How to pray {from The Jesus Storybook Bible}

I'm privileged to have a lot of friends who have children, as well as to be an auntie to 8 wonderful kids! In fact, I've almost been an auntie for 14 years! That's a long time eh? Anyways, one thing I love to do is send my friends out for date nights so I can spend time with their kids. I love the time I get to play with and pray for their kids. I especially love when my friends have The Jesus Storybook Bible because I feel like I'm learning things myself as I read through it. If I could I'd share the entire Bible here with you but today I wanted to share a story that I was just reading to one of my very favourite kids in the whole world the other night.

How to pray

Jesus teaches people about prayer; paraphrase of The Lord's Prayer, from Matthew 6.

IN THOSE DAYS there were some Extra-Super-Holy People (at least that's what they thought), and they were called "Pharisees." Every day, they would stand out there in the middle of the street and pray out loud in big Extra-Super-Holy Voices. They really weren't praying so much as just showing off. They used lots of special words that were so clever, no one understood what they meant.

People walking by would stop and start, which might sound rude -- except that's exactly what the Extra-Super-Holy People wanted. They wanted everyone to say, "Look at them. They're so holy. God must love those people best."

Now, you and I both know they were wrong -- God doesn't just love holy people. But the people walking by weren't so sure. Perhaps you did have to be really clever, or good, or important for God to love you. Perhaps you had to know lots of difficult, clever words to speak to God.
So one day, Jesus taught people how to pray. He said, "When you pray, don't pray like those Extra-Super-Holy People. They think if they say lots of words, God will hear them. But it's not because you're so clever, or good, or so important, that God will listen to you. God listens to you because he loves you.

"Did you know that God is always listening to you? Did you know that God can hear the quietest whisper deep inside your heart, even before you've started to say it? Because God knows exactly what you need even before you ask him," Jesus told them.

"You see, God just can't wait to give you all that you need. So you don't need to use long words or special words. You don't have to use a special voice. You just need to talk.

"So when you pray, pray in your normal voice, just like when you're talking to someone you love very much.

Like this . . .

Hello Daddy!

We want to know you.

And be close to you.

Please show us how.

Make everything in the world right again.

And in our hearts, too.

Do what is best -- just like you do in heaven,

And please do it down here, too.

Please give us everything we need today.

Forgive us for doing wrong, for hurting you.

Forgive us just as we forgive other people when they hurt us.

Rescue us! We need you.

We don't want to keep running away and hiding from you.

Keep us safe from our enemies.

You're strong, God.

You can do whatever you want.

You are in charge.

Now and forever and for always!

We think you're great!

Amen!

Yes we do!

You see, Jesus was showing people that God would always love them -- with a Never Stopping, Never Giving Up, Unbreaking, Always and Forever Love.

So they didn't need to hide anymore, or be afraid, or ashamed. The could stop running away from God. And they could run to him instead.

As a little child runs into her daddy's arms.

(taken from The Jesus Storybook Bible, written by Sally Lloyd-Jones)

 As I read the words aloud to my sweet little buddy, I felt like Jesus was whispering to my heart as well.

God listens to you because he loves you. "Did you know that God is always listening to you? Did you know that God can hear the quietest whisper deep inside your heart, even before you've started to say it? Because God knows exactly what you need even before you ask him,

Are you tearing up right now? Oh just me, errr okay . . .

Too often, I complicate things. I get caught up in Christian-ese because I've been fluent in it since birth. I get tricked into thinking that eloquence is the key as opposed to authenticity.

I'm grateful for a God who speaks to me as I get to speak of Him to the children I love.

I feel like for a while now, and I've been ignoring Him, God has been telling me to simplify. 

Simplify the words I use, simplify all the things that I've complicated.

To go back to the basics. Aka - back to Jesus.

cue fresh air feeling

Advent is such a perfect season because it points to the King who came into a world that was caught up in tradition and who broke all the rules by forgiving sin, extending grace, and showing mercy.

That Jesus, that's the One I pray to.

Our culture has all sorts of rules about Christmas.

All the rules are dumb if we're not CONSTANTLY pointing to Jesus in the way we live each day of our lives.

Each day.

We've got to point to Him everywhere that we go.

(I'm not compensated for writing these words, I simply love this Bible and would recommend it to any parent for their kids).

Like a Child

I try to make much opportunity to spend time with children whom I love and whose parents I adore. I enjoy telling parents to go on dates so I can hang out with their kids. I don't feel quite so bad when it comes to the days when I call my friends (aka the mom) in a state of panic for (my lack-of) relationship advice and other general life advice.

One of my favourite aspects of babysitting is the absolute lack of facade. As a recovering "fear of man" girl, authenticity is not always that authentic for me. 

I too often find myself wondering what others think in regards to whatever I'm doing.

 

With kids, this thought process is removed.

My roommate and I were babysitting for one family a few months ago. I had to leave the room as we were putting the girls to sleep because I couldn't stop giggling. I was letting myself be fun and young - my roommate happily stepped up and made them sleep. 

With some of my favourite girls, we made a fort. It was big and epic. I wasn't thinking about what they thought about me. I was thinking about what memories they would have of childhood and a big fort seemed like a great idea. We sat on the kitchen floor reading the Bible and then they crawled into the fort to sleep. It was beautiful. 

Recently while babysitting, I was wresting with the kids. My glasses were off (similar to gloves off right? Not at all? Ok.), and we were fighting. It was so fun. I had this thought: I wonder what I look like? Then I realized - that thought is useless and stupid and basically just sinful. I was able to (repent of that sin and then) rest in the truth that my worth is not in what others think of me but of who I am in Christ. I could fill up those kids love tanks by letting the 3 year old run and jump on me from across the room and the 1 year old just crawl all over. I loved it.

Those same two kids consistently just point me to Jesus.

I babysat a couple weeks ago and both were restless fall-asleepers. After an hour of his restless wanders out of his bedroom (for a drink, for a pee, for a hug, for a new-tuck-in, etc.), he asked me to come sleep. For some minutes, I laid beside him, rubbing his back, silently praying over his life, somehow offering some sort of comfort which he had been yearning for. Within minutes of me being beside him, he found rest. 

That's grace. Grace for him in that moment was offering him something he desired, yet could not get on his own. Grace handed him sleep.

I'm so similar. I'll keep wandering around, restless and tired yet awake, only finding relief when I finally ask Jesus to come in and bring His holy relief.

As I left his room, I heard his sister crying. Sigh. She'd been in bed for about two hours at this point, and had whined and cried often, fighting sleep. I walked from one bedroom to the other, picked her up, reheated her bottle, and rocked her to sleep. I've told these precious ones mom that she, this sweet babe, always points me to God. Because she makes me be still.

As I rocked her to sleep for the next twenty or so minutes, I prayed over her life. What a blessing to have that honour, to meet with Jesus on her behalf. I put aside "my" prayers and put forward ones for her, just days shy of her first birthday, this wordless angel.

All of the children in my life remind me so many things.

These kids remind me to be authentic.

They remind me to be silly.

They remind me to be still.

They remind me to laugh a lot.

They remind me to ask questions. but why Nadine?

They remind me to play so hard that I'm tired at night. 

They remind me to wrestle just for fun.

They remind me that my hope, my rest, my comfort, and my joy - all come from Jesus. 

I'm sitting in a coffee shop as I write this. There are two precious little girls, unknown to me, who are having a blast climbing and exploring things. They're conquering the things in front of them.

They've reminded me that in Christ, I am more than a conquer. 

    Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? . . . No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us.

(Romans 8:35, 37 ESV)