This morning, as I was working on a project, my kids pulled a tub of toys into the living room and proceeded to dump the contents out on the floor. The upside-down tub quickly became a table, which they then covered with plastic play food.
Out of the corner of my eye I saw them take their respective places and my 3-year-old said a sweet prayer of thanksgiving. Did my heart warm at the sound of those words? You betcha.
About a year ago, she'd pray. Even volunteer to. But not so much today. We don't push it on her, even though we still ask periodically. At this stage of life, I want her to see us model it and not force her to become a legalistic prayer.
But as I grow and learn more about what it means to be in constant communion with God, I want my children to desire to communicate (and listen) to God. It's vital.
And this "ah-ha" (well, hello, yes) moment hit me this morning. If I want them to desire to pray, I need to pray for that end.
It's so ridiculously simplistic I am embarrassed to share it, but honestly, praying about everything is a new application for me. At 30 years old, I'm just now starting to scrape the surface.
My mom purchased me a book recently, Praying God's Word by Beth Moore. I'm only about twenty-five pages in, but I'm already becoming prompted by the importance of taking our thoughts captive in Christ.
"There is not in the world a kind of life more sweet and delightful than that of a continual conversation with God." Brother Lawrence
I want my kids to live with God's voice echoing in their heads. I need to pray power over them.
"[...]prayerless lives are powerless lives, and prayerful lives are powerful lives; but, believe it or not, the ultimate goal God has for us is not power but personal intimacy with Him" (Moore 6).
“I would rather teach one man to pray than ten men to preach.” Charles Spurgeon
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