Jesus Hears Them All

Ron left for a trip to Russia tonight. He'll be gone a little longer than usual, and is definitely farther away than normal. None of us are too excited about this trip. For some reason, it just feels different than his other business trips.

Tonight while I was getting Danielle ready for bed, I asked her if she would like to say a prayer for Daddy. She immediately smiled & said yes, sat up in bed, and folded her little hands. Pleased with her eagerness, I started to pray. She surprised me by repeating every word I said at first. Then she stopped repeating and just seconded my requests: "Please keep Daddy safe. " "Yes, yes!" We finished our prayer and both said "Amen!" Then she laid back down in bed.

Awhile later as I was getting Tyler ready for bed, I asked him if he would like to say a prayer for Daddy, too. He said he would like to and cuddled up close to me, his face against my chest. I prayed and he was silent. After I was done he said, "I didn't say anything." I replied, "You didn't have to. You can just think it. God knows what you're thinking." He said, "God knows everything." He paused for a second and a smirk spread across his face. "Even the naughty stuff."

There's just something about seeing my children bow their little heads and hearts to God that touches my soul. It humbles me. It reminds me that God doesn't need a bunch of eloquent words to understand my heart's cry. And I don't have to understand every intricate detail of His plan. I just need to believe in Him. Period.

Seeing them pray also encourages me. Hopefully these times of simple little prayers together are building a foundation for their own individual relationships with God. How wonderful it would be if years from now they were bowing their heads and teaching their own children how to talk to Jesus. How comforting to know that they will always have Someone to turn to and talk to that loves them even more than I do.

Tonight I was also struck by how different Danielle's & Tyler's prayers were. Yet I have no doubt that God heard them both...loud and clear. Spoken or silent, simple or complex, in the United States or in Russia (or somewhere in between) Jesus hears them all.