J's Prayer

J created a book in Sunday school a couple of weeks ago. On the pages of this little book, the members of his class traced the outline of their hands and wrote their names on the pages. He was asked to bring the notebook home, place his hand on the outlines in the book, and to say a prayer for the one whose hand outline was on the page.

Steve helped him at first. They both placed their hands on the book, and Steve said the prayer. Eventually, J was doing it on his own. He begins with a prayer, and then he prays for each member of his class, and, if he knows them, the family of the member. The other day at dinner, he asked if he could say grace. There's my 10 year old, praying for us. How amazing is that?

I've mentioned before that I read Philip Yancey's new book, Prayer. I find that in watching and listening to my son, I see illustrations for Yancey's words:

• "We don't need to try to get God's full attention; we already have it." Even a 10 year old, who is being guided through prayer using a notebook with outlines of hands, has God's full attention. Isn't that wonderful?
• God "has simply been waiting for us to care about them with him." Whether it is J who is asking God to bring two of the students back to Sunday school, or an adult, praying for healing for a young child, we don't have to convince God of the worthiness of the person for whom we are praying. God already knows about those who need his help. He is just waiting for us to care about them with him. "God woos, and waits."
• "90% of prayer is showing up." It doesn't really matter what J says in his prayer. The fact that he is praying, and that God is listening, is the real blessing.

Prayer -- it's an amazing thing to see in my own 10 year old the work of God as He builds a relationship with my son. Amen.

Images: The first one is our dog, Molly. The second on is G, our older son, jumping over the unshoveled part of the driveway this morning as Steve shoveled.