Every week day during Lent the kids and I have been saying prayers. I usually ask them to pray first if they would like. And their prayers are hilarious. One will say they don't want to, and so I ask the other. That child will start to pray and the other will interrupt and start praying at the same time. Or they will ask me not to forget to pray for so and so.
It has been a heavy season. With Monte's loss, they have played that over and over. Just when I think they will forget to pray for Heather and Hannah and Holly they come up with something new. Today Ben popped up with, "Monte means 'mountain.'" (They had a slide with that at the memorial service.)
They are also enamored of the "new Heather" and Brian (her husband they have never met) who visited not long ago. "Baby Evie" makes it into Kyri's prayers every day. Ben has shown more emotion over the last couple of weeks and has prayed about friends moving away.
During these times I've denounced my legalistic tendency to make everyone sit still and pay rapt attention. Sometimes I ask Ben to stay closer to me or read a verse but for the most part all of this has happened in the midst of play. I went that route not because of wisdom, but because it was really "my time" and I was letting them share it.
But over the last week I realized that without knowing it, we've done a wonderful thing. My children have learned that praying isn't just for church and meal times and bedtime. You can pray anytime, anywhere. You can even keep coloring. And while God commands our respect, He is love and He desires to be part of our lives. I am learning it anew.
2 comments:
When Kc and I lived in China, we were unable to pray in public. So, we'd still pray, but just pray with our eyes open and like it was a conversation we were having.
And it was wonderful.
It totally changed the way that we communicated with God and changed how I viewed prayer as well. Gone was the American'ism way of praying of "every head bowed and every eyes closed". There something so intimate about having a group of people, praying and looking at each other as we all talk to our Father.
We still pray this way, even in our own home - eyes open and simply thanking God for the food He's provided for us - just like he was sitting there at our table.
I love this post... praying has always been easier than reading the Bible for me, b/c even if I'm mad at God, being a words person, I can't stop talking to Him.
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