Embracing Him

Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18)

Sweet Pea and Sugar Plum have become God’s greatest new prayer warriors. We do a lot of praying in our house, so neither JT nor I are surprised about their interest in prayer. We begin each day with our morning devotions, a short time of song, prayer, and a reading from the children’s Bible. No meal or snack is eaten unless we pray and thank God for providing the food. Throughout the day, we pray for the healing of boo-boos and the adjustment of attitudes (mine included!). At the end of the day, bedtime prayers include thanking God for the day’s blessings and praying for others as well as ourselves.

We can tell that prayer is becoming an active part of the girls’ daily activities. Sweet Pea regularly offers to pray for children having tantrums in the supermarket and those pulled over by the police. Sugar Plum often comes running/limping/hobbling/crawling over to her Daddy seeking prayer for even the smallest scratches or scrapes and solicits prayers for her sister when she will not share.

Yesterday, I learned that the girls’ prayerful ways have extended to inanimate objects as well. The girls were happily playing with their new dollhouse in the family room as I clipped coupons in the sunroom. Sweet Pea shouted, “Mommy, come look at this! I have something to show you!” When I stepped into the family room, Sweet Pea grabbed my hand and led me over to the dollhouse. “Look,” she said pointing to the upper level of the dollhouse, “they’re praying!” After congratulating the girls on helping the Fisher price family learn to pray effectively, I grabbed my camera and snapped a photo.

This morning, as I looked at the photo once again, I smiled and thanked God for using toys to remind me of the importance of teaching my children about God. Sometimes JT and I aren’t always sure that the girls are absorbing the lessons we teach them or the values we instill in them, but every now and then God makes things crystal clear and often in the most unexpected ways!

And He said to them, “It is written, ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer’ (Matthew 21:13a)

Every Wednesday night, our church holds its weekly prayer meeting. It is an encouraging, refreshing, relaxing time. We share prayer requests, pray for one another, sing hymns, and offer praise reports about how God has answered our prayers, met our needs, and blessed us and those we love.

Since the prayer meeting starts at 8:00 pm, well after Sweet Pea and Sugar Plum have been put to bed, JT and I cannot go to the meeting together. So that we each have an opportunity to attend a couple times a month, we take turns going to prayer meeting. Last night was my turn to go.

I was very thankful to get to last night’s meeting as I really needed some prayer. I was tired after spending the majority of day running various errands to prepare for our 4th of July barbecue and my patience was short. Yesterday, the girls were feeling particularly “emotional” by the end of the day and concluded the day with a ferocious battle with me over dinner and baths. I practically ran into the church last night in search of relief!

Toward the end of the prayer meeting, my friend Audrey stood and offered us some marvelous words of encouragement. She reminded us that God hears the prayers of those who have a true relationship with Him and that those prayers are extremely powerful (James 5:16). Audrey encouraged us to continue praying for one another and pointed out that our church is full of prayerful, gifted members involved in a variety of church ministries, all designed to give us the support we need.

Thankfully, the day I had yesterday is atypical. However, when those days come, it’s comforting to know that I have friends and family who pray for me and my family daily. It’s also a blessing to step into my own church, a house of prayer, and find the emotional and spiritual support I need.

Do you have a church that can offer you that type of love and support? If so, continue to go and grow there. If not, I encourage you to pray about it. I know God will lead you to a church that will meet your needs and allow you to use the gifts He has given you!

Photo: Courtesy of Wonderlane