MATTHEW 19:13-22
13Then little children were being brought to him
in order that he might lay his hands on them and
pray. The disciples spoke sternly to those who
brought them; 14but Jesus said, "Let the little
children come to me, and do not stop them; for it is
to such as these that the kingdom of heaven
belongs." 15And he laid his hands on them and went
on his way.
When was the last time you did this?
When was the last time you let that inner child
emerge?
When was the last time you played? I don’t mean
cards or that game on your phone. I mean, knees
dirty, tongue out, dirt under the finger nails type
of playing?
When was the last time you tried to catch a firefly
in a glass jar?
A scene from "the Jesus Storybook Bible." This
beautiful book, with its engaging artwork and
compelling story telling, can be found in the newly
remodeled First Presbyterian Church, Helen Musa
Rankin, library and reading room. Please come by and
check it out!
When was the last time you called time out from the
busyness of your day and just sat, while coloring a
picture?
When was the last time you prayed as a child? When
you didn’t think about the “right way” or all the
different types and forms of prayer? When was the
last time you snuggled on the bosom of God and sat
wide-eyed or teary eyed at the feet of Jesus?
Perhaps this isn’t your thing. Perhaps this practice
or thought of it is too much for you.
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Then I ask, when was the last time you listened to the Spirit
whispering in your being?
When was the last time you tried something new?
You, at one time, were one of these little ones. In all honesty, you
still are.
So put aside that independent woman or tough guy persona and let God
take care of you.
Our faith can be stunted and frustrated if it remains content with
the bare externals of worship: “saying prayers,” “going to church,”
being respectable. What God wants, how Jesus welcomes us, and the
way the Spirit leads us, is for us to enter into our faith, this
relationship with the Triune God, as children. Prayer is the
deepening of personal realization in love, but also awareness of God
(even if this awareness amounts to a perceived “absence”).
As children engage with the world –without pretense, without fear,
and with wild, hopeful imagination-- so we should engage the
practice of prayer. Remember, prayer is not just a formula of words,
or a series of desires springing up in the heart, but the
orientation of our whole body, mind, and spirit to God in silence,
attention, and adoration.
So, when was the last time you did this?
May you come to remember that wide-eyed and wild imaginative child
that lives within. May you remember that God listens to you always.
Even when all you can pray is a whisper too quiet for words…
[Adam Quine, Pastor First Presbyterian Church in Lincoln]
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