I was looking through some of my old stories this week and came across this one from when Joelle was two. This little story helped me refocus my prayer life and realign my heart with God's. I hope it will do the same for you …
Praying Like a Two-Year-Old
I know how to pray. I’ve been a praying Christian for years. I’ve read all the books, I’ve studied all the
greats - Augustine, Brother Lawrence, and a dozen others. I’ve given talks and written seminary
papers. I’ve fasted, and prayerwalked,
and read the Lord’s Prayer in Greek. I’ve
even written articles! So, imagine my
surprise when I got a lesson in prayer from a two-year-old.
It happened just the other night. The food steamed on the table. The silverware shone. Our five-year-old, Bethany, squirmed in her
seat. “Who’s gonna pray so we can
eat?” She looked down at the spaghetti
on her plate.
I opened my mouth to volunteer, but
before I could say a word, a little voice piped up from beside me.
“Me do it. I pray.”
I glanced at our two-year-old daughter,
Joelle. “Okay, you do it. You know what to do?”
She nodded.
She’d never prayed out loud for a meal
before, but she had heard us pray hundreds of times. We always asked God to bless the food and thanked
Him for it.
Joelle folded her hands as we all bowed
our heads.
Then, we waited. And waited.
I peeked at her. “Go ahead, sweetie. Pray.”
She closed her eyes. Then, came her prayer, loud and clear over the table. “Jesus no cry. Jesus be happy. Amen.”
She closed her eyes. Then, came her prayer, loud and clear over the table. “Jesus no cry. Jesus be happy. Amen.”
We all looked up.
Bethany frowned. “That’s a funny prayer. Can we eat now or not?”
I tapped her hand and shushed
her. “It’s a great prayer. You can eat.”
Joelle stuffed her fork into her
spaghetti and ignored her sister. “I
pray,” she muttered.
I smiled as I contemplated her
words. She prayed all right. A prayer no one had taught her, a prayer that
came right from her heart, a prayer that put all my grown-up prayers to
shame. In six simple words, Joelle had
gotten to the heart of God-honoring prayer - not a rote repetition about the
food, but a sincere desire for Jesus to be happy.
As I sat there twirling spaghetti on
my fork, I thought about how my prayers compared with Joelle’s. Sure, I knew all the right phrases and all
the how-to’s. Yet, as I contemplated her
simple words, I saw how woefully self-centered my own prayers had become. I asked for blessings on my family, help with
my work, wisdom in dealing with people, and that all would go well. Good things, surely, and things that God
wants me to pray for. But it wasn’t
enough. If I were to simplify my prayers
down to Joelle’s language, I saw that they would sound more like “Marlo no
cry. Marlo be happy.”
Where Joelle prays for Jesus, I pray
for me. Jesus tells us in Matthew 6:10 (NIV)
to pray, “your Kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in
heaven.” I’ve read those words so many
times, but only through Joelle’s prayer have I seen their deeper meaning. When we spurn God’s will, Jesus weeps. When we do His will, Jesus is happy.
These days, Joelle prays that same prayer
for every meal. And as I listen to her, as
I lift my heart to God with her words, my prayer life is changing. Instead of only asking for God’s blessing,
I’m focusing more on asking God to help me to be pleasing to Him. As I ask for His help in my work and writing,
I voice my desire for Him to help me to glorify Him in my life. When I ask for wisdom, I also ask Him to help
me honor Him in all I do and think. And
instead of focusing on my desire for all to go well, I ask Him what I can do to
bring Him joy.
In other words, I am learning to pray
with childlike faith. I’m learning to
pray, “Jesus no cry. Jesus be happy.”
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