With Thanksgiving approaching, I am feeling thankful for the gift of prayer. I thought it was worth posting this devotional I wrote 12 years ago.
The other day my husband was holding our daughter Hannah while he was visiting with his aunt and uncle. She's only two and a half, and had apparently been clamoring for her daddy's undivided attention, as children are apt to do when their parents are trying to having a conversation with anyone other than them. As he held her, something caught her attention. It was his necklace, specifically the gold cross which dangled from the chain. Gingerly, she to took in her chubby fingers and began a conversation of her own in a voice so quiet that only her daddy could hear. It went something like this:
"Dear God, Thank you for this whole day. Thank you for Daddy and Mommy and Sissy and Uncle Jeremy. In Jesus' name we pray. Aaa-men."
Did I mention that Hannah is only two and a half?
Her daddy may have been the only one standing there who heard it, but you can bet someone else did, too. There's no doubt in my mind that God was listening and he had to have been smiling!
At her very tender age, Hannah is learning to talk to God. She's talking to him on her own, without prompting, at times other than bedtime. She has even made the connection that the cross is something significant, something much more than a shiny piece of trendy jewelry.
Her innocent prayer has taught me volumes about my own faith and the legacy I leave my children. I may not always be there for them (as much as I would like to be), but God promises to be there. I believe that God has given me a responsibility to teach my children how to find him. I can't think of a better way to do that than by example...taking them to church, teaching them to pray, praying together as a family.
The Bible instructs us to pray without ceasing, and that if we present our requests to God with thanksgiving, then the peace of God which transcends all understanding will guard our hearts and minds. Amid all the turmoil that life can hold, what a relief to know that when I ask, God will protect my heart and mind with a sense of peace. How wonderful to know that same peace is there for my children, too, as they learn to go to God in prayer.
"Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus." (Philippians 4:6-7)
