Kids' Prayer

And He called a child to Himself and stood him in their midst, and said, "Truly I say to you, unless you are converted and become like children, you shall not enter the kingdom of heaven".

Matt 18:2-3 (NASB)

But Jesus called for them, saying, "Permit the children to come to Me; do not hinder them; for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. Truly I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it at all." Luke 18:16-17 & Mark 10:14-15 (NASB)

These verses ran through my mind recently, after reading an article* about a little girl's prayers. Starting at age three, Allison prayed about many things: to keep spiders out of her bed, to find missing items for her parents, to get into her home after being locked out, to locate a parking spot, to have the trash picked up on the wrong day, and countless other little things – often followed-up with, "it's going to be all right, 'cause I prayed," or "do you know why we found it?" or simply, "it'll be OK, Mommy."

I was reminded of some important principles, as I reflected on this child's prayer life.

1) No request is too trivial to God – it's our motives that count. (James 4:3) In fact, God often uses the answers to little prayers as preparation to pray for the bigger ones.

2) God wants us to mature in our walk, and seems particularly interested in establishing a weak believer's faith, giving liberally to all. (James 1:5)

3) You can't expect an answer to prayer, IF you don't pray – we are encouraged to devote ourselves to prayer. (James 4:2/ Col 4:2)

4) Allison was quick to confess her wrong-doing to her folks and God, thanking Him for dying on the cross. We need to keep our channels open and clear to the Lord. (James 5:16/ Ps 139:23-24)

5) Allison prayed with that adorable "child-like faith", believing that God would answer 'yes', whenever possible. Are our prayers rooted in faith, or marked by doubt and unbelief? (Ps 56: 9-11a/ James 1:6)

6) As Allison grew old enough to understand salvation, she prayed for her grandmother to become a Christian. She was the only one that was not surprised when Grandma Lois trusted Christ years later.

Don't expect an instant 'yes', and don't be surprised if God says 'no' – just like a parent does when the budget is too thin, the timing isn't quite right, or for nutritional reasons. (Ps 40:1/ James 4:6-10)

7) God is the one who decides how to answer our prayers. (James 4:15)

8) A child gets to know a parent's priorities, and learns when/how to ask to maximize the chances for a positive response. We need to spend time getting to know God, learning about His priorities, sensing how He views situations. (Ps 17:1-8 & 15/ Ps 37:4)

9) Allison prayed for two years, that God would heal her grandfather of cancer. But the disease spread, and the pain increased. When the doctors said that he would die, Allison prayed that he would die peacefully in his sleep – which is exactly what happened.

Allison had that easy-going willingness to change her prayers, based on God's responses.

10) Allison's first memorable prayer experience was at age three, when her Mom prayed that no spiders would bother her, and that she'd get a good night's sleep. The next morning (much to her Mom's surprise?), Allison woke from a very sound sleep and announced, "God protected me from the bugs in my room!"

We can pass on a legacy of prayer to our children and loved ones, by modelling a faithful life of prayer.

* "Allison's Prayer", by Debra Wood, in Ministry Today, Nov/Dec 1995

KidsPryr

16.Dez.95