Prayer, Petition, Present

My special prayer warrior.

There we were, sitting on my boy's bed, all 5 of us. He was in agony because of these strange welts all over his body that were terribly itchy. My heart was breaking for him. We had done all that we could, a cool shower, topical anti-itch, and Benadryl. As we sat on his bed, my son Kyle begins to pray something like this...

"Lord, please help Brendan not itch anymore, make all of his bumps go away, and please make his tears go away too. Tell him you love him and will make him feel all better so he can sleep. Since you are doing all of that please give him good dreams too. Thank you Lord for how much you love us, in Jesus name, Amen."

Later that night I went into his room and sat by his bed again. He was still awake (he is usually the one that is still awake) and he says, "Mom, if the Lord knows already what I need, why do we pray for things that seem so obvious?

I find it so interesting that children are quick to respond to their environment. Babies immediately cry when they are hungry. Toddlers are very open and carefree to communicate what they do and do not want. However, as we grow older, we are somehow taught to use discernment in making our desires known.

As I responded to my boy I told him that the Lord tells us we are wise to always come to Him as little children - telling Him precisely what we need and want. Remember in Mark chapter 10 the story of the blind man that Jesus heals....Jesus was looking straight at the man, He knew he was blind, but yet He asked him, "What do you want Me to do for you?" He basically asked him to make a request. Yes, God does know what we need "before we ask Him" yet He says in Philippians 4:6 "...in every situation, by prayer and petition, present your requests to God."

I think sometimes when we pray and state precisely what we want, our needs and desires become obvious to us. If we stop and listen to our own "petitions" we come face to face with our priorities, our hurts, and our excesses. We can see ourselves more clearly thus at times giving us an opportunity to repent, make things right, or take action. Just being able to hear ourselves sometimes sheds light on our situation.

The good news is, He always responds to us!! Amen?!

I pray that my children's prayer life becomes a dialogue with their Heavenly Father...back and forth...speaking and listening. It takes time to listen...that will be another lesson for another time...for now...make it a habit...pray without ceasing.