Thank You God

When my son prays, it sounds like this.

God I thank you for helping that lady at the mall that needed help. Thank you for making her better.

That baby duck that was dead on the sidewalk…He was so cute. I thank you that he is happy in Heaven now.

Thank you God for a second chance today when I was a bad boy. Will you please help me to be a good boy tomorrow?

God thank you that Omio has food today and that no bad people will be chasing him so he can be happy and play with his friends.

God I thank you for Jesus dying on the cross for our sins.

We love you a whole bunch.

Amen

Notice he only asked God for one thing in his entire prayer. He thanked God in every other part of his prayer. After hearing this same format of praying night after night, I began to ask questions. I wanted to know how he knew God made the lady at the mall better because she was a stranger and we didn’t know how things turned out. He looked at me as if I was crazy and said, “Well duh! We prayed for her when we saw the ambulance come.”

When we saw the dead bird he always thinks was a duck, he immediately asked if we could pray for him. I looked at him as if he were the crazy one and asked what we could pray since he was already squished. The crazy look was reciprocated and he simply answered, “Well that he has a fun time in Heaven flying around not squished anymore.”

Omio was introduced to my son in church as they were teaching him to pray for people in other countries who do not have all the cool stuff we have. My son was so saddened by the thought of a little boy not having a place to sleep, food to eat and always scared something bad would happen. So he prays for Omio and his friends just about every night for about 6 months now. Just the same, I asked my son why he thanked God for giving Omio food and safety when he couldn’t see if Omio had the things he was praying he would have. I was expecting the same crazy look again, but was given the don’t you already know the answer by now kind of look. “Mommy, when you pray for something, God does it so it is just better to say thank you because He is going to answer your prayers.”

As I kissed his sweet little head and left his room I thought this is just another way we need to be more childlike in our faith.

My son’s answers open a gamut of conversation topics. I have explained God does not always answer all our prayers just the way we pray because sometimes what we ask for is not good for us. Having a detailed prayer conversation with a 5 year old can be challenging at times to say things he will understand, but it is so worth my time to teach him because he is eager to learn and serious about God. Okay sometimes he will thank God for poop, but what little boy doesn’t! When I told him God has better plans than our prayers sometimes, his reply was humbling. “Yeah Mommy. I guess you’re right. God is pretty awesome so it is okay to thank him if something better is gonna happen when we pray.”

Thank you God. Two simple words followed by an amazingly powerful three letter word. GOD!

God is able. We have to believe God is more than adequate to handle anything we might throw His way. We have to be bold in our faith to wholeheartedly pray and believe the outcome will be good if it comes from the Father – even if it is different from what we specifically prayed for. God does not need our specifics. Our specifics are limited. Let’s give our issues, our pain, our doubts, our fears and our most valuable thoughts to God.  Wipe your hands free. Faithfully say “Thank you God!” Stand back and believe with a thankful, humble and faithful heart.

And when the answer to your prayer comes, be ready. Be ready for something different and thank him for the shift. The deviation may be hard to swallow, but it just may be the change needed to exceed your expectations for the situation, heartache and turmoil you don’t know how to handle on your own. God loves you. Let Him. He is able.

Let’s not forget the one thing he did ask for in his prayer. “Will you please help me to be a good boy tomorrow?” We can all benefit from asking God to help make us better daily. Such a simple request, but if we are flexible with our thoughts and who we think we are, God can make us better. A better us is a happier house, workplace and classroom. No matter who we come in contact with, we have the opportunity and backing of our Heavenly Father to shine a living God that is active in our life. Not so simple anymore, huh?

God we thank you for loving us like no other. Thank you for working through our situations and our hearts. Thank you for the Holy Spirit acting on our behalf in your name to guide us to a more Christ centered and thankful life. Thank you for the children teaching us to slow down our thoughts, to be more humble and stop making things so complicated. Thank you for new grace each day and a second chance when we mess up. Thank you for the sacrifices of the cross making this all possible. In Jesus name we pray. Amen.

But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt, because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. –James 1:6 (NIV)

Jesus called a little child to him and put the child among them. 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. -Matthew 18:2-4 (NLT)