The Most Adorable Prayer Ever

My four-year-old daughter is pretty darn cute, and I’m not just saying that because she’s mine. Take a look for yourself. 

And her cuteness isn’t just skin deep, because she is constantly saying the most adorable things (not to mention her speech impediment just makes anything sound cuter). One of my favorite things to hear from her is prayer. My kids take turns praying before dinner, but I personally prefer when it’s her turn. 

Here is an example from her evening prayer back in January.

Sank you faw dinna, eben doe I didden like suna tassewole. Sank you faw my famwy so I won’t be awone. Sank you faw Fwissmas Ebe befaw Fwissmas. Sank you faw Fwissmas affer Fwissmas Ebe. Sank you faw my mom and my dad and my bwudder and sisser and my baby who is Soby lite duh uwa Sobey, Windsey’s tat. 

In case you didn’t get that, I’ll translate…

Thank you for dinner, even though I didn’t like tuna casserole. Thank you for my family, so I won’t be alone. Thank you for Christmas Eve before Christmas. Thank you for Christmas after Christmas Eve. Thank you for my mom and my dad and my brother and sister and my baby who is Toby like the other Tobey, Lindsey’s cat. 

It is so hard not to giggle when she prays, which drives her crazy, because she isn’t trying to be funny. She’s sincerely talking to God, and I simply have the privilege of listening to their conversation. So as cute as I think her prayers are, what I like even more about them is her authenticity. She means every word that comes out of her mouth. There is no doubt in her mind that God is listening, and her prayers reflect that truth.

There are so very many lessons about God that I have learned from my children, and this is not the least of them. Prayer is a big deal. That’s like the understatement of the century, but I just don’t know how to say it better. It’s a BIG deal! It is a life-changing, intimate, sacred experience. We speak to the God who created the universe, who maintains it still, and He listens.

 

What a tragedy that I don’t take advantage of this profound honor every moment that I can! That I often mull over my thoughts for great lengths of time before talking things out with the One who already sees the big picture. That I am guilty of using the phrase, “Well, all I can do about it is pray.” That like the apostles in the garden, I cannot pray to my Lord for any length of time without falling asleep (or at least letting my mind wander). 

Last night one of my pastors spent part of our Bible study reflecting on the subject of prayer. He said something to the effect of, “We often take such great pleasure in the knowledge that we can talk to God everywhere that we don’t end up bothering to talk to Him anywhere.” Indeed. There’s no telling how many times I’ve assured myself that I would spend some time in prayer throughout the course of my day, only to realize when my head hit the pillow that I had yet to fellowship with my Savior.

This probably seems silly, and I’m a little embarrassed to mention it, but I’ve started setting daily prayer reminder alarms on my phone. I have such a one track mind that I can’t seem to remember to incorporate prayer into a typical day filled with loading the dishwasher, washing dirty underwear, filling sippy cups, and cooking dinner. (I mean, really. Who can pray when you’re doing a God-forsaken task such as cooking?) But no matter what I’m doing, when I hear my phone start to chime, I’m reminded to stop for a moment and converse with God about my current reality. About my cares and burdens. About how great He is. About how He involves Himself intimately in my life. He wants to hear it all.

Singing along to praise and worship songs has also been a tremendously helpful way for me to communicate with God. A worship song is simply a prayer with a tune. It’s hard to be cranky, self-centered, or impatient when you’re singing just the opposite. The focus is taken off of my temporary woes and placed on the character of God. 

He is the God who told the oceans how far they could come; who tells the sun and moon where to stand. The God who is so holy that we will one day bow down with the angels and worship him forever. Whatever my lot in life, He has taught me to understand that all is still well with my soul. He has taught me the heights of love and depths of peace that He brings when I let go of my fear and striving. That there is no need for despair, because Christ made an END to all my sin. That there is freedom in surrender, because the King of Glory rescued me. That this same grace that freed me will continue to lead me for all my life. This is the God that I pray and sing to.

 (From the songs Redeemer, Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord God Almighty, It is Well with my Soul, In Christ Alone, Before the Throne of God Above, Beautiful the Blood, and Amazing Grace.)

One other thing I love about my sweet girl’s prayers is her continual gratitude. Every time she talks to God, the bulk of their conversation consists of “thank you’s.” She even thanked him for the tuna casserole for crying out loud! I’m not about to pretend that she didn’t complain about that same tuna casserole, but at least on some small scale she recognized that it was still a provision to be thankful for. Every good thing comes down from the Lord, and He deserves all the appreciation we can give.

I’ve seen a quote floating around that says, “What if you woke up today with only the things that you thanked God for yesterday?” Part of me doesn’t like this sentiment, because I feel like it’s implying that our thankfulness should stem from fear. However, it does make me think about just how much I take for granted. For example, I don’t know that I’ve ever thanked God for pens, light bulbs, paint, or blankets. (Can you tell I just took a quick glance around the room?) I’m not saying we should list every single thing out for God, but my point is that we need to recognize the volume of blessings that have been poured into our lives, and then express our deep gratitude.

 

Clearly this is not an exhaustive discourse on the subject of prayer, but sometimes a simple reminder is all we need. (And I just realized that today is the National Day of Prayer, so how appropriate!) If my four-year-old can recognize the importance of prayer and speak so freely with God, then I know that we can all do the same. So go ahead and take some time to “fway!”