Written some time around 1987
Prayer - Real or Memorized.
My folks never taught me "Now I lay me down to sleep..." We were taught to pray but our prayers were our own. I'm not saying they were never memorized. In spite of the fact that my prayer list included many missionaries, the list was memorized.
Now I have children of my own. We also never taught them "Now I lay me down to sleep..." But their prayers are memorized as well.
When and how do we stop the rote and begin actually talking to God? We tried to impress on them at an early age that prayer is talking to God. And that God loves them and is interested in all their activities and concerns. Talking to Him is like talking to a loving parent.
It must have registered because when Kirsten had a short bout with nightmares, she prayed about it. But somehow, the bedtime prayer has become... "Thank you Father for this nice day. Help me not to have any nightmares or bad dreams. Thank you that you love me and care for me. Amen."
The only variation comes when we urge them to include a missionary, or a prayer of thanks for someone special, etc.
The memorized prayer has not been an easy thing to discourage. Mealtime is similar with the very appropriate prayer, "Thank you God for giving me this food that tastes so good. Help me to grow big and strong and do the things I should."
The time has come in our home to stop the rote prayers. Why? Just recently at the table, Kirsten, our 8-year-old prayed, "Thank you God for this day. Help me not to have any nightmares or bad dreams..." I believe I interrupted her here, insisting that my cooking was not that bad, and suggesting she think about what she's saying.
After a few such mix-ups, it's clear that we've outgrown memorized prayers and need to learn to talk to our loving Father. It won't happen overnight, but perhaps we can avoid future nightmares at mealtimes.
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