Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore, whoever takes the lowly position of this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. And whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me.
Matthew 18:3-5
I was in a room this morning with people of all ages for a time of worship. There were probably 5-6 little kids. I don’t know ages but they weren’t very tall, so I’m guessing they were around 4 years old. After singing a few songs and watching a video everyone split up and did their own thing. At the end of all this we made a circle-ish shape and prayed.
Some of the middle and high schoolers choose not to pray out loud (but a lot more have been than used to!) but pretty much every little kid there had something to say in this group of about 30 people.
The prayer went something like this:
1- Let us care about the people around us.
2- Help us to love the orphans.
3- Thank you Jesus for dying on the cross to save us.
4- Thank you for our tv’s we get to watch our favorite shows on.
5- Just Thank you.
It really put a smile on my face. When you think about it, they covered what prayer is all about. They showed thankfulness for what Jesus has already done for each of us. They asked for opportunities to reach out to the people around them, and to show people love. They thanked God for the luxuries in life or the ways we’ve all been blessed. It was really cool. I haven’t heard children pray like that very much.
They just said what they thought and felt. They spoke plain and simple. We’re called to be like that. Prayer is just us talking to God (and listening). These kids made my day.
That’s one of the many cool things about kids: they are not worried what the people around them think (to an extent). They are unashamed. Child-like faith is good faith. We could all learn from the children around us.
Also, children are worth the investment in time. They are worth spending time praying with, playing with, and just loving on. They won’t be children forever. We have the chance to teach, and we also learn more than we expect.
