Tonight, my 11-year-old son voiced one of the most beautiful prayers I have ever heard.  As we sat on the couch as usual for our prayers before bed, I went through our ritual of thanking God for our many blessings, for health, for some recent good news, and so on.  My son then prayed for his 9-year-old sister who cannot talk due to her severe cerebral palsy.

It is not unusual for him to pray for her.  It’s often something like, “God, please help my sister to walk and to talk and to be healthy.”  What was unusual tonight was that he prayed FOR her.  He actually said the words that he felt she would say, if she could.  It took me a second to realize what he had just done.  It was so poignant coming from him, totally on his own accord, FOR his sister.  He was her mouthpiece, honoring both her and God so well in that moment.

And after every phrase or person’s name which she especially liked, she would say “uh” with great enthusiasm.  That’s her way of saying YES to things she agrees with.

“Thank you for my teachers and friends at school, Lord”

“Uh!”

“Thank you for the good weather and for going on a walk in the neighborhood tonight.”

“Uh!”

“Thank you for my physical therapist who is helping me learn to walk.”

“Uh! Uh!”

This must be what Jesus meant when he said that we need to have faith like a child. (Matthew 18:1-4)  Apparently, my kids have more faith than I do.  Apparently, there are some ways in which we should not grow up.

God was speaking to me tonight.