Learning to pray

Every night before bed we read read Reese a Bible story and pray. Usually we pray and he listens and says AMEN. One night earlier in the week Bryan wasn't home at bedtime. I decided to see if Reese would pray. I asked him what he wanted to thank Jesus for and he babbled for a minute. Then, I prayed a simple prayer and let him repeat after me. It was so sweet to hear him pray. We have continued this each night this week. Each time when asked what he is thankful for, we have prompted him. We may say, "what about Nana or your friends?" He would then say a few things and we would pray. Tonight we asked him and surprisingly, he quickly spoke up. The first thing he said was "Joy" and he seemed so happy and proud of himself.

Joy is his babysitter. He loves Joy and often mentions her. He paused for a moment and then smiled and said, "Lily". Lily is our Worship Pastor's daughter and one of the children that Reese plays with during the week. Reese LOVES to talk about Lily. She is the first of his friends that he called by name. He usually talks about Lily and giggles. He followed Lily with Lou Lou, Zoe, Jace, and Lou Lou. Ironically, today is Lou Lou's birthday. I am not sure that he knew or understood that, but something made him think that she needed a little extra today.

No matter how wild he may be, these sweet moments are what ring in my mind. These moments and the moments where he is singing are the most precious things in the world. It is such a blessing to see the Lord already working in his heart.

I have tried for months to get him to learn Jesus Loves Me. He knows the words to most all of the Veggie Tales songs and loves to sing them. He sings all the time (my favorite sound!), but he wouldn't try Jesus Loves Me. Tonight at the dinner table he randomly started singing "the Bible tales me so". When we realized what he was singing we started singing with him and he sang most of the song. This followed by his prayer requests were just another confirmation to me of the HUGE responsibility we have as parents.

Everything we do speaks volumes to them even when we think they are not paying attention. Thank you Lord that I can step out of the way and let you do the leading. I sure couldn't do it on my own.