It was the night of the program, and the
Bible School class was buzzing with excitement. There weren’t so very many children,
but the quantity of energy was making up for the small number of attendees. The teacher
struggled to know exactly what to expect of students on their first or second
night of attendance who weren’t used to the structure she routinely required.
They were talking about Daniel in the
Lions’ Den and how he prayed three times a day. “Do you pray three times a day?”
the teacher asked the class. The class shook their heads no.
And that’s when Sam, the most
exhaustingly energetic one of them all, had a suggestion. “Maybe we should pray
right now!” he called out.
The rest of the class agreed. “Would
you like to pray?” the teacher asked Sam.
“Sure!” he exclaimed and bowed his
head. The rest of the class followed his example.
Sam’s prayer was simple and not too
long. He prayed for his mom and dad and that the children could do a good job
singing for their parents that evening.
When he finished, another child wanted
to pray, too. Soon the whole class had had a turn. The prayers were straight from
the heart. They spoke of siblings and friends and grandparents. One child
mentioned family members in prison.
“And now you need to pray!” they told
the teacher.
So she, too, prayed a prayer, real and
heartfelt, for her family and friends and the children she had come to love in
only five short days.
As the prayers ended, a peace settled
over the class. The enthusiasm was still there, but the levels of excitement
that had made it hard to function had calmed down. A Holy Presence was truly
with them.
Sometimes we become too grown up. We
think things are too little or too silly to pray about. We believe, somehow,
God doesn’t want to be bothered.
We are so wrong! God loves to know
that we trust enough to confide in Him even the smallest of things. When we withhold
from asking, we often do so out of a fear God will not care enough to answer in
the way we think we need the answer to come. Our doubts are washed away in our
submission to His plan and our trust in His love.
Our Heavenly Father delights in seeing
a child who can trust Him completely. He rejoices when we come to him in
vulnerability and humility to speak to Him of everything—our wishes, our failures,
our deepest needs.
Zechariah 4:10 asks the question, “For
who hath despised the day of small things?” Who indeed despises small things
except the human mind that longs to rely on logic and control and pride? Fear
tells us we can’t trust, self-sufficiency tells us to take care of our own
problems, and our limited understanding of true compassionate love declares our
requests to be a bother.
But is anything small to God? Is any
gift of trust too little for Him to notice? Does He not grasp the simple beauty
of a heart truly accepting His plan? Oh yes, He sees and understands far more
clearly than we do!
So today I want to share the joy of
simple prayers with you. Prayers prayed by a child. Prayers prayed as a child would
pray them. Prayers for childish things. Our Father hears each one.
