A Child's Prayer

"I tell you the truth, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it." ¹⁶And he took the children in his arms, put his hands on them and blessed them." Mark 10:16

A few weeks ago, the kids and I were discussing an upcoming conference in October. They asked if we were going to stay at a hotel again, because that makes the whole experience so great and wonderful for all of us. I told them that we'd see, and I explained to them that we weren't sure that we'd have the extra money to be able to stay in a hotel this time again. They understood that completely, but were a little disappointed. We were driving at the time, and got to our destination. Before I climbed out of the van, I turned to them and said "we'll just have to pray about it." And climbed out. The kids got out, ran around to take my hands and we started walking. Zander suddenly says "done." So I looked at him puzzled, and he says that he wanted to start praying for the extra dollars right away. And then Abigail asked if we could pray for that when we're praying every day for our school day.

So we have done that. Every day last week, the kids prayed that the extra money would come so that we could stay in a hotel. And of course, you know I'm not just telling this to tell a cute story about kids praying- the fact is that God totally answered their prayers. Extra money has come in from a few sources- sources that God provided in advance, and my kids now understand that God answers their prayers. What an amazing and incredible lesson in faith for my kids!

I have to admit, I am amazed, actually. And I'm so thankful. Yes, I'm thankful because our hotel stay is now possible, but really, I'm more thankful because God answered my children's prayers. That is awesome, and important, because I want them to know that God does answer the prayers of his children. When I asked them yesterday what we should pray about for the day, they were both quiet- God had answered their big one already. Abigail quietly spoke up then and said that we should pray that Daddy will be able to keep working. I said a big amen to that and then we prayed about it together. Just as God answered their prayers about the extra money, I know that God will answer their prayers about Daddy working. Their faith is being expanded, even at such a young age. Kids know that God is faithful- and when they see it actually work, it's almost like an everyday occurrence. Where I was excited to show the kids the checks that totalled the amount we needed, they looked at them kind of like "yeah, okay, of course that happened- can we have a cookie now?" It was so matter-of-fact, and it reminds me that I want to have that kind of faith.

I want to have the faith that when I ask my Daddy for something, He hears me and will provide the solution I'm looking for. I want that child-like faith that when things go wrong, that light is always at the end of the tunnel, showing the way out. The faith of a child is incredible and to see it boosted this week for my kids sure is awesome. I can't wait to see what God does with the faith that is growing inside of them.