Pray Like A Child

Years ago, one of my daughters went to Africa during college.
She went during her January term.
She was an education major.
A group of students went to Zambia to help out in the schools there.

No one had an iPhone back then, so pictures were taken the old fashioned way.
We all had to wait until she got home to hear her stories and adventures.
I will never forget listening to her as she sat at the kitchen table.
There was one thing in particular she would never forget.

Mom, I was so moved by the way the people prayed, she began.
They thank God for two strong legs to stand on.
They thank God for food in the cupboard.
They thank God for the sunshine.

I was humbled by their prayers, she continued.
I pray, but I don’t pray like they do.
They thank God for everything.
They realize that they can do nothing without Him.

I know that my daughter impacted the children there.
I know that my daughter loved her host family.
She was amazed at the beauty that was all around her.
She saw hardship and struggling as well.

Despite the difficulties, the people were thankful.
They were thankful for the things that we take for granted.
That is what my daughter remembered the most about her time there.
She often said that she left a piece of her heart in Zambia.

I was thinking about my daughter’s observations from all those years ago.
As Thanksgiving approaches, it is right to take stock of all the things for which we are thankful.
We all have our lists: our family, our health, a home to live in, and a job that provides for us.
We are thankful for our friends, our church, and our freedom.

Do we ever think to thank God for the little things?
Do we ever take stock of the things that we take for granted?
Do we take the time to thank God each day?
Do we need a holiday to remind us to have a thankful heart?

If you ever listen to a small child pray, you will hear the kind of thankfulness that God loves.
A child will thank God for their dog or their cat.
A child will thank God for the squirrel that climbed a tree.
A child will thank God for the cookies their mommy baked.

We could learn a thing or two from a child’s prayer.
We can be intentional when we talk to God and thank Him for all our good gifts.
We can take the time to notice the littlest things each day and thank God for them.
We can live with a spirit of gratitude in our hearts.

Perhaps that is why Jesus said to become like a little child.
Children are so honest, so transparent.
There is not an ounce of pretense in them at all.
Children do not try to impress.

And he said: “Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.” (Matthew 18:3)

We adults jockey into position.
We adults do not listen well.
We adults like our formulaic prayers and do not like to deviate from them.
Our prayers become rote and lack heart.

God knows.
God can tell the difference.
Our prayers may seem impressive to others who hear them if we pray aloud.
However, our prayers are not for their ears but for God’s ears alone.

To pray like a child is to pray without measuring our words.
Children do not care how their prayers sound.
Children just open their heart and talk to God.
That, in essence, is what prayer truly is: talking to God.

We do not talk to our family and friends in a formal tone.
We can sit for hours with a girlfriend over a cup of tea.
We can talk about anything and everything under the sun.
There is an exchange, as one listens and the other talks and vice versa.

People find it hard to pray because they cannot see the One to whom they are praying.
If God just had skin on, they say, it would be so much easier.
God did have skin on!
God the Father sent His Son Jesus to be born of a woman, to be like us but without sin.

When we pray and talk to Jesus, we are talking to the One who is God incarnate.
We are talking to the One who often prayed all night as He talked to His Father.
Jesus, fully God and fully man, prayed all night.
How are we doing?

This Thanksgiving, let us count our blessings as we notice even the smallest thing.
This Thanksgiving, let us pray like a child, simply talking to God from our hearts.
This Thanksgiving, let us thank God for the things we take for granted.
We will be amazed when we notice the things that come to mind when we are grateful.

Pray for the big things but do not neglect the little things.
Notice all the things that God has surrounded you with each day, things you might have missed.
God delights in the things that He has made.
So should we.

Thanksgiving is a wonderful place to start.