He met me at the top of the stairs, and the first words out of his 12 year old mouth were, “Did you pray for my Dad tonight?” I had to admit that I hadn’t, so we stopped right there, had a short prayer and off he went, satisfied that his work was accomplished. It’s only been a week, but I find his words hard to get out of my mind: “Did you pray for my dad tonight?”
Each Sunday night at our church’s Kids club, we have a few moments for “pop-corn prayer.” It simply means that a child prays a one or two sentence prayer and then says “pop”, indicating that it’s someone else’s turn. At the beginning, I was amazed that the kids wanted to pray. After getting over that initial surprise, I continue to be intrigued by two things about their prayers.
First, I am surprised by the weight of the things they pray for. Of course they have a wish-list of toys and things they would like to have. But they quickly get past that, and turn their attention to the things that really matter to them – their brothers and sisters, their Moms and Dads. A significant number of them have major health concerns in their immediate or near family members, and every week these are the focus of their prayers.
Secondly, I am surprised at how they gravitate towards the adults who join them in their prayers. Every Sunday I watch the 12 year old I mentioned above as he seeks out a 58 year old man of the church and starts to tell him about his week. The ONLY thing these two have in common is that together the boy and the man have prayed for the boy’s dad.
Do you want to make a change in your community? When you pray tonight (you will pray tonight, won’t you) get past your own wish list, and begin to pray for a young teen. Get to know their name, and let them know you pray for them.
“Hey pastor! Have you prayed for my Dad today?” “Why yes, young man, I have!”
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