Important Prayers

Our bedtime routine is to put Caleb in bed and then pray together as a family. Abby is usually the one who wants to pray so we basically hear the same prayer every night (and every meal, come to think of it).

Dear God. Thank you for this day. Thank you today. Thank you for Mommy and Daddy and Caleb. Thank you for Grandma and Grandpa and Amy and Kevin. Thank you for Grammy and Grandpa and Uncle Billy. Thank you for all the cows. And thank you for all my friends and family. In Jesus name I pray, Amen.

Last night she was going through her usual words and right after saying, "Amen," she stopped short and said, "Oh no!" When asked what was wrong, she answered, "I forgot to say a very important prayer! We have to go pray in my room now so I can say it!"

It turned out that one of her classmates was not in school today, most likely from being sick, and she knew she had to pray for him to feel better. Her teacher does such a wonderful job of having the students pray in class and tells them to pray at home for each other.

Seeing her passion for remembering that prayer request made me feel pretty small. When is the last time that I stopped short in mid-sentence because of a prayer concern? When did all other priorities suddenly become tiny in comparison to the need to commune with God?

Abby was so intent on saying that prayer, that she forgot to beg her Daddy for piggy-back rides and being thrown into bed (which involves something along the lines of him swinging her in the air three times before landing safely in bed). What was usually the only thing on her mind at that time of day was replaced with the need to pray for her friend.

Once again-God teaching me through these little ones.