Pray Through It All

Last Updated on March 20, 2018

While I was writing my memoir, Once Upon A Child, I recounted many moments I had as a little girl that have shaped my thought process as an adult. For example, I was a very strong-willed little person who loved challenges. I wanted to learn how to ride a bicycle without training wheels when my parents thought I was too young to do so. Most of my friends would agree, that trait is still alive within me.

When I was a young toddler, I loved playing with dolls. I echoed my mother’s every move and wanted to be just like her when I became a woman and a mom. Today, I see more and more of my mom in me. It’s funny.

Although I had a child-hood enriched in fun, laughter and imagination, and I grew up in a household that taught faith and godly principles, I never thought I would meet some of the most challenging trials I’ve faced as an adult. I never imagined I’d pray for forgiveness, deliverance, and restoration. I never thought I’d pray for miracles… for children.

There is one thing my parents instilled in me at a very early age that has helped me during those trying times– prayer.

We prayed as the morning sun peeked through our window blinds.

We prayed after brushing our teeth, putting on pj’s and hopping in bed.

We prayed in a cramped red Ford Tempo with infant car seats on both sides of us, as we traveled to school.

We prayed before taking tests, that God would bring what we studied back to our memories.

We prayed prayers of thanks for his many blessings: food, clothes, shelter, peace, Jesus.

My parents prayed and we echoed them.

Even though I learned to pray at an early age, I had no idea that it would become something I’d consistently cling to. It was embedded in me– instilled in me. As I grew into an adult, I remembered the availability of God and how he is for our joy, peace, and comfort. I learned how important it is to pray at all times. To rejoice in prayer with thanksgiving… and to cling to the Lord during suffering.

Today, I’m thankful that God graces us with the opportunity to come to him. I’m thankful for a relationship with Him and I’m thankful that we can openly express our faith with prayer no matter what. As a mother, it’s my prayer that my children learn the beauty of communicating with God. That they grasp it’s importance, as we pray together. When I see my children ask to say the prayer, it warms my heart and brings me to tears. The Lord hears their prayers too. I know by intentionally praying with them, I’m equipping them for any future experience they may have. They’ll know that if anything, the Lord is available and he’s listening!