Sanks for Today
5/20/13

I am grateful for a child's prayer.  Both of my girls are believers in prayer.  We pray often, sometimes together and sometimes alone.  They both recognize the need to lift up our needs to God and thank Him for blessings.

Today I was driving my oldest to her gymnastics class.  I told her about the severe weather in a neighboring state and how many people had been affected.  She knew those folks needed prayer.  I watched out of the corner of my eye as she folded her hand, bowed her head, and prayed silently for people she doesn't know.

This reminds me of two other special times my daughters prayed on behalf of others. Over the Christmas break this year, my youngest daughter had a classmate whose father unexpectedly passed away.  She didn't know the details, but her heart was broken for her friend.  She asked for the two of us to pray for her classmate and her family.  After we finished praying, my daughter told me she knew that what we had just done was important.

Several years ago, my oldest daughter and I were traveling to school.  She was attending the preschool at my place of employment.  As we drove through a run-down neighborhood to get to the interstate, we passed a home that had been damaged in a fire.  She had many questions about what happens to a family when their house is destroyed in a fire. I tried to answer her questions as best I could given her preschool age.  She asked if we could pray for the family.

Some time later that year, she brought home a class project. I think they had studied about community helpers.  She had to fill in these blanks:  If I were a ___________ I would ______________.  My sweet girl had her teacher's help to write:  builder and make a new house for the one lost in the fire.

Children can teach us a lot.  Today, I am grateful for a child's prayer.