You Asked Me How to Pray Today

You've been praying for a while now.

When you were around one year old, we started saying "The Lord's Prayer" together every morning before I dropped you off at Ms. Winnie Phillips' house. Even though you couldn't talk yet, I would say it at a pace that you could follow:

"Our Father which art in heaven,
Hallowed be Thy Name.
Thy Kingdom come, Thy Will be done,
On earth, as it is in heaven.
Give us this day, our daily bread
And forgive us our debts,
As we forgive our debtors.
Lead us not into temptation,
But deliver us from evil,
For thine is the Kingdom, and the Power, and the Glory FOREVER,
Amen."

[and I always added:]

"Over our friends and family
Over all of Your people who are called by your Name,
Who have the Light of Christ within them,
We pray for blessings and provision and protection...
In Jesus' Name we pray, Amen."

I've said that prayer to you MOST every weekday since you were one. It kind of shocked me one day, when you said, with me, at the end of the prayer, "In Jesus' Name we pray, Amen."

Since then, although you rarely say the prayer with me, there are days when you do, and it's clear that you know ALMOST EVERY WORD.

It's been a true pleasure to pray that prayer with you.

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I remember one day, when I was sitting at the computer, you came up to me and said, "Momma, I pray for Nana and Poppa." You didn't know that your Poppa was battling cancer at the time. I'm not sure that I knew then. But I grabbed your hands and I closed my eyes and we prayed. When I opened my eyes, you were just staring at me, seemingly without emotion, wide-eyed. Then you pulled your hand away and ran into the other room.

You were two.

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Right after you turned three, you started praying over all of our meals. And not just "family" meals--with me, Daddy, Allie, and Raylee--but out in public, too, in restaurants, and with our bigger family. "God is Great, God is Good. And we thank You for this food. In Jesus' Name we pray, Amen."

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Today, March 9, 2012, I picked you up from Ms. Winnie's house. We were driving home and you said, abruptly and angrily, "I'm NOT a baby!"

I said, "I know you're not a baby, sissy. You're a little girl."

You said that the little girl you stayed with had called you a baby.

"Well, you're not a baby," I said. "You're a little girl."

"[She] hurt my feelings," you said, hmmphing and crossing your arms in your carseat. "[She's] not very nice."

"I'm sorry," I said, sympathetically.

Suddenly, I felt the Lord telling me what to say.

"Well, have you prayed for [her]?" I asked.

"No."

"Well, when people hurt your feelings, you need to pray for them. You need to pray for them to be nice."

You thought about that for a second before you responded.

"Momma, you teach me how to pray?"

"Of course," I said, choked up, nearly crying.

"Dear Lord Jesus..."

"Dear Lord Jesus," you mimicked.

"Please help [her] be nice..."

"Please help [her] be nice."

"In Jesus' Name I pray..." I started, and you finished with me, "AMEN."

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Yes, you asked me how to pray today. And I am moved beyond words.