Blessings of Mother’s Day

People were bringing these little children to Jesus to have him touch them, but
the disciples rebuked them. When Jesus saw this, he was indignant. He said to
them, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them for the
kingdom of God belongs to such as these. I tell you the truth anyone who will
not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.” And he
took the children in his arms, put his hands on them and blessed them.”  ~Mathew 10: 13-16

I have gone back and forth on writing this for quite a while now.  There is just so much to say about the power of a child’s prayer and belief that I didn’t know where to start!  Tonight my daughter said something to me that told me it was time to share (you can read that a little lower).  I would like to start by sharing a few experiences of children’s prayers that I have come across.

When the earthquake struck Japan, a while back, followed by the terrifying 33 foot tsunami I woke to the news that the tsunami was heading toward the west coast of the States.  Images of  an enormous wave of water the height of a building flooded my mind; that was all of the information I had before I went to work.  I prayed aloud the entire way to work with these images flooding my mind the entire drive.  I prayed for the lives already lost, and for the families effected, but I also prayed over and over that the Lord would stop the wave in its tracks in such a way that the whole world would know it was God’s hands that stopped it.  Once at work  I  discovered that the family I nanny for has family in Hawaii.  Again, at that time we did not know when the tsunami was coming or how high the wave would be.

As soon as the kids had their breakfast I put the news on and showed them what was happening in Japan and explained a little bit about the effects of this catastrophe and how scared people were.  Then I told them that there was a giant wave heading toward the west coast, where Chase has family.  Chase asked  if I could show him where Hawaii was on his map, so I did.  This is where the Lord showed me the love He intended for us to show for all mankind.

Once I showed the kids  Hawaii on the map and asked if they would like to pray for the people effected by and scared of this earthquake and tsunami, Chase asked, “Will we be praying to keep them safe?”  How sweet is that?!  I told them that is exactly what we would be doing and since I pray with my daughter daily I knew she could start the two of them in prayer (remember she is only 2 years old doing this) She began with, “Thank you Jesus, Thank You Jesus, We love you Jesus” and the two of them alternated asking God to give these people hugs,  blankets,  food, and to keep them safe.

As I listened to the kids pray I realized how innocent and sincere these requests were.  How thoughtful it is to ask the Lord to give a scared person a hug, and a cold wet person a blanket.  I listened proud and amazed that these two toddlers were able to grasp how scared and alone these people were, and the more I heard their prayers the more I realized that THIS is how we are meant to pray.  It was so powerful for me to hear toddlers praying for what is really important, things that we all need when we are scared; love and compassion.

I have taught my daughter that any time we hear an emergency vehicle, pass a grave yard with a grave dug, or feel like someone is in trouble we should pray for them.  With that said, there have been several times where my daughter will all of a sudden say, ‘I want to pray for (so and so)’ and then would begin to pray for a friend or family member that was sick or upset that I didn’t even know about!  At any mention of someone in any form of distress she will give anything and pray right on the spot.

When I went to Nicaragua last year, both Chase and Madison went through all of their toys, clothes, and books to give to the kids that do not have as much as they have.  This past week we went to see our town tree lighting and passed a little girl crying in her mother’s lap.  I kept walking and said, “oh, I hope she’s okay”.

That was not good enough for Madison.  She said, “I think she is cold.  Can I give her my gloves?” I didn’t know how cold it was going to be that night, so I had packed 2 pairs of gloves for her to layer, so we walked back and checked on the girl.  Something I had not even noticed this 2 year old child, my baby girl, saw immediately.

When my husband’s grandfather was in the nursing home one day Madison said she didn’t want breakfast because ‘papa didn’t have any breakfast’.  At the time we shrugged it off as imagination, but when we went to visit papa that afternoon it turned out that the nurses had forgotten papa that day and he was still in his bedclothes with no food or medicine…how amazing that she knew that!

There are many other times that Madison has caught our attention to the point that when she tells us God told her something we listen.  I do not have the time to write about all of those events,  but what I really wanted to share with you is what she shared with me tonight.

On the way home from work Madison said, ” Do you know what God told me today?” I said I didn’t and asked her what it was.  She said, “God said that me and you are beautiful and special and He loves us.”  Now I have heard her say this before to me and to other people, so this was not so shocking.  However, she followed it up with, “And He said that we wear crosses”.

Obviously I was sure she was talking about my necklace, so at this point I was still driving and not really putting too much thought into what she had said.  I do have a goal to always continue any conversations that will be educating (including religious or otherwise) and answer any questions  that come up in the process, so I asked her what that meant to ‘wear crosses’.  At first she ignored me and started pointing out Christmas lights that we were passing and shouted for me to look at a giant blow up Santa Claus in our neighbors yard.  When I asked her again what she meant when she said ‘we wear crosses’ she said, “sometimes people get hurt and God puts crosses on them like band-aids”.

At this point we had parked at our house and I was getting out of the car.  I immediately started tearing up and had to take a breath,  look up at the stars, think over how deep of a comment she had just made and didn’t even realize, and thank God for being so amazing.

What is best about all of this is how simple her faith is and how unquestionable she is to hearing what God is speaking to her.  Children are so accepting and encouraging by nature, when is it that it all changes.  Why, as adults, do we have to question and ask God for more clarification on what He has shown us?  In our daily lives we are constantly saying ‘Oh, Lord give me a sign that the last sign you gave me was really a sign’…sounds silly when you think about it.

I have had other parents tell me the sincere and sweet prayers and encouragement that their children have given as well as act out their understanding of bible stories.  It makes my heart so happy to hear children professing their love for God and passing on words and lessons they have learned through bible stories and songs.  I want to encourage this, but even more, I want to learn how to BE like that.  I feel like I learn as much from my daughters unquestionable faith as she learns from me explaining bible stories.  I want to be able to hear what the Holy Spirit is saying in my soul as clearly and willingly as she does.

Is it any wonder after hearing these examples and considering the children in your own lives that Jesus said not to hinder the children from coming to Him, “Anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.”  To really accept the kingdom and the WHOLE kingdom we have to be willing to unquestionably believe all that we read in the bible about it.  We have to be able to take out of the equation all of the earthly knowledge and experience we have and realize that our God is a great and supernatural God.  His reality and His Heaven are not our reality and imagination of Heaven.  We could never imagine what a God of infinite creativity and Love would create for our eternity.  We could not fathom a place that every day is new and beautiful with more joy than we have ever experienced and the next day even more joyful and then next and the next.  A place where there is no thought of pain and sadness, no sickness or medicines, no injuries or wheelchairs, no death.  As adults we can only imagine a Heaven based off of what we see in our physical world.  Children are not hindered with this.  They have such beautiful imaginations!  Have you ever seen a picture of an animal that a child drew?  It may be a cross between and elephant, tiger, and fish, but if that child was to show another the other child would accept it with no question or criticism!  This is what we should strive for with what God has shown us.  We should see His word and accept… no question…no criticism.

I pray that this opens your eyes to the beauty and power that our children hold.  I pray you encourage and learn from your children just as you teach them.  I pray that we can all come to Jesus with the faith and acceptance of our own children, and even more I pray that as parents we can raise up a whole new generation of God’s servants that can continue to hear His words as clearly as their own and are fearless in expressing and acting on His will.

I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth

~3John 1:4

Further Readings:

Train up a child in the way he  should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it ~Proverbs 22:6 

All your children shall be taught by the  LORD, and great shall be the peace of your children ~Isaiah 54:13 

But as for you, continue in what  you have learned and have firmly believed, knowing from whom you learned it and  how from childhood you have been acquainted with the sacred writings, which are  able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus ~2 Timothy 3:14-15

Behold, children are a heritage  from the LORD, the fruit of the womb a reward. Like arrows in the hand of a  warrior are the children of one’s youth. Blessed is the man who fills his  quiver with them! He shall not be put to shame when he speaks with his enemies  in the gate ~Psalm 127:3-5 

See that you do not despise one of these little ones. For I tell you that in heaven their angels always see the face of my Father who is in heaven ~Matthew 18:10

You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise ~Deuteronomy 6:7

Tags: child's faith, prayer