For eons now, I've been working to get Bella to pray out loud. We always pray, mind you, but up until a few months ago it's been me doing all the praying. Bella's prone to admitting that she has "stage nervousness" (where she learned that term I'll never know), so I guess you could say she has "praying-out-loud nervousness" too.
Finally, a few months ago, she began to pray out loud by repeating my prayers. You know what it's like when you make a cell phone call and can hear your own echo in the background? Very distracting. Well, that's what praying with Bella was like for several months as she warmed up to the idea of praying out loud: me praying, Bella echoing.
She is beginning to compose her own prayers, now, and usually she wants to pray for someone who's sick. But she makes a profound mistake every time. "Thank you, God, for Sage to get well." In her five-year-old syntax, she verbalizes her prayer not as a request, but as a thanksgiving.
I wonder, really, whether it's a mistake at all -- or indication of child-like trust.
You know what I think? I've been trying to teach my little girl how to pray; suddenly, she's teaching me.
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4 comments:
Hi Laura Leigh! I love the S, thank you so much! Also, please be praying for my 3 little S's and their mommy and daddy, Laura and Travis. There is much politcal unrest in Kenya right now. I've posted a prayer request on my blog.
http://marshahmusings.blogspot.com
Please read and pray, pray, pray!
that's how both of our boys started praying. then they moved on to their own prayers. there's really nothing sweeter than hearing them talk to the Creator of the universe in their own words.
All my kids have been different. Maggie loved the sound of her own voice. Grace prays to the point. Ty asked to see God's glory when he was 3. Brody is still echoing. I, too, am humbled by their prayers. They share parts of their hearts with God that I only hear about when they're praying.
This post is so precious. My five year old neice, Tess, likes to whisper her prayers.
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