The Power of Prayer
Today at the end of my Sunday School class my son asked if he could pray. I said yes, not sure of what would come out of his mouth. He started out with, ‘Dear Heavenly Father,’ then paused and said he was trying to recall what his daddy always says. I chuckled to myself and we carried on.
Growing up my mother instilled in my brother and me the importance and power of prayer. Every night I’d lay in bed and repeat the same beginning, ‘Now I lay me down to sleep, I pray the Lord…’-you know the rest. I’d repeat what I had been taught until I got old enough to add my own requests, usually for my family and friends, asking God to bless them (though I wasn’t always sure what that meant). It wasn’t until my early twenties, when I surrendered my life to Christ, that I fully understood just how powerful prayers can be…when you have a personal relationship with God…and started going to God in my own way.
As my children have grown we’ve tried to model for them the importance of prayer. We’ve even reminded them that sometimes God says no, like when Josephine prayed for ice cream three nights in a row. Ha! We’re far from perfect, sometimes being in such a rush that we forget to pray over meals, and privately, dozing off before that prayer is complete. But today, my sweet son, who I’ve been praying for fervently as of late, reminded me that he’s watching…and prayerfully he’ll pass his prayers down to his own children someday.
Until next time…