Emily's Prayer

janicemr55@hotmail.com wrote in recently:

I pray unceasingly that all will come to know the cleansing grace of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

I would like to share about an almost 4 yr. old in my daycare. Though only pushing four, she is very responsible, well-behaved and quiet, just the model of sweetness. She had to be the model for the limerick of what little girls are made of:
 
"Sugar and spice
and everything nice"

Meet precious Emily on the left.
 

And here she is enjoying what most little girls her age do, eating ice cream and simply being a friend to those wanting and needing a friend.

About 1 1/2 weeks ago the Lord answered one of my prayers.

Emily was sitting at the table during lunch with the rest of the daycare when she spoke up and said, “Ms. Janice I want to ask Jesus into my heart. And I want to live with Jesus one day in Heaven.” Then she said, “Ms. Janice if my mommy is not there, you will have to be my mommy.

My heart must have skipped a beat, as what she said were the most precious words I could ever hear from an adult, let alone a 4 yr. old. I paused for a minute and then ask her to tell me again. And she did.

I said, “Emily you can do that. And do you know that when Ms. Janice was a little girl she asked Jesus into her heart?”

We talked for a while longer. Then I said, “Emily would you like to pray?” She said, “Yes.” Then she repeated this prayer after me:
 
"Dear Jesus please forgive me of the bad things I have done. Come into my heart and save me, so one day I can live in Heaven with Jesus."

Then we talked a little about her Mommy and Daddy. I said, “Emily you need to ask your Daddy and Mommy if they know Jesus,” and she agreed to that.

The very next day she had been at daycare about 2 hrs. Then out of the blue she said, “Ms. Janice last night I sat up in my bed and asked my Daddy if he had ever asked Jesus to forgive him of the bad things he had done, and come into his heart so he could live one day in Heaven with Jesus. He said he had, and one day he would be in Heaven too.”

Then she said, with a surety in her sweet little voice, “And I know my Mommy will be there.”

It was so exciting to see a small child have so much love and concern for her parents. The joy in my heart can also be expressed in this children's video (if you cannot see it on your iPone or iPad, click this link Come Into My Heart Lord Jesus)

Little children just believe. They have a simple child like faith. They live in the moment, without distraction, and enjoy all that God has made for them.  Their hearts are not calloused by the things of this world. That's why Jesus says in His Word, "Truly I say to you, unless you are converted and become like children, you will not enter the Kingdom of Heaven." (Matthew 18:3 NAS)

“Oh Lord, I pray for You to help us to see this life through the eyes of a child, and to just simply believe when You ask us to do something, without questions or doubting. You just want us to heed Your command to "Trust in The Lord with all [our] heart and lean not on [our] own understanding; in all [our] ways submit to Him, and He will make [our] paths straight.”” (Proverbs 3:5-6)

I'm very thankful that The Lord gave me an opportunity to talk about Jesus to His precious little lamb of a girl.

Our actions speak much louder than our words, however. The world sees or does not see Christ in our actions and words.  Therefore, we need to make sure that we are always witnesses in ways that leave lasting impressions on anyone with whom we may come in contact. This pleases Jesus and glorifies His Name.

So, Emily, reaching the age of reason as demonstrated by her questions and discussions with me and her parents, has chosen to live The Lord's life through her. Now begins Emily’s quest. Try not to complicate her life with endless doctrine and Scripture she may find difficult to understand. Jesus commands us not to hinder them in their Christian walk. (Matthew19:14 -But Jesus said, "Let the children alone, and do not hinder them from coming to Me; for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.")

Living in Christ is not an easy task. Lifetimes of experiences can and do sometimes interfere with a Christian’s spiritual growth to maturity. Until then, it is crucial to disciple these precious lambs of God to protect their vulnerability. A great idea, as Emily is leaving for preschool in 3 weeks, is to provide her with materials from which she can learn and come to know the Lord. Here is an example of such age-appropriate material.

Also important is for her and her parents to find a Bible teaching church in which they can fellowship with and minister to others and enroll in Bible studies that will help them grow.

Pray that the Lord will watch over Emily and that she will grow through the Holy Spirit to understand and live out His Word, and that she will love The Lord with all her heart, mind and soul and love others as herself.

My final prayer is that Emily will always see a little bit of Jesus in me and all who come to know Jesus.

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.