Prayer 101 with Pepe at Bedtime

(all part of the usual bedtime routine--this is Papa telling an attentive Pepe a Percy story)

This evening I was reading to Pepe from a children's Bible about Jesus' promises in Matthew-- about how God feeds the sparrows and clothes the lilies of the field, and how much more He would provide for us who are infinitely more valuable than sparrows and lilies. I then talked about prayer, about how God our Heavenly Father gives us good things, and how we only need have to ask in faith. To qualify a little, to show how God always answers prayer, but not always in the positive, I asked Pepe whether she thought God would give her a truck full of candy if she asked Him for that. She said "yes." I tried to explain that God would answer "no" if what she asked for was not good for her. To reinforce the point and to better ensure a proper understanding, I asked Pepe what she wanted to ask God for. I was half expecting a request for some toy, and was pleasantly surprised when she replied, "a clean heart." I don't remember having mentioned a clean heart the whole day. (Found out later it was probably due to a recent Sunday School lesson on King Solomon--thank God for Sunday School!) Pepe then clasped her hands and wanted to pray. For a moment I thought that she might be ready to ask the Lord Jesus into her heart. I tried to explain a little and suggested that we pray for God to help her understand what she was asking for. That's when she said something like "then God will give me everything I want, " and wanted to watch a video ("because I am video girl hehe..").

I postponed that prayer to bedtime. Although Pepe might have a less than accurate understanding of prayer at present, we continue to hope and pray that one day soon she will truly ask for a clean heart. And we know that the God who always answers prayer will give the good to those who ask for it (Matthew 7:7). [Polly picked up on clasping her hands to pray about two months ago, at about 1 year]