Why Prayer Matters

Lately things have been a bit rough. I'm not going to go into the details.  One thing to come out of all this is that I've purposed to pray in front of the kids more (not including the typical meal time, lesson time and bed time). If I lose something, I stop and ask God out loud to help. When I see something lovely outside, I praise God's creation and give thanks.  When I'm impatient, I ask him for more patience to move forward.  Not only is this helping me, but the kids have really picked up on it as well.

Not long after I started praying more in front of the kiddos, Ashton started having a sore throat at night.  At first it was from allergies. I started praying for his throat at night.  After his throat cleared up, he used it as an excuse to get out of bed.  I decided not to make a big deal out of it and to keep praying for his throat. I had no idea that it would change much for him.

This morning, Ashton and Brenna were sitting on the couch.  Brenna has been sick and had to miss church today.  Ashton looked over at his sister and asked her if she was still sick.  She told him she was. Not missing a beat, he looked at her and said, "I"m going to pray to God because your sick." He then prayed over her and asked God to heal her. I almost started crying but managed to hold it together.  God favored me this morning and gave me a preview of a seed that is growing in my little guys heart.  I went over and sat beside him.  Pulling him into a hug, I told him only the best big brothers prayed for their sisters when they were sick and that God and I loved him doing that.