Pray Like Your Students
Have you ever asked your students to volunteer for lunchtime prayer? The responses can be enjoyable! One time, a student of mine said, "God is great, God is good. Let us thank him for our food." On another day, a student started their prayer with "Dear Daddy God…" and proceeded to pour their heart out to Jesus. What's the difference between the two?
Ellen White gives us some insight in her book, Steps to Christ. She tells us, "In order to have spiritual life and energy, we must have an actual relationship with our heavenly Father." (pg. 93). Children often treat God as a friend - someone they know and want to share everything with. The relationship is evident in the way they relate to Him. In both cases, the intent was the same - to share a moment with their Savior.
We see this same type of attitude at work in Acts 12 when Peter was imprisoned by Herod. Constant prayers were offered up for his protection by church members. As a result, an angel helped Peter break free from prison.
When Peter arrived at the home where church members had gathered to pray, a little girl named Rhoda answered the gate. She knew it was Peter immediately because her God had obviously heard their prayer! But when she went to tell the other adults, they didn't believe her.
They finally open the gate and are astonished to see Peter! The adults lacked faith. It took a child to remember that miracles can happen today if we earnestly seek the Holy Spirit in prayer.
So how do we adopt this actual relationship with Jesus? Just look at your school's Pre-K classroom. I don't know about you, but there's nothing sweeter than listening to little ones talk to Jesus. They tell Him all the minor parts of their day, share their thoughts, and carry on a conversation as though Jesus is sitting right next to them. They have hearts that innocently trust God is listening to them, and they talk to Him continually as they would to a close friend.
The next time you sit down to pray, remember you're speaking to the one who knows you best. Share your thoughts with the friend who always listens, just like our students do!
“And he said: ‘Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.”