Praying with Penny<\/a>. But it\u2019s a story that never ends, because all of our kids are constantly teaching me more about how to pray.<\/p>\nRecently, there was the night when we were reading The Berenstein Bears and Too Much Junk Food<\/em>. After we finished, I asked Penny and William if they wanted me to pray about anything in particular. At this point, Penny usually offers a number of requests. William usually turns away and shakes his head. But that night, I asked if they needed help with anything. William pointed to the book with a shy look on his face. \u201cI need God\u2019s help with this.\u201d And so we prayed that God would help him to want healthy food and only eat junk food a little bit.<\/p>\nThen I asked Penny a few nights ago, \u201cDo you ever pray at school?\u201d<\/p>\n
She gave me one of those looks that implies I should know better than to ask a question with such an obvious answer. \u201cYeah, Mom.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIn art and in gym.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy do you pray then?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSo God will be with me.\u00a0I need help controlling my hands. And God helps me.\u201d<\/p>\n
In both cases, what struck me was the simplicity of it. William likes junk food. He shouldn\u2019t eat a lot of it. But he wants to anyway. And so he needs God\u2019s help. Penny knows she shouldn\u2019t poke and push in gym class or pick up all the little beads and interesting objects in the art room, but controlling those impulses is hard. So she prays about it. I wish I could remember, and trust, that prayer really is that simple.<\/p>\n
And then there\u2019s Marilee, who is just starting to join my little crew of theologians.<\/p>\n
I asked her at dinnertime a few nights back, \u201cMarilee, do you know what we are doing when we pray?\u201d<\/p>\n
Her face lit up. She clasped her hands together and said, \u201cThank you for our beautiful day!\u201d<\/p>\n
I know she was just offering back to me what she has heard, and yet it also came as a precious little gem of insight. Not just that when we pray we are saying thank you, but a reminder that prayer offers us a way to connect to the one who deserves our thanksgiving. No\u2013it\u2019s more than that. It\u2019s that the feeling of gratitude for things we know we have not given ourselves\u2013the dogwood tree in bloom, the giggles of my little girl, the wonder of finding the right words to put on paper, the moment of connection and hope in friendships\u2013it\u2019s that the feeling of gratitude doesn\u2019t go out into a void but actually lands somewhere, with someone. There is one to whom we ought to give thanks, but perhaps even more so, there is one who will receive our thanks.<\/p>\n
I sometimes wish I had an orderly prayer life, as I did before I had children. But I\u2019m also grateful for the disruptions my children have offered. Because it is in those disruptions that they continue to teach me how to pray.<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
“I still sometimes wish I had an orderly prayer life, but I’m also grateful for the disruptions my children have offered. Because it is in those disruptions that they continue to teach me how to pray.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":42,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5,6],"tags":[118],"class_list":["post-3606","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-faith","category-family","tag-prayer"],"yoast_head":"\n
What Our Children Teach Me About Prayer - Thin Places-Faith, Family and Disability<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\""I still sometimes wish I had an orderly prayer life, but I'm also grateful for the disruptions my children have offered. Because it is in those disruptions that they continue to teach me how to pray."\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/thinplaces\/2013\/05\/what-all-our-children-teach-me-about-prayer\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"What Our Children Teach Me About Prayer - Thin Places-Faith, Family and Disability\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\""I still sometimes wish I had an orderly prayer life, but I'm also grateful for the disruptions my children have offered. Because it is in those disruptions that they continue to teach me how to pray."\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/thinplaces\/2013\/05\/what-all-our-children-teach-me-about-prayer\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Thin Places-Faith, Family and Disability\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2013-05-16T10:13:20+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2013-05-16T14:27:01+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"http:\/\/wp.patheos.com.s3.amazonaws.com\/blogs\/thinplaces\/files\/2013\/05\/IMG_1338-300x191.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Amy Julia Becker\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Amy Julia Becker\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/thinplaces\/2013\/05\/what-all-our-children-teach-me-about-prayer\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/thinplaces\/2013\/05\/what-all-our-children-teach-me-about-prayer\/\",\"name\":\"What Our Children Teach Me About Prayer - Thin Places-Faith, Family and Disability\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/thinplaces\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2013-05-16T10:13:20+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2013-05-16T14:27:01+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/thinplaces\/#\/schema\/person\/b3e8f59d6533ab89f516e8d9631c6e63\"},\"description\":\"\\\"I still sometimes wish I had an orderly prayer life, but I'm also grateful for the disruptions my children have offered. Because it is in those disruptions that they continue to teach me how to pray.\\\"\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/thinplaces\/2013\/05\/what-all-our-children-teach-me-about-prayer\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/thinplaces\/2013\/05\/what-all-our-children-teach-me-about-prayer\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/thinplaces\/2013\/05\/what-all-our-children-teach-me-about-prayer\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/thinplaces\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"What Our Children Teach Me About Prayer\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/thinplaces\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/thinplaces\/\",\"name\":\"Thin Places-Faith, Family and Disability\",\"description\":\"With Amy Julia Becker\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/thinplaces\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/thinplaces\/#\/schema\/person\/b3e8f59d6533ab89f516e8d9631c6e63\",\"name\":\"Amy Julia Becker\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/thinplaces\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/3adc0aada8a192b3c12b962d57c5accd?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/3adc0aada8a192b3c12b962d57c5accd?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Amy Julia Becker\"},\"description\":\"Amy Julia Becker writes and speaks about family, faith, disability, and culture. A graduate of Princeton University and Princeton Theological Seminary, she is the author of Penelope Ayers: A Memoir, A Good and Perfect Gift (Bethany House), and Why I Am Both Spiritual and Religious (Patheos Press).\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/thinplaces\/author\/amyjuliabecker\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"What Our Children Teach Me About Prayer - Thin Places-Faith, Family and Disability","description":"\"I still sometimes wish I had an orderly prayer life, but I'm also grateful for the disruptions my children have offered. Because it is in those disruptions that they continue to teach me how to pray.\"","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/thinplaces\/2013\/05\/what-all-our-children-teach-me-about-prayer\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"What Our Children Teach Me About Prayer - Thin Places-Faith, Family and Disability","og_description":"\"I still sometimes wish I had an orderly prayer life, but I'm also grateful for the disruptions my children have offered. Because it is in those disruptions that they continue to teach me how to pray.\"","og_url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/thinplaces\/2013\/05\/what-all-our-children-teach-me-about-prayer\/","og_site_name":"Thin Places-Faith, Family and Disability","article_published_time":"2013-05-16T10:13:20+00:00","article_modified_time":"2013-05-16T14:27:01+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"http:\/\/wp.patheos.com.s3.amazonaws.com\/blogs\/thinplaces\/files\/2013\/05\/IMG_1338-300x191.jpg"}],"author":"Amy Julia Becker","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Amy Julia Becker","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/thinplaces\/2013\/05\/what-all-our-children-teach-me-about-prayer\/","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/thinplaces\/2013\/05\/what-all-our-children-teach-me-about-prayer\/","name":"What Our Children Teach Me About Prayer - Thin Places-Faith, Family and Disability","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/thinplaces\/#website"},"datePublished":"2013-05-16T10:13:20+00:00","dateModified":"2013-05-16T14:27:01+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/thinplaces\/#\/schema\/person\/b3e8f59d6533ab89f516e8d9631c6e63"},"description":"\"I still sometimes wish I had an orderly prayer life, but I'm also grateful for the disruptions my children have offered. Because it is in those disruptions that they continue to teach me how to pray.\"","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/thinplaces\/2013\/05\/what-all-our-children-teach-me-about-prayer\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/thinplaces\/2013\/05\/what-all-our-children-teach-me-about-prayer\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/thinplaces\/2013\/05\/what-all-our-children-teach-me-about-prayer\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/thinplaces\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"What Our Children Teach Me About Prayer"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/thinplaces\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/thinplaces\/","name":"Thin Places-Faith, Family and Disability","description":"With Amy Julia Becker","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/thinplaces\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/thinplaces\/#\/schema\/person\/b3e8f59d6533ab89f516e8d9631c6e63","name":"Amy Julia Becker","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/thinplaces\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/3adc0aada8a192b3c12b962d57c5accd?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/3adc0aada8a192b3c12b962d57c5accd?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Amy Julia Becker"},"description":"Amy Julia Becker writes and speaks about family, faith, disability, and culture. A graduate of Princeton University and Princeton Theological Seminary, she is the author of Penelope Ayers: A Memoir, A Good and Perfect Gift (Bethany House), and Why I Am Both Spiritual and Religious (Patheos Press).","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/thinplaces\/author\/amyjuliabecker\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/thinplaces\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3606","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/thinplaces\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/thinplaces\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/thinplaces\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/42"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/thinplaces\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3606"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/thinplaces\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3606\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/thinplaces\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3606"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/thinplaces\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3606"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/thinplaces\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3606"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}