A Heart for Prayer

I love to hear kids pray. It's so honest and pure. When Kaylee was little, we started praying with her every night. When she got a little older, we asked her to start praying. For a good while, her prayer was pretty much the same every night, which was fine. It was her prayer, and she was learning to talk to God.

Then after a while, we started to ask her if there was anything else she wanted to pray about, occasionally giving her suggestions. Now she is doing so well. She prays for Megan's baby every night. (Megan is my SIL who is pregnant.) She remembers to pray for anyone who is sick. And last night, on her own, she prayed for the people of Japan...her words were, "That they would be happy."

Let me just say how hard it is to just not break down in tears just hearing this girl think of others and pray for them. As a mom, trying to help her kids grow up in the ways of the Lord, it makes me so excited. I can only imagine the way it makes God smile to hear her talk to Him.

And really, it teaches me, too. Her prayers know no bounds. She knows God is big and able to do anything, so she prays like that. During the day if she wants or needs something, or wants something to work out, it is very common for her to stop, bow her head, and pray right then and there. Then she smiles and goes on about what she is doing. No doubts.

I need that. I need to take my requests to God, no matter what they are, pray, smile, and go on, no doubts. It would be easy for me to say my requests are bigger, or I understand more, or whatever, but really? I mean, does God care differently or more or less for me/Kaylee. Not at all. When the Bible talks about child-like faith, this is it right here. It's being lived out right in front of me.

I have some big hopes and dreams, one in particular that seems a little out of reach. And although I have no idea what the time table is, I feel it's okay to pray for it, so who am I to think it's too big or impossible?

Taking a lesson from the four-year-old who came to hug me goodbye this morning with a, "Goodbye Dear, I love you," (yes, that is what SHE said to ME), I just need to pray, have faith, smile, and move on. God IS bigger than the boogie man!