Never Give Up In Prayer

 

Several years ago, I took one of my young grandsons on a ride. We were enjoying ourselves while eating gummy bears. I was driving to buy him the latest Mario movie, but I was keeping it a surprise. I had to drive quite a distance to get it. As we were getting close, we were stopped at a traffic light, and a man was crossing the street in a wheelchair who had no legs. My grandson asked me, “How do you think he lost his legs?” I suggested that it might have been in a war or a car accident. He said, “I would like to pray for him.” I responded, “I think that is a good idea.” He began his prayer, and about 30 seconds later I pulled up in front of a Redbox where I was planning to buy the movie. My grandson immediately figured out what we were doing, and he interrupted his prayer by saying, “I can’t pray looking at that.” I bought the movie, and then he finished his prayer.

Often we have the same problem when it comes to prayer. We lose our focus, or we get discouraged. Jesus tells us to pray with perseverance.  The Lord told a parable about a poor widow who persistently pursued justice from a judge who did not fear God or care about her. Still, because she would not stop, he finally said, “Even though I don’t fear God or care what people think, yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will see that she gets justice…” (Luke 18:4-5).

When it comes to prayer, we must never give up, but like my grandson, we should try to remove the obstacles that rob our attention. We need renewed focus and perseverance. We must never give up in prayer!

 

                                                

Letting Your Children Learn

I remember an incident in my adolescence that had a big impact on my life. I was only a teenager and wasn’t paying close attention while driving my father’s new truck. I got too close to a fence and scratched the fender. I was sick about it, and I dreaded telling my father. However, I will never forget his response. He said, “It’s only a few scratches, and it can be fixed, and I am sure that you learned a lesson.” That is all he said. He could have gotten angry. He could have shown his disappointment and told me he expected so much more from me, but he didn’t. That would have been expected. After all, I had scratched a brand-new truck, and I was sure he was disappointed. However, his response made me want to learn to be more careful. Immediately, the dread and fear that I had carried were gone. My father believed children have to try things to learn, and they will not do it perfectly, but if they don’t try, how will they learn? My wife and I tried to do the same with our children. If I hadn’t had my father’s example, I am sure it would have been much harder for me to take this approach with my own children.

Sometimes it is hard to remember that our children are learning from the day they are born. We are their teachers. We can facilitate their learning, or we can frustrate and hinder it. In my years of counseling, I have encountered grown men who still recall the words their fathers spoke to them when they made mistakes: “You are stupid!” “You never learn anything.” “You will never amount to anything.” Those words are seared into their brains and haunt them whenever they face a challenge. Likewise, words of encouragement help a child to grow and develop with confidence. As parents, our part is to help our children learn through encouragement and affirmation. It works because I experienced it as a child.