Praying like a Kid

At children’s ministry this morning, we took the kids out in the streets (with parental consent) to pray for car guards.

We split into little groups and I decided to have a little chat with my group before we mission out. I asked them what they thought the cargaurds needed prayer for. The answers were a bit sharply edged on my heart as they gave superficial answers such as: “They need more money”, or, “for better jobs, like working at KFC across the road.”

Then I had to ask, “You agree that they are people too with hearts just like you and me, right? And even though they might not have a lot of money, they may be rich. What do you think?”

Then their answers bloomed into beautiful ones like, “then maybe we should pray for them to show more of God’s kindness to the people they meet every day out here,” and, “that they can influence people through the job they do, ‘cause it’s an important job.”

We missioned out to pray for car guards. The children were so bold in the way they approached the situation. They asked the guards about their families and they showed them so much kindness and compassion. There was even a Muslim guard who asked us to pray for him...  (that's him in the picture)

These children really inspired me in the way they prayed. 

I expected that I would have to lead them in prayer and instead they surprised me with how not intimidating they find praying – even in front of others. 

Praying is easy. 
Yes, sometimes we feel so angry or upset that we don't want to pray. Or we feel as if no one is listening. Or we have prayed so many times, but have only recieved a few answers. O r maybe we feel like we are talking to the roof. 

Just persist. He IS Listening. To every single word. To every single emotion.
Praying is not a ritual that you DO. It is a convo that you have with God.

So many of us have the excuse that we don’t have time.

If you have time to think  and worry about things, you have time to pray about them.

For example,

Instead of THINKING: “Oh goodness, this is so scary.”

PRAY: “Dad, this is so scary. Do you think I can do this?”

Instead of THINKING: “I feel so fat.”

PRAY: “Dad, I feel fat. And I don’t like it.”

Instead of THINKING: “I am so good at this.”

PRAY: “Look Dad, I am good at this. Thanks for the talent!”

It basically comes down to CONVERSATION.

You cannot build a relationship with a friend if you do not communicate. 

About everything and anything. 

It’s the same about you relationship with God, too. 

Just TALK to Him.

Tell Him if you are angry. Tell Him when you are happy. Thank Him. Ask Him if you don’t understand things about life.

Just TALK to Him.

I promise you your relationship will grow.

If the kids can do it, so can YOU.

Love

NO DATING... for a YEAR?! That's crazy! Or is it?

I was in a very long and serious relationship with a man who had everything I wanted. Our relationship really worked – we could laugh together, we communicated well, we could be vulnerable together, and the list of reasons why it worked continues. 

But there was just one thing.

One thing that made everything that worked not work. 

I was broken.

A month after we had begun our relationship I found out that my parents were getting a divorce. And not for the civilized kind of reasons – the disastrous and messy kind. It left me, the youngest in the family, with so much hurt and fear of abandonment. It felt as if the once solid and secure foundations my life has been built on for the past 19 years have been ripped out underneath me. 

Suddenly I had no sense of security in my life. My family use to be the one sure thing I had and now that too has been torn apart.

Needless to say my boyfriend became my rock. Well, more accurately, he became my crutch. I was broken, and he carried me. I took out all of my hurt towards my family out on him. And he took it. Every single hit of anger and insecurity I had bottled up.

About 8 months into the relationship I had a little feeling in my gut that I had to end the relationship. I didn’t want to hear it, so I ignored it. It continued to nag for three months. Then, after a lot of prayer and discussion with my ‘fellowshippers’ and with God, I finally ended things. Officially the hardest decision of my life so far. I thought we were going to get married. And now I was ending it.

I decided to take a year off. Now, I know that Andy Stanley has this challenge for people to take a year off from relationships as part of his “New Rules for Love, Sex and Dating” series. But I didn’t even know who Andy Stanley was at the time. 

My year had purpose of something along these lines:

1. To find my identity.

2. To find God’s identity.

3. To find how 1 & 2 come together.

I decided on a year, because I knew that as soon as I meet someone new who was willing to be crutch, I would take the opportunity when things would get tough. So it was a time-specific guideline for me to heal purposefully with no shortcuts.

I decided ‘no relationships’, because I knew that the biggest distraction in my life has always been my boyfriend. I would run to him for comfort, validation, protection and attention. And this is not meant to come solely from another person. No one can live up to that role in its fullest capacity. Only God can. And I wasn’t getting it from Him, because it was much "easier" to get it from my boyfriend. 

But it didn’t sustain, and I was a broken, insecure girl who couldn’t imagine life without her man. So I basically gave up my ‘Isaac’. 

However, the morning after the breakup I woke up drenched in peace. And it is now a year and a few months later and I haven’t cried about it once. 

I had peace and faith and the biggest ADVENTURE of my life.

It wasn’t easy, but today I can say that I, regardless of my past, 

am a woman who sacrificed a little year of no dating

so that I can become a 

healthy, confident, content, secure and godly woman

who won’t depend on my future husband 

for happiness or worth.

I can be a whole person with him.
The wife he deserves.

I also gave God the opportunity to lay the most secure and beautiful foundations for the rest of my life. 

It is as if all of the values, lies, hurt and perspectives my life has been built on have been broken down and rebuilt to its best possible version. Like the city of Zion in the Bible. 

Are you up for a challenge of your own?

Did you also take a year off?

Feel free to share your story or questions with me! Three girls I am mentoring are currently taking up this challenge and I am very excited to say that God has met every expectation and even more!

Collinsleighann75@gmail.com

LOVE