Bedtime Prayers

When the kids were young, I taught them to pray by just repeating a simple rhyme every night before bed: "Thank you, God, for making me, thank you for my family, Amen."  Both kids have now transitioned to praying silently on their own before bed, which means I'm not always sure what they are praying about.  Every once in awhile, however, they fill me in on what's on their mind.

ME: Julia, what do you usually pray about at night?
JULIA: Um, like, for God to help and protect anyone, and thanking Him, and asking for forgiveness and stuff.

I'm impressed.  Julia has moved to far more complex prayers than "thank you God for making me, thank you for my family."

Madeleine, on the other hand...

I should point out that last year, during the kneeling prayer in church, Madeleine prayed aloud, and although I didn't catch all of it, I definitely heard the last sentence: "And please make ALL of the people from Harry Potter come to life.  Amen."  Um...she definitely has her priorities straight, all right.  I will say that Madeleine has at least become a bit less demanding of the impossible in her prayers.  When she asks for something now, it's at least something that *could* conceivably happen.

MADELEINE: Mommy!  I need help finding my pink headband!
ME: Okay.  (Joining her in combing through her drawers for it)  When did you last see it?
MADELEINE: A long time ago.  Like, maybe LAST summer, or really early in first grade.
ME: Oh boy.  If it's been missing that long, I'm not sure we're gonna find it.
MADELEINE: But that was part of my PRAYER last night!  I prayed that I would find my pink headband the FIRST time I looked for it!

Sorry to say God had to disappoint Madeleine on that one.  I tried to remind her that things like finding a headband are not top priority compared to things like helping children escape war zones safely, so maybe God was a little preoccupied.

Madeleine shared another recent prayer with me, as I lay snuggling her at bedtime.

MADELEINE: There's one prayer that I *always* say, that's, like, basically the same thing I pray for every night.
ME: What is it?
MADELEINE: I say "Please don't let ANYTHING bad happen for a long, long, long, long, long, long time.  And...when I *tell* you that it can happen, *THEN* you can let it happen."

Well, isn't Madeleine the little boss of God.  She'll tell HIM when bad things can happen.  She's definitely got the Christian goal of humility down.

I suggested re-phrasing her prayer to ask God to keep everyone safe, or asking Him to protect people from harm, and she liked that idea.  Although I'm not sure if she'll keep the contingency that when she TELLS God that He can stop protecting people, THEN he can stop.