Grandchildren like to help. That’s why you need a stool in your kitchen, so they can roll out pastry dough, push down on cookie cutters, and sprinkle sprinkles. Those youngsters are more than eager to stir paint, tighten a bolt, plant a pumpkin seed, or even change a tire.
All you have to do is ask. As a result, your grandchildren might learn about the consistency of paint, the universal rule of righty tighty/lefty loosey, the miracle of growing giant vegetables, or a skill that may come in real handy on a dark night on a dark road.
Parents don’t have time for such lessons. Typically, they are too busy doing the work to impart a lesson.
In a similar way, you can teach an even more important lesson by asking your grandchildren to do you another big favor. That is to pray for you.
Have you ever done that? Without even thinking too hard you can come up with a dozen things going on in your life right now that could use some prayer. Your grandchildren might be the exact right recruits for that mission.
Frankly the earnest prayer of a child with a pure and sincere heart sounds like an improvement over some of the pompous and pretentious prayers I hear from adults.
Making that request of your grandchildren, you’ll want to choose the right issues to pray about. Don’t put pressure on your young children to help make any adult decisions. And don’t reveal secrets you don’t want broadcast around the neighborhood or schoolyard. But do ask them to pray for you and with you.
Pray about new career or volunteer opportunities. Explain the pluses and minuses. Pray about whether you should get a new furnace, new roof, or new car, and how you want to be a good steward with your limited funds. Pray about a friend or colleague who is facing a life-threatening illness, marital crisis, or rebellious teenager. You don’t have to give names or details. God knows all the details anyway. Pray for your own aches and pains, but minimize any fears you may be putting into their little heads.
These kinds of prayers help kids realize they are not the center of the universe. It also helps them appreciate how good they have it. But the biggest reason to pray with your grandkids is because prayer changes things. It moves God’s heart. God heals. God opens doors. God brings clarity when we face difficult decisions. And your grandkids need to know how to plug into that power that hung the stars and gives us all life and breath.
All of which means, this idea is a complete win-win. 1) Your grandkids get a valuable lesson. 2) You get prayed for!
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