power of a praying child

When Danae was a baby, we noticed that she would cry at dawn for no apparent reason, but we quickly learned that it was because she wanted to pray for something or someone. She would stop after we prayed. She learned to pray even before she could actually talk, putting her hands together and saying “dada” (her amen) after the prayer. When she was 2, she prayed or maybe even prophesied that the baby in my belly was a girl. Now, she and Noelle pray for and prophesy having a baby brother.

For years, King has been telling Danae to pray for parking space each time we have a hard time finding one, and God almost always immediately answers her prayer. Parking isn’t a big deal, I know. But this has been consistent. And even if there will be times that we don’t find a parking space right away, we still believe that Danae has the GIFT OF PRAYING.

Lately, she has been telling me that some of her classmates upset her because they would tease her and keep “secrets” from her. I’d tell her to ignore them and ask help from teacher if they don’t stop. We would pray for it too. There was even a time she got so mad that she ended up scratching her classmate, for which she apologized of course and got the rod at home. One day last week, I asked her how her day was and if her classmates teased her again. She said to me “no, mom. CAUSE I PRAYED.”

Our children’s faith gets built up when THEY pray. When Danae doesn’t feel like praying, we remind her that she has a God-given gift and that she should use it. Praying is a privilege because it is our direct access to God, and it is always a privilege to pray for other people too. It’s up to us parents to encourage our children to keep praying and to rejoice with them when God answers their prayers. 🙂