I often find myself underestimating my kids and what they
understand. We pray at meals and at bedtime, but I am never really sure how
much they are grasping. Do their little minds realize Who we are talking to and
the power He possesses? I tend to think that I can wait until they are little
bit older before we dive into the doctrines of who God is and what He can do, but
I am beginning to realize that my two and half year old son’s faith is bigger
than my own.
A couple of weeks ago, we took a family friend with us to the zoo.
As we got ready to leave, our friend could not find her car keys. We rechecked bags, pockets and stroller baskets but still came up empty handed. My husband went to retrace our steps and my friend went to check with the front desk.
I was praying silently that we would be able to locate her keys quickly. I looked down at my two children and decided to pray out loud with them as we waited. I just said, “Hey, let’s pray that Jesus will help us find Grandma Bridget’s keys.”
I was amazed to see my son and one year old daughter clasp their hands and bow their heads. Almost as soon as I finished our prayer, my husband called to tell me that a lady had found the keys and walked them up to the front desk as Grandma Bridget was inquiring about them. I excitedly told my son, “Jesus helped us find the keys!” He looked up at me and said, “Jesus got her keys. We asked him to.”
I realized in that moment what Jesus meant in Matthew 18:3 when He said that we need to have “faith like a child.” Hudson knew we had asked Jesus to help. It was no shock to him that Jesus had done exactly what we had asked. Hudson understood perfectly. I am the one that prays sometimes without really believing that God will answer.
I also was reminded that praying out loud with my kids for all kinds of requests allows them to see first-hand what God can do. Even now, they can begin to see answers to prayers, and those answers to prayer can lead them to trust God to do even more in the future.
There’s no need to wait until they are older to teach them truths about God. Instead, their faith that they have now is teaching me.
A couple of weeks ago, we took a family friend with us to the zoo.
As we got ready to leave, our friend could not find her car keys. We rechecked bags, pockets and stroller baskets but still came up empty handed. My husband went to retrace our steps and my friend went to check with the front desk.
I was praying silently that we would be able to locate her keys quickly. I looked down at my two children and decided to pray out loud with them as we waited. I just said, “Hey, let’s pray that Jesus will help us find Grandma Bridget’s keys.”
I was amazed to see my son and one year old daughter clasp their hands and bow their heads. Almost as soon as I finished our prayer, my husband called to tell me that a lady had found the keys and walked them up to the front desk as Grandma Bridget was inquiring about them. I excitedly told my son, “Jesus helped us find the keys!” He looked up at me and said, “Jesus got her keys. We asked him to.”
I realized in that moment what Jesus meant in Matthew 18:3 when He said that we need to have “faith like a child.” Hudson knew we had asked Jesus to help. It was no shock to him that Jesus had done exactly what we had asked. Hudson understood perfectly. I am the one that prays sometimes without really believing that God will answer.
I also was reminded that praying out loud with my kids for all kinds of requests allows them to see first-hand what God can do. Even now, they can begin to see answers to prayers, and those answers to prayer can lead them to trust God to do even more in the future.
There’s no need to wait until they are older to teach them truths about God. Instead, their faith that they have now is teaching me.
Philippians 4:19 “My God will meet all your needs.”
No comments:
Post a Comment