Children and Prayer

I have come to this page often in my mind the past few days, trying to sort my thoughts and express them with the right words. Sometimes I have ideas in my mind and just can't get them written. Part of the issue has been physical - I still am recovering from the health challenges I wrote about in my last post, and now I am finishing a round of antibiotics for yet another infection. I did not know it was possible to come down with 3 things in the space of 4 weeks! I am gradually recovering and and beginning to have my normal energy level (and ability to think clearly!) back. It makes me even more grateful for the measure of health I have always enjoyed, when there are so many who don't. And it has been encouraging for me to see in the past few weeks how God has given me good-health days on exactly the days that I needed it - for my trip home, for my speaking at our ladies luncheon last Saturday, and for being at our son's for our grandson's kindergarten graduation recently.

When our three-year-old granddaughter saw me, she squealed "Ma-Ma!" and jumped into my arms. Love it! But even sweeter were her next words. "Ma-ma, how is your rash? (she is referring to the bad rash I mentioned in my last post) - and - "I have been praying for your rash!"

I was floored. My tiny granddaughter had been praying for my rash? And she thought it important enough that it was the first thing she told me?

Later that day at supper before my husband and I left to come home, our six-year-old grandson wanted to pray. Besides thanking God for the food and the nice day and the new play set we helped build, he prayed, "Help Ma-Ma and Pa-Pa to have a safe trip home. Help them not to be tired. I pray that there wouldn't be traffic. And help them to only have green lights and yellow lights, and to just go and go and go!"

We hid smiles at his words and his enthusiasm, but again, I was stunned at the depth and specifics of his prayer for a six year old. This was completely un-prompted and un-coached. I thought about how it was evident that their parents are teaching them how to pray. And I realized that when I pray for my grandchildren, it never occurred to me to pray that they would learn to pray. I pray every day for their salvation, for their health and safety, for their protection from sin, and for them to learn to obey and make right choices. But I had never thought about praying that they would be children, and someday men and women, of prayer!

As I have been mulling this over in my mind this week, my heart has become even more burdened for my grandchildren - all eight of them (to be nine in the next couple of weeks!) Oh, that they would learn how to pray and see the importance of praying about everything. That they would grow up to be men and women, moms and dads, and husbands and wives who take everything to the throne of grace! What a difference that will make in their lives if they learn that lesson now while they are so young.

Through this I have been encouraged to pray in a deeper way for my children and grandchildren. Praying Scripture for our children and grandchildren is something I have written about before and something that is so easy and so good to do. A book that I have that I recommend is "Praying the Scriptures for Your Children" by Jodie Berndt. This little book helps you to pray specifically and scripturally for their faith, character, relationships and their future. When we pray Scripture, we can be confident that we are praying right.

And as a side note, God did answer our grandson's prayer. We had one of the quickest and easiest trips home that night that we ever have had. I texted my daughter in law and told her to make sure she told our grandson, and she said "What a good lesson for him, that God answered his prayer."

What a lesson for me - to remember to pray about the deeper and the truly important aspects of our grandchildren's lives. "Continue in prayer, and watch in the same with thanksgiving." Col. 4:2

Prayerfully,
Kathi