Tonight Troy prayed his first little prayer.
His FIRST PRAYER. Lisps and all.
Absolute sweetness epitomized.
He’s loved praying with us for months, readily folding his hands, closing his eyes and saying, “Eh-MEN!” at the end. At dinner, he’s often asked me to pray after John does… then John again… then me again… and so on, with gigantic smiles, as long as we’ll let him.
And, come on, how do you tell a toddler that we can’t pray anymore?
But tonight, when we came to the praying part of our nightly bedtime routine, he folded his hands, closed his eyes and said, “D’Jee-SUSH!”
Which, roughly translated, means “Jesus” around here.
So I asked him if he wanted to pray. He nodded his head.
We’ve tried this before, and though he often talks about Jesus and has just started singing “Jesus Loves Me” on his own, he’s never wanted or understood the concept of HIM actually praying.
But, tonight…
Mama: “Okay, you can pray. Can you say, ‘Dear Jesus…’”
Troy: “Deeeee D’Jee-sush.”
M: “I love you, Jesus.”
T: “Luh loo, D’Jee-sush.”
M: “Please keep…”
T: “Plee teep…”
M: “Daddy safe…”
T: “DadDY sae-fuh…”
M: “In Iraq.”
T: “Ih Rack.”
M: “Please keep…”
T: “Plee teep…”
M: “Mama and Troy and Merritt…”
T: “MomMY, Too, Mer-Mer…”
M: “…safe tonight.”
T: “sae-fuh nigh.”
M: “Thank you, Jesus.”
T: “Tank tank, D’Jee-sush.”
M: “In Jesus’ name…”
T: “D’Jee-sush naaaaaame…”
M: “Amen.”
T: “Eh-MEN!!”
Then he giggled loud and long.
And I kissed him and cried.
We’ve prayed since the very first moment we knew we were expecting him that the Lord would draw Troy’s little heart to Him from his childhood.
But oh, THE TEARS. Tears of joy to see it begin and tears of being completely and utterly overwhelmed at the responsibility we have to lead him to Jesus.
Praise the Lord that it’s Him working through us, because if it was up to me alone, I’d just sit and cry every time that little guy says Jesus’ name. Which, you know, might give a toddler the wrong impression about Him. I think I might have to work on that one.
But my baby praying? I hope I never get over that.
… and the angels are celebrating in heaven!
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Too precious!
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That is so sweet.
And isn’t it amazing, that to Jesus, “Tank tank, D’Jee-sush.” makes total sense?! :-)
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Dear Ashlie,
Thank you so much for sharing Troy’s first little prayer…what a special blessing from the LORD, and there will be so many others along the way! love,mitzi
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I saw you comment on Mel’s blog, she is one of my kids, I have several.
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There is NOTHING SWEETER. Absolutely nothing.
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Can’t you just imagine the tears that flowed from Jesus Himself as He received this sweet little boy’s first spoken prayer? Precious.
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That is so precious! You are doing a wonderful job Ash!
Check out my blog I have a new one up talking about the delivery and all!
Talk to you soon!
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Absolutely precious.
It’s such a blessing to see your children pray, and really sincerely mean every word they are saying.
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There is no sweeter prayer than that from the heart & lips of a child. Awesome.
Blessings
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Oh NO! It’s 8:00 in the morning and your post totally made me cry (And I mean, full-on cry, not just tear-up!)!!! That is the sweetest thing I ever read!!!!! My husband is not a Christian, and every ounce of my being desires that my kids will know the Lord, and it scares me and hurts me that they don’t have a dad who will lead them in that way. But your faith that your children *will* know the Lord is a powerful inspiration to me. I only know one “unequally yoked” married couple, and their kids have all gone astray, and it that idea kills me, I really shouldn’t think about them! This is my constant prayer! Sorry, TMI, and not even related to this SWEET SWEET post!! (sorry! that was a major downer!) Anyways, can’t wait till Friday. I’m not sure there will be any cupcakes left by then, though… lol
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‘train up a child in the way he should go…train up a child in the way he should go. Even when he is old…when he is old he will not depart from it.’ Hide Em in Your Heart CD. Precious moments and memories!
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a sweet blessing….
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Precious moments…bless your heart and keep sharing them with us!
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Oh how sweet!!
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*tears* so I couldn’t even read past “keep Daddy safe”…” In Iraq”…oh the moment, I can only imagine how overwhelmed your heart must have felt!
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I love that little man…and you too! : )
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That is so sweet. The Lord is so good.
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I understand…did it with all our children too (the tears and not being able to get through without breaking up). You all are close in prayer and our hearts!!
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Awwwww!!
Morgan
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Sweet! What a blessing!
Shari
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Aww … how perfectly sweet. Thank you for sharing such a beautiful and awesome mommy-moment!
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Hey Ash, just wanted to let you know I tagged you on my site! Check it out.
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Me and Frank just read this blog and cant wait to hear our child pray for the first time! Troy is soooo cute and bless his heart. We are praying for you guys so much. We love you all!
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Dearest sweet Ash-a-leigh,
You will never tire of your children’s sweet prayers. My mom commented one time that she was grateful that we allow/encourage our children to pray at the table. I sympathize with your feeling of being overwhelmed with the responsibility of training your children to love God and accept Jesus for their very own at a young age. Remember God’s promise that when two or more are gathered in His Name, He is there in their midst. He is faithful to hear our prayers and answer them according to His good pleasure. And we know it is His will that all should come to know and love Him. Praise the dear name of Jesus! He loves us with an everlasting love, and He holds you (all) up right now (and always) with His everlasting arms. God bless you each day as you keep on keepin’ on. Love and prayers, Auntie Beth :)
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