Prayer time in our house has gotten a lot longer of late. A few months back, Leslie decided she wanted to start praying at meal time. Her prayers always start out, "Lord, thank you for this wonderful food, keep us all healthy and strong....Amen" (At night, she'll substitute 'wonderful day' instead of food). Then, pretty soon, Kenna wanted in on this thing. She'd bow her head, say, "Dear Lord..." the rest becomes a mumble, or sometimes just silence, before we hear, victoriously, "The End!" Then they decided that everyone should pray. Prayer time for a meal is sometimes 5 minutes or more long.
I wish I could say I thought this was awesome that our kids were super spiritual at 2 and 4, but truth be told, I get annoyed. Time is wasting, and food is getting cold and I have these pleasing odors wafting up into my nose begging me to eat, but I can't because we have to pray. Like its some sort of painful obligation.
I don't think I'm terribly different than most Christians these days, prayer is some formality we get out of the way before dinner or bed. And that's whats wrong with us. We don't desire to spend time with God like He was friend, but like a harsh teacher we have to obey. That's not God, and that's certainly not why he came here- for us to grudgingly spend time talking to Him.
So tonight, if the girls want to pray for a long time, I will stop my nose up so I can't smell the wonderful dinner Kristin has prepared, and I will talk with God with excitement, just as my 2 and 4 year old are teaching me.
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For meals, I decide who will give thanks (pray) for the meals, Levi or myself. It has been enjoyable to listen to Levi's prayers evolve over time. It used to be simply, "Lord Jesus, tank you fer dis food, AMEN." But over time, he has decided that he does not have to say the same thing over and over...and over, and that he can be thankful for MANY other things. I do find it enjoyable to hear what he is noticing and thankful for during his day.
I suppose that I have never thought of praying to be necessary BEFORE we eat. After all, we should be just as thankful for the food during and after we eat it as before...and maybe after having a quick bite of the food we can be really thankful for the talents that God has given the cook!
;-)
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