10.09.2013

prayers of a toddler


Adeline loves to pray.  Since she could sit up in her highchair, we have always made sure she was aware of our mealtime prayers.  And we have always prayed with her at bedtime.

From that, stemmed Adeline wanting to pray herself.  She tells us who she wants to pray for and will often stop and say "pay" and want to pray.  It is so touching to hear her say "jeesh-us" and "ayyyy-MEN" when we walk her through her own prayers.


So lately she's been very possessive and not liking other people (strangers) to come into her space.  When we stroll through a crowd, she will say "gih owa way" (get out of the way) and will say "NO!" and wave her hand as if moving someone out of the way when we are going down aisles at the store.  When we play at the train table or other places, she will say "no, no, no!" and do the same to other kiddos that come around.  This has seriously disturbed me! The only thing we can figure out is that we say these things to our dog...SO we are pretty sure this is where it stemmed from.  Adeline is such a sweetheart and has such a joy-filled, nice little heart...so it makes me sad to think other toddlers and Mommas see something different when we meet new people.

We started talking about nice hands and what nice hands do.  She will now tell you that nice hands wave hello, bye bye, blow kisses, hug and pray. Ha! So sweet.  We have also talked about how God and Mommy and Daddy want her to be a nice girl.  But putting that into action when we talk up "being nice and using nice hands" has been a different story!


So this morning on the way to library Toddler Time, we talked about nice hands again and as we were it hit me...SHE SHOULD PRAY FOR HELP! So while I was driving, I asked her if she wanted to pray about being a nice girl.  If she wanted to ask God to help her.  She of course said yes, because she always wants to pray. ;) So I led her through a prayer she prayed aloud in her own little language asking God to help her be a nice girl and to give her help and strength to do so.  This moment will forever be in my heart and mind.

And you know what? She was seriously a changed little soul at the library.  She shared.  She was sweet, and she used nice hands and words.  We talked and talked throughout the library and when we left about how proud I was of her.  We called Daddy at work and told him all about her prayer and how she was a nice girl.  She was proud in her own little toddler way and kept telling him about the duck stuffed animal she had shared with another little girl.  I was so happy for her and proud of her.

Why it hadn't dawned on me to have her pray for help with something before, I'm not sure.  I pray for help all the time.  And we want Adeline to know from this young that prayer is powerful.  That prayer changes things.  It changes hearts.  And the Holy Spirit at work in our lives is a mighty thing.

This mommy thing is just so amazing.  The ability to help shape and mold her into a Christ-like little one that will grow up hopefully loving Jesus with all her heart for all her life.  And sharing that joy with those around her.  For this gift to be that role in her life, I am just so thankful.


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7 comments :

  1. Such a great post! We had a similar situation last week. Autumn was having a little attitude and I asked her if she wanted to pray and ask Jesus to help her to have a better attitude. She was so much better throughout the day and she kept saying how Jesus gave her joy in her heart.
    There are days when I am overwhelmed and feel like I have no idea what I'm doing as a mom but moments like that just confirm that being at home with her is what I am called to do.

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  2. Love this post and love that you are teaching her to pray at such a young age!

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  3. We are struggling with something similar and we pray all the time with her but I never thought about it that way. Thank you for sharing. I'm going to try that with my toddler next time.

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  4. Beautiful!!! I'm learning so much about mommyhood from you (even though that is a long way off for me!). And I just love the power of prayer.....a huge answer to prayer took place in my classroom this week and it just reminds me of how much more I need to be specific in my prayers :)

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  5. So amazing!! Love her little heart! I pray with Makayla at night but she hasnt quite 'caught on' to the whole thing yet..but it comes with time!!

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  6. Love this! Lil loves for us to pray but she doesn't want to herself yet. She's also a perfectionist though... I need to start encouraging her to. What a great example this is of praying for a changed heart!

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  7. This is such a cool story - loved reading this!

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