recently been run over by a car. Marvin’s teasing has helped make an already difficult time worse.

In Sunday school, Whit teaches that prayer is a conversation, not a speech in which people do all the talking. God may not answer in an audible voice, but He can guide someone through Scripture, teachers, or thoughts. As the class sits quietly, a strange idea enters Marvin’s mind: he should give his new bicycle to Grady.

Grady is also learning about prayer. His mother, Kristi, is applying for a slightly better-paying job at Norton’s Shoe Store, and he and Samantha pray that she will receive it. When Kristi returns with good news, Grady decides prayer has worked exactly as requested. He immediately begins asking God for a new bicycle as well.

Marvin learns that Grady no longer has a bicycle, making the thought of giving more difficult to dismiss. He asks God for an immediate sign and, when none appears, decides that keeping the valuable prize must be acceptable. Then he finds what seems like an ideal compromise: he can give Grady his old bicycle and keep the new Stingray.

That compromise fails when Marvin leaves the old bicycle beside the curb at Grady’s home. Before he can deliver the surprise note, sanitation workers mistake the worn-out bicycle for trash and haul it away. Marvin is upset, but his friend points out that the bicycle may not have been safe to ride anyway. The original nudge has not been satisfied by giving away something Marvin no longer values.

Meanwhile, Grady buys an illegal lottery ticket and prays for a winning number so his family can afford a bicycle. Whit explains that God is not a faucet whose blessings can be turned on whenever someone wants an object. Prayer helps people know God and understand what He knows is best; it does not give them control over the way He must answer.

Marvin asks Whit how to distinguish one of his own thoughts from God’s guidance. Whit suggests three tests: compare the thought with the Bible, seek wise counsel from faithful people, and look for God’s peace. Generosity agrees with Scripture, Whit and Marvin’s parents would support the gift, and Marvin senses that although giving the Stingray will hurt, he will be at peace. He also recognizes how selfishly he has treated the bicycle.

With his parents’ agreement, Marvin secretly leaves the new Stingray at the McKays’ home. Grady is thrilled and believes God has delivered it out of nowhere. When a newspaper photograph reveals that the bicycle was Marvin’s fundraising prize, Grady thinks his prayer was never answered after all. Whit explains that God often shows His love by working through people. The gift can answer Grady’s prayer while also teaching Marvin to give unselfishly.

Marvin misses his prize and wonders whether giving it away was foolish. He asks God for a sign that he did the right thing. Just then, Grady rides up, thanks him, and says even Kristi cried over his kindness. Grady races away on the bicycle, and Marvin recognizes the grateful visit as all the confirmation he needs.