Another prayer post....

Ok, this one isn't about me praying for my children, but my child's prayer to God. See, over the last couple of weeks I have realized that my children's prayers have become very routine and "mundane." They always say the same 3 things...."help me and (insert sister's name here) not fight....thank you for everything you give us.....I'm sorry for when I am naughty." While these are not bad things to pray, I fear that they are simply going through the motions, not really thinking about what they're saying or understanding what those things imply. In an attempt to make them more "conscious" prayers, I stop them mid-prayer and ask them to expand on what they're saying. For instance: instead of saying, "help me and sister not fight", say what you need to do to prevent fights with said sister (and these are very different for each of them).....talk kindly (both), share toys (Lauren), don't do things to knowingly irritate the other (Emma), etc, etc.

So, tonight I was listening as Emma said her bedtime prayer. She got to the usual "sorry for when I am naughty" point and then stopped herself and began to list things she was actually sorry for. I was about to be impressed.....then she said, "sorry for....hitting...." I stop her and say, "Emma. You don't hit. Why are you saying sorry for hitting?" She replies, "Well, I know I don't hit, but just in case I ever do." *sigh* I ever-so-gently re-explain the point of this portion in the prayer and remind her that there are plenty of things that she actually does need to ask forgiveness for and that she doesn't need to be making things up. So, she starts up again and this time says, "I'm sorry for when I whistle for Jasmine (our dog) while Lauren is trying to pet her and I'm sorry that Jasmine comes." This covers the "doing things to knowingly irritate my sister" portion of the prayer. I just kept silent the rest of the prayer.

But you can bet that tonight I'll be thanking God for His sense of humor. :-)

Pray Without Ceasing

Jake came home from our school's board meeting a couple of weeks ago with a handout. Another member was in charge of devotion for that night and passed these out. I had to share because I thought it was something very simple, yet practical and profound! I love things like that! There is a list of about 20 different things that we should be praying for our children each day and a scripture reference to go along with each topic. These (and I'm not going to list all 20 here) are excerpted from the book by Donna Otto: The Stay at Home Mom: For Women at Home & Those Who Want to Be.

"Without prayer, anything else you do to influence your children for Jesus is feeble at best....

*Pray that your child will fear the Lord and serve Him (Deut. 6:13).
*Pray that your children will be caught when guilty (Ps. 119:71). (This one really struck me! It's so obvious and something I truly desire for my girls, but had never really prayed for specifically.)
*Pray that your children and their prospective mates will be kept pure until marriage (I Cor. 6:18-20).
*Pray that your children will be hedged in so they cannot find their way to wrong people or places, and that wrong people cannot find their way to your children (Hos. 2:6-7).
*Pray that your children will have quick, repentant hearts (Ps. 51:1-3).
*Pray that your children will be teachable and able to take correction (Prov. 13:1).
*Pray that your children's lives will bear the fruit of the Spirit (Gal. 5:22-23)."

I tend to get distracted and off-course when I'm praying, particularly when I pray for my children. I know this is Satan's attempt to ensure that my children go un-prayed for. This simple list helps me stay focused and makes me feel like I've covered all my bases, so to speak.

Wicked

On Saturday, my mother-in-law and I ventured to Hollywood to see Wicked! Oh, it was fabulous!! We both had read the book last year and listen to the soundtrack regularly, but had not yet seen the play. I do not recommend the book. I highly recommend the play! It was funny and brilliant! The book is dark, gross and kind of disturbing....it really is nothing like the play, although the author of the book is said to be very happy with the adaptation. Go figure!
Anyway, now I am obsessed with the theatre. This always happens. I go see a play, it's great and then I want to go back again and again. I would gladly go see Wicked again with anyone that may be interested. :-) Also, they advertised that Mary Poppins (currently on Broadway) is coming to the Ahmanson Theatre in LA in November, 2009. I'm so excited! My girls are also big theatre lovers and I think Emma would have loved Wicked and I know they will both love Mary Poppins. I think I've convinced Jake that we need to take them.....anyone else want to join us? You need to decide by mid-2009.....that's when the tickets go on sale! :-)