Prayer Times 4yr old style!

Personally I have loved to pray ... not formally but 'on the spot kind of praying' ....  life is stressful, life is awesome, Help Me Cope, there's a need right in front of me ... kind of praying.  Sometimes aloud sometimes quietly ...   God has always delivered, always answered - usually in ways that I didn't expect! Usually in ways that are far more wonderful than I even prayed for to begin with.  Usually with such expediency that I am dumbfounded ...

Oh yes! There are many things that I've prayed about for years that I'm still waiting on.  The wait is peaceful because God had proven he's got it covered.

Event #1: Today, as I drove the kids to the first day of preschool I suggested that we pray for their day.  I got less than excited responses from the backseat.  This reaction is not the norm but does happen. We pray a lot in the car.  Nevertheless I was a bit disappointed but plunged on with the prayer for good attitudes, new friends, nice words etc...  The "amen's" were unprompted and proof that little ears were at least hearing the words to our Father.  Still it's moments like these that make me question ... "Should we have prayed at home instead?  Shouldn't I have woken earlier to have had the time and energy to do the devo I intended during breakfast time?  Why did I spend more time on Allie's hair than on important heart issues this morning? If only I wasn't cranky about the leaking lunchbox and sticky juice mess still on my kitchen floor?  "I forgot to take a picture of them today - Damn it!"
AGGG I'm missing the important moments yet again - is exactly what I told myself!


Event #2:  When I picked up my kids and our carpool buddy from school and asked about their favorite parts of the day, if they liked their lunch, did they play outside etc.... an ambulance zoomed past us.  Cooper piped up excitedly, "Mom we've got to pray!"  
"Great Idea! Do you want to?" I asked
"No Mom, you do it!"
So I prayed about the drivers of the ambulance, the people they were rescuing etc....
We often pray for fire trucks, ambulance drivers, police men in flashing cars.  It just a fun discipline the kids and I love to do!  I didn't think much of this request to pray.

Event #3: We are temporarily driving the Tahoe a lot until we get a minivan.  Cooper has trouble buckling the seat belt and it's tough for me to climb in and do it.  Exasperated I asked him, "Please try to do it yourself, you can practice a bit, I've got to run back in the house to get something".  I opened his door after my run back inside, expecting to have to yet again climb in and buckle the tricky belt.  
"I did it!"Cooper said
"Really? Awesome!!! How did you do it?" I asked
"With God's help!" he said grinning 
"WOW" my heart beamed 

Event #4:  Later on today we were in a waiting room waiting for some paperwork and on the TV there was a  news story about smoke and fire near our city.  The kids were getting a bit restless so I called their attention to the big clouds of smoke and fire that was on the TV.  Maybe a conversation about smoke and firefighters would delay the potential meltdown or "I'm bored"??? 
Instead Cooper piped up again, "Mom we've got to pray about this!"
"Ok," I said a little reluctantly, we were in a full waiting room.
He folded his hands and bowed his head right into his hands and prayed quietly while I prayed aloud knowing I must 'walk the walk' just as excitedly.

Just now at 3am I am realizing "it's coming full circle" I just have to press on in passing on my faith.  I can't doubt, I can't beat myself up over a missed opportunity, planning isn't the ticket, I just have to live it!  If I simply continue to live it authentically they will "get Him" authentically!  Prayer times 4yr old style is all the reassurance I needed to keep pressing on!