The
Prayers of Children
by Laura Tverberg
"Let
the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom
of God belongs to such as these. I tell you the truth, anyone who will
not receive the Kingdom of God like a little child will never enter
it."
Luke
18:15-17
People
were bringing babies to Jesus to have him touch them. When the disciples
saw this , they rebuked them. But Jesus called the children to Him and
said, "Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them,
for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. I tell you the truth,
anyone who will not receive the Kingdom of God like a little child will
never enter it." (Luke 18:15-17)
A
very old hymn has these words:
Prayer is the simplest form
of speech that infant lips can try;
Prayr sublimest strains that reach the Majesty on high.
Even though children now dont
see Jesus in person, they can visualize Him in their minds eye as
theyve seen Him in any of the many paintings depicting Jesus with
children. They are naturally able to trust, because they are entirely
dependent on others. It makes it possible to receive Gods kingdom,
as Jesus said, with the trust that everyone needs. Children learn by imitating,
and by sitting quietly with folded hands at prayer time at home, they
will learn simple petitions. Their hymns of praise are surely pleasing
to our Lord Jesus. Thinking of Jesus as a close friend is helped by remembering
the words of the familiar hymn, "What a friend we have in Jesus .
. . what a privilege to carry everything to the Lord in prayer. Many people whose learning ability
is limited are also able to offer prayers with confidence that they are
heard by a loving Lord. A Christian friend said that when she is asked
to pray for others, she has her disabled adolescent daughter also offer
intercessory prayer. That was a surprise to me, but how good to know that
such persons, childlike, in a way, offer prayers which are pleasing to
the Lord and receive His blessing.
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