Part of the bedtime routine here is that after toys are all picked, Pj's on, teeth brushed, then we pray with the kids in their bedrooms. Elise & Ezra are in the "repeat after us" type of prayers, although occasionally they will pray on their own.
Ella & Emmeline do well at praying on their own. They enjoy hearing Daddy tell "Starkjohn Squirrel" stories and have even told some of their Starkjohn Squirrel stories - which usually include some of the activities/events of the day as part of the story. In their prayers, they thank God for many things of the day and also items located in their room or the house, and they also pray for other people as well, especially Ella (whoever she's heard Daddy pray for during our family devotions). A couple of evenings a week, Tom has evening Bible studies/small groups that he leads, so I get to pray with all the kids. Through listening to Ella pray at those times, I've finally come to understand what it means to praise and adore God for who He is. The character traits that Ella praises God for are ones that she has heard about or learned about through hearing us talk about it, in us answering her questions, and probably some from reading various Bible story books. So here's a typical praising God prayer from Ella:
"Thank you God that you are so perfect, more perfect than anyone else in the world. You're so strong and big that you can hold the whole world in your hand. Thank you that you know everything in the whole wide world. God please help Daddy with his sermon to know what to say on Sunday. And help Daddy, Mommy, Ella, Emmeline, Ezra, Elise, and Eliza to have a good nights sleep and sleep through the whole night. Help Eliza to keep nursing well. . . . . . . .. In Jesus Name Amen."
She'll pray for 5-10 minutes if there's nothing pressing her to finish sooner (i.e. Eliza is fussing and I have to go feed her or have music practice). The praising God in her prayers seems to come so naturally to Ella and I'm learning better how to praise God from her. Thank God for little children's simple faith in Him!
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2 comments:
that is just so sweet. learning from our children is a wonderful gift!!! thank you for sharing, elaine.
I am learning from Ella as well. May I honor Him by such trust. We enjoyed reading her story, Elaine.
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