The Audience

I was waiting in line to make an exchange.
The person in front of me had an online return.
It was taking a bit longer to sort through receipts.
In order to pass the time, I began to people watch.

In this store, the customer service desk is directly across from the self checkout.
There was only one woman in the self checkout line.
She was emptying her cart and scanning all the items.
She had her little son with her.

I noticed all the new ways of doing things since I shopped with my children.
I simply lifted them up and put them in the shopping cart, once they could sit by themselves.
Now there are covers that go into the cart first before you put your child in the seat.
The cover has leg holes so not one inch of the shopping cart actually touches the child.

I assume the covers are intended to keep things clean.
This cover was bright and colorful.
I watched the little boy as he sat there; he seemed to be people watching as well.
I saw him twist his body in the shopping cart in order to see things better.

He stretched his neck over the edge so he could see people’s shoes.
He turned his body as far as he possibly could to see the things behind him.
He moved side to side as if keeping the beat to some imaginary song.
He kicked his sneaker against the side of the cart, pleased with the noise he was making.

He was being so good.
I could see that his mother took him shopping with her quite often.
He was used to this routine and found ways to entertain himself.
In all his twisting and turning, he dropped his cup with a handle on each side.

Uh-oh, he said over and over.
Did you drop your cup? His mother asked to keep him occupied until she finished.
She saw the cup on the floor but she was in the middle of checking out.
I was right there; I got the cup for him.

Did you drop your cup? I said, asking the same question his mother asked.
He smiled so sweetly as he tilted his head.
Thank you so much, his mother said as she tried to finish.
I stepped back over to the customer service desk and continued to wait.

The little boy now knew he had a friend.
He was a charmer.
He kept smiling at me with his big blue eyes.
He kept tilting his head this way and that.

His mother smiled and giggled a bit.
She knows that he can be a charmer.
He had an audience and he liked it.
I guessed that he was about 20 months old.

He began to talk to me.
He pointed out the door that was behind him.
He pointed to the light above the register with the number prominently displayed.
He pointed to the shoes that everyone was wearing.

He continued to talk in the language of a 20 month old.
The more I smiled, the more he talked.
The more he talked, the more I smiled.
I have no idea what he was saying, but he knew exactly what he was trying to tell me.

He became so animated when he knew he had someone listening to him.
I was able to pick out some of the things he was trying to say.
His mother finished before it was my turn to make my exchange.
He continued to talk all the way out of the store.

Really? His mother asked.
Tell me all about it, she continued.
Wise woman, I said to myself.
She engaged her son with conversation, which was helping him become more verbal.

But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask Him. (Matthew 6:6-8)

So many people struggle with prayer.
However, prayer is a vital part of our Christian walk.
Those that struggle with prayer find it difficult to pray to Someone they cannot see.
Those that struggle with prayer wonder if they are heard.

We are like the little boy who talked more when he knew that he had an audience.
We have an audience of One.
God hears the prayers we say out loud.
God hears the prayers that we say in our heart.

The little boy could not see his mother while she was checking out.
He knew she was there.
One glance behind him assured him that she was there.
That was all the surety he needed.

We have God’s Word telling us that God hears the prayers of His people.
We have the testimony of Jesus as He prayed.
Jesus prayed for Himself, His disciples, and for all who would believe through their message.
Jesus knew He was heard by His Father.

We should be as animated as the little boy when we talk to our Heavenly Father.
God listens.
God wants us to come to Him.
God is the perfect Audience.

God the Father is unseen right now, this side of heaven.
He is there.
He is listening.
We do have an audience; an Audience of One.

Talk to Him.