Sunday's child

Expectant prayer

(No, this post is not about the impending baby. Although we could pray about that too.)

Jane's prayer life has really taken off recently, and it's been an inspiration to me so see how sweetly and simply she prays for everything. At first, once we began encouraging her to pray out loud, her prayers were cute and adorable, as well as insightful glimpses into what she thought was important. Her stream-of-consciousness style prayers ran something like this:

'Thank you, God, for the house that we live in, and the food that we eat, and the beds that we sleep in, and the toys that we play with, and that we could eat all the ice cream, and thank you for the clothes that we wear, and that Ella and I can play, and thank you for class...'

On one occasion, when supper was a bit rushed, I sat down and started the meal while Michael prepared to mow the lawn. I asked Jane to pray for the food, and she began: 'Thank you, God, for the food for us to eat, and thank you for helping us to eat...' At one point, Michael, not knowing we were in the middle of praying, called out from the other room with a question, and without skipping a beat, Jane went on, '...and for Papa to stop talking...'

Now she prays for specific requests, but the manner in which she asks, nothing wavering, illustrates so perfectly the faith of a child. She always starts by thanking God for answering the request. 'Thank you, God, for Mama to feel better...Thank you, God, for it to stop raining...Thank you, God, for Baby to be healthy...' Her sweet faith and confidence is an encouragement to me.