A Few Words on Prayer

One of my favorite quotes recently is the following:

"If you pray and you believe God will answer, then it works, I know, I have done this all week!" Brendan Engel my almost 8-year old son! We have spent the last two months reading and savoring this book! If you haven't read it you must! George Muller is certainly one of the heroes of my faith!
Last week we had the stomach flu in this house. I prayed that the Lord would spare me. It started on a Saturday night and it lasted 9 days. I was the last to experience the worst of it! My soon to be 6 year old prayed diligently for me to "not get sick" and I believed...just like George Muller (sorry no more details today...run and get that book)! When Shane woke up on Saturday morning to see me on the floor of my bathroom, he literally fell to his face! I asked him what was wrong, because that is sad posture! He said he was sad because "God didn't answer my prayers!"

Let me preface this with the fact that I felt wonderful the day before, and we both rejoiced all day long about how God answered prayer! So for him to see me sick was devastating (not to mention that every day he woke up someone else was sick...poor guy!) I sat him on my bed and told him this..."Shane, God did indeed answer your prayer, and He did it in two ways! First, he spared Mommy for so long so that I could easily care for my family (all three kids, a 91-year old grandfather and a husband), and for that I am grateful. Secondly, he created my body so uniquely that when something is inside of it that is making it sick...my body forces it out...and I am not sick anymore! So He is healing me as we speak! Is that awesome? I love God for being so awesome!" Shane did feel better after this conversation. We spoke about the different type of answers to prayer, like yes, no, wait! Ahhh...the lessons we learn!

Prayer is the natural thing in my home...and my boys see it all the time! I remember being pregnant with Shane, my twins were not even 2 yet, we all gathered in my kitchen and Mike and the boys laid hands on my womb and prayed for our baby Shane that God would spare his life. I have seen the power of prayer first hand many many times!

So Brendan, last night, prays his prayer and explains again the key is believing. Kyle prays beautifully, in his special way! Then Shane prays...it is so precious...I really wish you could be a fly on the wall! There little hearts are full of serious stuff that is unique to them. After everyone has prayed including me, I sang a few songs and I was about to leave and this is what comes out of Brendan:

"Mom, I'm kind of in the mood for ham, I think I will just pray for a piece of ham to appear right on my bed. Do you think that will happen?" "Brendan really? Do you think that would happen?" "If I pray for it...God can do it!" "Yes, He CAN do anything, but He WILL do His will. He doesn't do magic tricks for you, He has provided food for us before, but He is most likely not going to make ham appear on your bed right now because you have a hankering for some pork babe!" I knew he meant what he said...I used to pray that I would wake up skinny...I never did..because what would I gain from that! He is in the business of doing what is best for me. I told Brendan this same thing. "I think I will pray anyway Mom!" A few minutes after his prayer everyone laid silent until Kyle piped in from the top bunk bed..."Well, Brendan, do you got any ham?"

I can just see my Jesus slapping Himself on the knee and roaring with laughter! I love that my kids are learning about prayer and believing God and not just in God! I couldn't imagine a life without Jesus.

I will confess here at the end, because if you stuck with reading this blog to the end then you deserve one more chuckle....I secretly waited all day for some form of pork to appear at our door. None came, but yet I will rejoice!