blog
There is always something so sweet and tender about a child saying a simple prayer to God. "and now I lay me down to sleep and pray the Lord my soul to keep"...do you remember those little prayers. Our Father. And many others...
There has always been an urgency to prayer, especially when we were young. Asking God to help us get that special baseball glove, that Dad would take us on a fishing trip, that Grandpa and Grandma would live forever. Lots and lots of urgency. Lots and lots of prayer.
And we had this youthful exhuberance that allowed us to literally
reach for the clouds as we prayed. Our prayers were sometimes very personal and at other times saying a prayer for a friend perhaps or a pet that was sick. No matter. God was there. God was listening. And somehow the answers came back. Not always right away mind you, but eventually the answers were there.
Then we were older, teenagers, and the prayer may have been about meeting that special friend, driving that old car that Dad kept out behind the garage, or one of forgiveness, please Lord
forgive me for being drunk and disorderly, that sort of thing.
Yes, prayer has always been with us from child to adult and although the thoughts and ideas behind the prayer may change a little in accordance with our place in life, with our change of circumstance, or needing or lacking something. But still prayer.
And God was still there. Is still there. And listens. And answers.
Unless of course there is no answer - and that is the answer....
Let us pray. "...and now I lay me down to sleep, pray the Lord
my soul to keep, if I should die before I wake, I pray the Lord
my soul to take..." Yes, I know you are listening Lord!