Jesus Loves the Little Children

The other night, while putting one of the children I babysit to bed, I was able to experience one of the most beautiful moments ever. Rather than just stopping after the "Now I lay me down to sleep..." prayer (which I need to write a separate blog about-I hope I remember), he continued to go on. This little fellow is about 4 years old, and after saying his favorite prayer he went on to ask God to be with each of his family members, pets, and friends- by name. He also mentioned those in Haiti and West Virginia, as well as other victims of recent tragedies. I was amazed! How precious it was to hear him praying! It was nothing fancy-just simple-but it still had a huge impact because it was coming straight from his heart and he was just pouring everything out to the Lord. Listening to him reminded me of Matthew 18: 3-4: "Then he said, 'I tell you the truth, unless you turn from your sins and become like little children, you will never get into the Kingdom of Heaven. So anyone who becomes as humble as this little child is the greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven.'" The Believer's Bible Commentary says, "In order to be a genuine believer a man must abandon thoughts of personal greatness and take on the lowly position of a little child. This begins when he acknowleges his sinfulness and unworthiness and recieves Jesus Christ as his only hope. This attitude should continue throughout his Christian life." My devotional from the morning after quoted A.W. Tozer in saying, "Now, as always, God discloses Himself to babes and hides himself in thick darkness from the wise and the prudent. We must simplify our approach to Him. We must strip down to essentials (and they will be found to be blessedly few). We must put away all effort to impress, and come with the guileless candor of childhood. If we do this, without a doubt God will quickly respond." It is so cool to have an example to follow in prayer. I am guilty of struggling with my prayer life, but God gave me a great reminder that I don't need to make praying a huge ordeal. As long as I approach it with my heart ready and make it a point to become like a child in temporarily abandoning distractions, it will be blessed time spent with God- and who doesn't need more of that?!