Speaking of Prayer...

I've been trying to introduce gospel concepts to Lily over the last few months. At one point this summer, she asked about going to heaven, and if everyone gets to go, and I explained how you have to ask Jesus to forgive your sins. "But we haven't done that yet!" she said, laughing. "I have, and Daddy has," I replied. We talked about it some more, and she said, "I'm not ready yet."

Then last week she brought up heaven again and how Grammy's doggies died and went to heaven. (That's always a tricky subject!) We talked more about forgiveness and how sin is disobedience to God and Jesus took our spanking so He can forgive us. She asked, "Do you have to pray?" I told her, yes, you talk to God about it. I heard her whispering quietly for a little bit, and then she told me she prayed. When I asked what she prayed, she said it was a secret. She was tired, so I wasn't sure if her tears were from God or simply exhaustion.

Then this morning she brought it up again. "Who is God?" she asked out of the blue. We reviewed who God is and how He loves her. Then she told me that "yesterday" (which means any day in the past) she prayed very quietly and told God she forgave Him. I tried not to chuckle. "You mean you asked God to forgive you?" I asked. "Yeah." "What did you ask Him to forgive you for?" She was quiet for a long time, and then, a little teary, she said, "Because I disobeyed Him." We talked about how God forgives us when we ask.

Then the next thing she said just about ripped my heart out: "I wonder why William hasn't done this." (William was in tutoring, so he wasn't there to be asked.)
"I don't know how to explain it to him, honey. You know how William has a hard time understanding words; I don't know how to tell him so he understands."
She said confidently, "Only God can do that."
"Yep, you're right," I said, marveling. "I keep praying and asking God to show me how to explain it to him."
"Do you want to pray right now?" she asked me.
And so we prayed together- so sweet, so heart-wrenching. My dear daughter verbalized the prayer I've had on my heart for years.