In my first post, we discussed the importance of our own prayer life, and how it is to be an example to our children as we try to lead them in learning to speak with the Lord themselves. In this post I’d like to discuss a good time to teach your children to pray: When in need.

We all have needs, and we all get into sticky situations where we really could use a “hand”. Even our children experience times when they feel like they need to ask for help. And as our children observe what we do in a “bad” situation, they will subconsciously learn from our example as to how they should react in similar circumstances. If we freak out and panic, this is what they will learn to do. They will grow up, and when life throws them a curve ball they will become fretful and full of anxiety, wondering how they will ever get through such a crisis in their life. But if we teach them to lean on a Higher Power, and to put their trust in the Lord (where it rightfully belongs), then they will learn to give their burdens to the Lord and trust whole-heartedly that they will be taken care of. Imagine the relief and stress-free minds of those who have no worry for the future. Isn’t this the peace that we want for our children? Shouldn’t we want this for ourselves as well?

When things aren’t going your way in life, how do your children see you react? Do you get angry and yell or say ugly things? Do you wallow in self pity, wondering why things always go so badly for you? Or do you lift your voice toward heaven and call upon the Lord for help? You may think that your children are sitting obliviously in the backseat, but believe me, they are watching, they are listening, and they are learning.

I’d like to share a story with you:

We had just moved into a new condo in town. Me and Jada, then three years old, were home alone while my husband was away at work. I was about 6 months pregnant with baby Titus. It was a beautiful, sunny day so I decided to take Jada out on the back deck to play for a little while. There was an ugly sticker on the outside of the kitchen window that I thought I’d work on scraping off while Jada played, so I grabbed a chair and a razor blade to work with and we made our way out the sliding glass door.

As soon as I closed the door behind us I heard a horrible sound… “Click”; it was the lock, sliding into the locked position! I immediately tried to open the door up again, but just as I had feared, it was not budging. We were locked out. Now, it wouldn’t have been so terrible, but this wasn’t just any sunny day, it was sweltering! The deck was in full sun, and we were absolutely baking in it’s fury. My cell phone was inside on the kitchen counter, and hubby wasn’t due to come back home for another 5 hours!

Instantly my mind began to race as I brainstormed my possible options. Jada, who had heard my nervous “Uh-Oh”, was watching, wondering what Mommy was going to do. I wasn’t freaking out, not yet at least. I’m not one to panic very easily. I calmly told little Jada, “Well, we’re locked out. Let’s see, what can we do…”.

I looked around, hoping to see somebody who might be able to help us. Nobody, not a single person in sight. The decks being on the backside of the condos, facing woods, nobody would see us unless they were behind the building. I thought about using something to reach across the gap to the next condo’s window to see if I could tap on it and get somebody’s attention, but I noticed that the neighbor’s car was gone, and I knew no one was home.

My next thought was that maybe I could climb down and go for help. I looked over the railing down the 10 ft. drop, trying to find something that might help. I seriously considered climbing over the side, and shimmying down the posts. I really didn’t want to do that though, being so far along in the pregnancy. It would have been really dangerous. And besides, I wasn’t sure what I would do about little Jada being up there all by herself, and I didn’t want to leave her to go find somebody. So that idea I saved as a last resort.

I paced, racking my brain. I felt out of options. I could not think of anything else that I could do. I told Jada that we needed to pray. I told her that we needed help, and that I wasn’t sure what to do. So, we prayed. As Jada listened, I begged the Lord to help us get back to safety. I prayed that He would show me the way to get us back inside. After I prayed, I felt calmed, and renewed.

Then, I had an idea.

The small kitchen window, several feet up, was facing just over the deck. I looked up at it, and prayed once again out loud, “Please Lord, please let this window be open!” I did not think it was. Being new in the neighborhood, and not being used to living in a busy town, I was extremely paranoid. The first night we moved in, I had gone around and made sure that all of the doors and windows were locked before going to bed. I was sure that I had locked this window as well. But I had to try. I pulled that chair that I had so conveniently brought out with me up to the house, just below the window. I got out the razor blade that I also happened to have grabbed and as I stood on the chair, used it to pry the screen off the window. Then, with pleading prayers that the window would open, I tried to slide the sash…

It moved. It opened! I could not believe it. The window slid open! I was overcome with relief! Okay, that was good. But the next trick was getting in through it. I considered raising Jada up and through the window so that she could let me in. But being so small still, it would have been hard for her to get down off the tall counter top, and the sliding door was heavy, and would have been difficult for her to pull open. I wasn’t sure she would be able to do it. I thought about having her call her Daddy once she got in, to have him come and open the door for me. But I didn’t want to bother him at work, and I didn’t want her to be inside by herself for so long. I decided I had to try to squeeze in myself.

Now, I’m pretty short. Just barely over 5′ tall. And even with me standing on the chair, the window was still above me. And it was a very small, sliding window. I wasn’t sure I could fit my big pregnant belly through it. But I decided that I must fit. The Lord would not have let this window be open for nothing. So, I pulled myself up and squeezed through the narrow opening. I made it! Once inside, I climbed down off the counter top, and opened the door to let my poor little, red cheeked, sweaty daughter inside into the cool air conditioning once again.

I was elated! As I opened the door to let Jada in I yelled “Thank you Lord! Thank you! Thank you!” And I exclaimed to Jada how thankful we were that the Lord had helped us. She was very excited as well, and joined in my praising. I immediately saw the opportunity to teach, and explained the whole situation to her:

“Baby, do you know what happened? We were stuck, weren’t we? That door locked us out, and we were really stuck outside! But what did we do? We prayed, didn’t we?! And the Lord heard our prayers! He helped us, didn’t he?! He made that window be open, and we had the chair that we needed to climb in, and he answered our prayers! Isn’t He wonderful? Thank you Lord! Thank you for helping us!”

I went on to explain that any time we are in trouble, any time that we need help with something and don’t know what to do, we should pray, because God always hears our prayers, and is faithful to answer them.

I know she understood. And she learned a very valuable lesson. I know the Lord allowed that situation to happen to give me an incredible tool for my child. I was so glad that she was able to learn something about prayer that day. And I know she understood because for the next week, every time we had trouble with something, she would stop and pray right there that God would help us. When my car wouldn’t crank I heard her little voice in the backseat say, “God, please help Mommy’s car to start. Amen.” How precious that was! And you know, when the car did finally start, we were able to give Him the praises He deserves.

So, my hopes in telling you all about this is to challenge you and your reactions to hard times. The next time a crisis occurs, or a troubling situation arises, stop and think for a moment that maybe the Lord is opening a door for you to use this as a teaching opportunity for your child. Instead of freaking out, blaming God, or crying in self pity, use this chance to show your child the power of prayer.

I am sure He won’t disappoint you!

And then, teach them to give Him the praises He so richly deserves.

Here is a good little memory verse to teach your child:

“If one of you is having troubles, he should pray!” James 5:13.

Through all of the trials we’ve been facing lately, the Lord has really spoken to my heart regarding praying for others. Sometimes we become so engrossed in our own burdens of this world, that we forget that the smiling faces of those around us are actually hiding sorrows of their own. We are so quick to share our problems, and ask everyone around us to pray for our situation without even giving a thought as to what may be troubling that very person before us. I am so guilty of this, as I have asked for prayer so much lately. I’m not saying it’s wrong to ask for prayer, not at all, but my confession is that before now I never even wondered what was going on in my friends world that may be deeply troubling her. I never stopped to ask anyone what I could pray for them for.

So, I believe the Lord has used this time in my life to make me realize that I need to be more prayerful of the affairs of my friends and those around me. When my husband broke his leg and lost his job, we were really in a tight spot. I felt so burdened at times. But then when I would hear from others, I realized that so many other people have been, or are going through similar, and even much worse things than this and I haven’t even stopped to ask them how I could pray for their situation. For example, I have a close friend seriously contemplating divorcing her husband. How burdened she must feel. Another stay-at-home mom friend has been abandoned by her husband, left to raise her three small children on her own after having to file for bankruptcy and losing everything they owned. Another friend of mine recently got married, just to find out that for the entire next year she will be without her husband as he fights across seas. I am sure that these things weigh heavily on the hearts of my friends. These are BIG burdens. Huge. I am so ashamed of myself for not being a better friend and praying for them more fervently. Sure, I’ve listened to their stories, shared my sympathy, and said something like, “Oh, I’ll pray for you,” and I do, but at the end of the day, it is my own struggles that I think about and cry over. How very selfish of me.

This is just my truth. But I’ve decided that from now on I will be better about asking others what I can pray for them today. Everybody has a struggle in their life. Everybody has worries and burdens. We need to stop being so overwhelmed with our own situation, and open our eyes to the troubles of those around us. So the next time you are talking with somebody in your life, remember to ask them, “How can I pray for you today?” Maybe if we all start praying for each other, we will find the answers to our own prayers much sooner.

Thanks to all of you who chimed in and gave ideas on how I can read to my wiggly son who has a hard time sitting in my lap anymore while I read to him.

It seemed like the main consensus among all of you was to continue reading to him, even if he’s playing while I read, because he’s listening and picking up more than I think he is!

It’s funny that you all said this, because only a few days after you all pitched in with your advice, I was reading Amy Carmichael’s biography "A Chance to Die" (by Elizabeth Elliot), and came across this while reading.

The children in Amy’s family were called to daily prayers each day by a bell. During that time, her father would also read the Scripture to them. Here is the quote that hit me:

"Amy remembered the sound of her father’s voice reading the Scripture, a "solemn sound, like the rise an fall of the waves on the shore." Her ear was trained in this way, from those earliest years when a child’s powers of memorization by hearing are nearly miraculous. For the rest of her life the majestic cadences of the Authorized Version of the Bible shaped her thinking and every phrase she wrote.

A child, even when apparently distracted, learns far more than adults dream he can learn. Amy did not by any means always attend perfectly to the reading. Once she found a mouse drowning in a pail of water just at the moment when the prayer bell rang. She fished it out, hid it in her pinafore, took her place at prayers, and hoped it would not squeak. It did."

How’s that to wrap up thoughts on the subject!?

Thanks everyone for your input!

My husband and I have been talking about self-discipline a lot recently as this is something that we both desire to greatly improve in. He’s been reading a book called “The Disciplined Life” and came to me last night with tons of thoughts about it.

One thing we talked about is the fact that when you are disciplined with yourself, you are able to more freely serve others. In other words:

The more you say “NO” to yourself, the more you are able to say “YES” to others.

For example:

FINANCES: When you discipline yourself in your spending and saving, you will have more resources to bless others with.

• Giving toward missions
• Helping a friend in financial crisis
• Buying a meal for a homeless person

TIME: When you discipline yourself in your use of time, you will have more time to do things for and with others.

• Going on visitation with your church
• Listening to your teenager as she pours her heart out
  
• Cleaning the home of one of your church’s shut-in’s
  

WALK WITH GOD: When you discipline yourself in your walk with God, you will be able to better minister to others from an overflowing heart.

• Hosting a Bible Study in your home
• Counseling a friend
• Sharing what you are learning in your Bible reading with your children

I’m sure you can think of more examples, but I hope you see the point. Self-discipline is not about getting on track or getting ahead…it’s ultimately about serving the Lord by serving others.

We received a number of comments suggesting even more ideas on how to fill your home with Scripture. Thank you! It sure was a blessing to read through them, and I came away with new inspiration that I can’t wait to put to use! Here are a few highlights:

From Joanne:

We like to ‘write’ verses onto our own digital photos that we have enlarged and then frame them. One that we have on top of a bookcase is a picture of a mountain that could be seen from my parents back porch. We used Psalm 121:1 – 2. It has become a reminder not only of where our help comes from, but of the lovely vacation we spent with my family four and a half years ago. And yes, I know those verses by heart and it wasn’t painful trying to learn them!

From Infinity Goods:

We have bibles and art books with psalms in every room. Some rooms have several! Joanne’s comment is great too. For samples of what she is talking about, you can visit Amydeanne’s “Word Filled Wednesdays” at http://the160acrewoods.wordpress.com/word-filled-wednesdays/. I’ve just joined them too and I’ll be printing some of my favorites on photo paper, adding mats and framing them.

From Cindy:

In a recent newsletter from Nancy Campbell (Above Rubies) she talked about all the ways she spent time with the Lord, even in the midst of many little ones. She used a book holder (a stand-up one, like you would use for a recipe book) and put her Bible in it, up over her kitchen sink (since she spent lots of time there doing dishes). Personally, I have little girls who do most of the dishes, so I was thinking of finding a little book stand and just putting my Bible out on the kitchen counter!

Wonderful ideas! If you are at a loss for Scripture verses to use, here are a few that we’ve put around our home:

Isaiah 40:29 – “He giveth power to the faint; and to them that have no might He increaseth strength.”

John 7:38 – “He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.”

Matthew 11:28 – “Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest… For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”

Psalm 42:8 – “The LORD will command His lovingkindness in the daytime, and His song will be with me in the night, a prayer to the God of my life.”

Psalm 36:9 – “For with You is the fountain of life; In Your light we see light.”

Psalm 46:10 – “Be still, and know that I am God”

Isaiah 41:10 – “Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness.”

Matthew 7:24 – “Therefore everyone who hears these words of Mine and acts on them, may be compared to a wise man who built his house on the rock.”

Before the throne of God above

Written by Charitie Bancroft in 1863.

Here’s a good challenge about memorizing Scripture (click on the Bible to hear):