Praying about the "little" things
I have to openly admit that prayer has always been one of my weak points. I never had much trouble sitting down each day to read my Bible or complete a chapter of a devotional workbook. Yet when it came to prayer, I tended to say a quick, breezy set of words and be on my merry way. They always said something about our safety, health, for God's will for the world, and thankfulness for all His blessings. That was as specific as it got, pretty much, on a daily basis.
This is all changing slowly, however, and for the better....and thanks to my husband's influence. Prayer is one of his strongest points, and he is continually encouraging me to join him in this activity. Oh, yes, we pray together about the big things....such as when we were battling over whether or not to accept a job transfer to another city. And also when we were finding out what God wanted us to do about when to start our family.
The small things, however, also get mentioned by Ken in his prayers....the little things I'd probably either sweep under the emotional rug or merely discount as being unworthy of an entire prayer session.
The greatest example I can give you deals with our first weeks of parenthood. Gardner went through a very, very fussy spell for about 5 weeks...he cried for 3-4 hours each evening with no abatement. We tried everything; not even an extra feeding calmed him down. I was at my wit's end. I remember standing outside many a late, late night in 25-degree coldness, trembling and crying in my bathrobe, not sure of what else I could do for him.
On this (and many more) occasion, Ken came out and led me back inside. He and I stood at Gardner's door and prayed simply, openly, specifically for his rest and calm. Ken prayed that God would still Gardner's tears, that Gardner would sleep peacefully, and that I would maintain my sanity. Seconds later, his little cries waned, and before long, he was serenely pacified and fast asleep. I looked up at Ken, wide-eyed. "Wow. I never thought about praying specifically for sleep."
Even now, when I am awakened at 3am by cries from our son, I somehow forget that, oh yes, I can pray for him. I toss and turn, frantic at what might be wrong. Is he hungry? No, he couldn't be. Bad dream? Stomachache? What is it!? Ken, the stronger one, gets up silently and leaves our room. He goes into Gardner's nursery, stays for about 3 minutes, then returns. The cries have vanished. As he crawls back into the covers, I ask him, "What'd you do?" every single time. You'd think I'd know the answer by now. "I just prayed for him."
I felt silly. Why wouldn't I think God could perform this feat, when He is the one who creates, heals, changes people every day!? Do we really feel so small and insignificant that we think He will pass by our little, petty requests? He will not. Not if we approach Him with confidence and purpose. He longs to answer our prayers, but more than that, He longs for us to have faith that He CAN and WILL answer our prayers. Yes, even the little ones. I am learning this more each day, and putting it into practice way more than I used to.
This is all changing slowly, however, and for the better....and thanks to my husband's influence. Prayer is one of his strongest points, and he is continually encouraging me to join him in this activity. Oh, yes, we pray together about the big things....such as when we were battling over whether or not to accept a job transfer to another city. And also when we were finding out what God wanted us to do about when to start our family.
The small things, however, also get mentioned by Ken in his prayers....the little things I'd probably either sweep under the emotional rug or merely discount as being unworthy of an entire prayer session.
The greatest example I can give you deals with our first weeks of parenthood. Gardner went through a very, very fussy spell for about 5 weeks...he cried for 3-4 hours each evening with no abatement. We tried everything; not even an extra feeding calmed him down. I was at my wit's end. I remember standing outside many a late, late night in 25-degree coldness, trembling and crying in my bathrobe, not sure of what else I could do for him.
On this (and many more) occasion, Ken came out and led me back inside. He and I stood at Gardner's door and prayed simply, openly, specifically for his rest and calm. Ken prayed that God would still Gardner's tears, that Gardner would sleep peacefully, and that I would maintain my sanity. Seconds later, his little cries waned, and before long, he was serenely pacified and fast asleep. I looked up at Ken, wide-eyed. "Wow. I never thought about praying specifically for sleep."
Even now, when I am awakened at 3am by cries from our son, I somehow forget that, oh yes, I can pray for him. I toss and turn, frantic at what might be wrong. Is he hungry? No, he couldn't be. Bad dream? Stomachache? What is it!? Ken, the stronger one, gets up silently and leaves our room. He goes into Gardner's nursery, stays for about 3 minutes, then returns. The cries have vanished. As he crawls back into the covers, I ask him, "What'd you do?" every single time. You'd think I'd know the answer by now. "I just prayed for him."
I felt silly. Why wouldn't I think God could perform this feat, when He is the one who creates, heals, changes people every day!? Do we really feel so small and insignificant that we think He will pass by our little, petty requests? He will not. Not if we approach Him with confidence and purpose. He longs to answer our prayers, but more than that, He longs for us to have faith that He CAN and WILL answer our prayers. Yes, even the little ones. I am learning this more each day, and putting it into practice way more than I used to.
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