“Daddy, the prayer didn’t work.”
“Was it the one we prayed for this morning?”
“Yes. That God would help me control myself if I get distracted and restless.”
“Did something happen in school today?”
“I was sent to the timeout chair.”
“Why?”
“While teacher was talking, I felt like walking around. So, I stood up and kept walking around the classroom. Teacher kept telling me to sit down but I didn’t listen.”
“You mean you didn’t control yourself?”
“No, I did not. Because I like to walk around. But God is supposed to stop me, right? But He didn’t. So that means the prayer didn’t work.”
(long silence)
So, does God answer our prayer depending on our efforts?
Why pray when we need to do the work ourselves?
I hope my son reads this when he grows up.
And hopefully by that time, he has a clearer understanding of how prayer works.
We act in faith while we rest in God’s sovereign grace.
For now, I pray that God would help me nurture his growing and curious mind. While trusting that God will direct his path.
Prayer does work.
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