I’m going to give you the background to this post. I have recently started the training for a new job. I love the interaction with the customers, and the products are easy to sell and purchase. I am a key holder at a Hallmark store located about fifteen minutes from my home. Many people have expressed their desire to work at Hallmark. One person, in jest, said that I stole his wife’s job. I felt honored working at this particular location.
I have been training, and to be honest, there is a lot to learn. Selling and customer service has never been a problem for me. However, working on the computer can be a challenge. I have been praying and asking God to help me learn the procedures quickly. Ironically, I am patient with others learning, but I don’t allow any patience for myself to learn.
I have two grandchildren, a 6-year-old boy, and an almost 2-year-old girl. My grandson and I usually FaceTime at least once a week. I love his conversations and his honesty. He usually has me laughing about some comment that comes out of his mouth. I know where he inherited that gene.
Last Saturday, as we were FaceTiming, I mentioned that I was getting ready for work. He was watching me put on my makeup through the phone. I asked him, “Andrew, will you pray for Grammy Barb to be able to understand and learn what I needed to know for work. By the way, he was on his bed with his feet on the wall talking to me. Immediately after I asked him to pray, he says to me, “Ok, Grammy, let’s pray.” He begins praying, asking God to help me learn what I needed to know for work, and then asked God to keep his dad safe at work. Amen! Then he starts talking again.
Andrew doesn’t use fancy words, and he talks to God like he is talking to a friend that can help him. I’m not saying he doesn’t respect God. I’m saying he stops, prays, and then goes back to doing what he was doing before praying. He is such a “matter-of-fact” kid.
I thanked him for praying for Grammy and then went to work. Would you believe that I had one of the best days at work? I grasped more that evening than I had in the previous evenings. You may say, “Coincidence.” I say, “Prayer,” and precisely one from a six-year-old grandson.
Why would God answer Andrew’s prayer? Maybe because he was honest, or perhaps because he was sincere. Andrew didn’t think about the possibility of God not answering his prayer; he had confidence that God would answer it. He didn’t say that he would pray for me later. No, he was going to pray immediately.
We had always heard about the faith of children. In fact, in Matthew 18: 1-4, when Jesus was asked, “Who then is greatest in the kingdom of Heaven?” And He called a child to Himself and set him before them, and said, “Truly I say to you, unless you are converted and become like children, you will not enter the kingdom of Heaven. Whoever then humbles himself as this child, he is the greatest in the kingdom of Heaven.”
Why does Jesus say the greatest in the kingdom of Heaven will be the one who becomes like a child? Because most children are bluntly honest, what you see is what you get. They are sincere, and there is no pretense with them. They do not use fancy eight-letter words when talking to God. They speak to Him respectfully, yet in their truthful way using their 4 or 5 letter words. When they have finished praying and asking God for what they need, they have the faith that God will answer their prayers. They don’t doubt like we adults tend to do.
Now, back to my story, I called Andrew the next day and thanked him for praying for Grammy Barb. I told him that I had a great evening and understood what I needed to know for work. I wanted him to know that God does answer His prayers. Isn’t that what we want our grandchildren to know? We want them to know that God is real and that He cares about them and their needs.
I also wanted my daughter-in-law and son to know that even when it seems like those kids may not be getting all the things you’re trying to teach them, they are getting it, and this was an example of their teaching. Those little eyes are watching how you pray and what you say to God. They see how important God is in your life. Being a parent is the most challenging job you will ever do, but the rewards are priceless.
