There’s a song that goes like this: “Jesus loves the little children, all the children of the world…” I suspect one reason why He loves children so much is because of how and what they pray. Here are a few examples:

“Our Father, who does art in heaven, Harold is his name…. forgive us our trash baskets as we forgive those who put trash in our baskets.” Reese

“Dear God, Did you mean for giraffes to look like that, or was it an accident?” Norma

“Dear God, I bet it is very hard for you to love everybody in the whole world. There are only 4 people in our family and I can never do it.” Nan

“Dear God, Thank you for the baby brother, but what I prayed for was a puppy, and I never asked you for anything before… you can look it up!” Joyce

“Dear God, God of Justice, I hate to bother you, but there’s this kid. His name is Billy. He’s always bugging me and being mean. He tried to steal my glove. Can you rub him out?!” John

“Dear God, If dinosaurs were not extinct we’d all be eaten and dead, so you did the right thing.” Sally

“Dear God, Are you really invisible or just hiding because you don’t like your clothes?” Mark

“Dear God, My sister Tina has a girlfriend named Wendy. Wendy has the biggest mouth in the world. No fooling. It would take a miracle to shut Wendy up. Got any left?” Tammy

You have to admit that these prayers are really cute, but what’s admirable is that these kids felt completely free to tell God whatever was on their minds. As grown-ups, we can learn from their example. Children inherently know God is there to talk to, and He cares about the details of our lives. The Bible affirms this. Consider these verses:

“Trust in him at all times, you people; pour out your hearts to him, for God is our refuge.” Psalm 62:8

“This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us.”     1 John 5:14-15

“Don’t worry about anything, but instead pray about everything.” Philippians 4:6

“Jesus called a little child to him and stood the child before his followers. Then he said, ‘I tell you the truth, you must change and become like little children. Otherwise, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. The greatest person in the kingdom of heaven is the one who makes himself humble like this child.’” Matthew 18:2-4

The invitation of Matthew 11:28 still stands: “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.” 

Isn’t it great that God welcomes all of us with open arms as we trust Him with childlike faith?

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