Evening Prayers

I felt really ashamed of myself when I recalled what happened the night before.

By Si Nan

I don't remember when we started daily evening prayers. But I know that our prayers have really softened my heart. The noise of the day has faded; anxiety has died down; burdens and sorrows have disappeared. What remains is a piece of clean and peaceful mind.

Usually I am the first to pray. I thank the Lord for the peaceful day. I pray for the spiritual and physical needs of the family members. I pray for the needs of our friends and I pray for the Lord's care for our children's growth. Our son Hao Hao follows. "Heavenly Father," these beginning words usually bring a big smile to my lips like a ray of sunlight. I just can't help it. The crispy child voice is so beautiful and the innocent heart is so lovely.

He prays for the cure of his sister's fever, for the cure of his grandfather's rhumatism, for his uncle's visa and for the cure of his aunty's bleeding. One day, he found that there was a tiny bump on my right arm and so he began to pray for its cure. In fact the bump had been there for quite a while. It was neither painful nor itchy, and it was not obvious either. I didn't pay much attention to it. But Hao Hao took it very seriously and he believed it was marvelous to pray for mom to express his love. Before he prayed, he would touch my arm to see if the bump had turned smaller. Then he would pray for the Lord's cure. His heart is big, his world is big and so is his love.

Following Hao Hao is our two-year-old daughter Xiao Xue. She can't even say a lot of complete sentences. But when her brother introduces her: "Now let's hear sister's prayer", she will immediately rise.

She will pray in children's words with her smiling eyes closed and palms at her chest. And she will say "Amen" at the end, followed by a sweet smile. Hao Hao will ask: "Does the Lord understand sister's prayer?" I will answer: "Not only does our Heavenly Father understand her prayer, He also accepts it." When all are finished, I always hug them tight in my arms. I am very thankful the Lord has given me such lovely children. I'd also like my children to know that they not only have the Heavenly Father, but they also have warmth on earth.

One day, I had a little problem with Hao Hao right before bedtime. After I was done with bedtime stories, I sent him to bed directly. He wanted to hug me as he normally did. I refused. He didn't insist but said this instead: "We haven't prayed!" I replied harshly: "Go ahead!" So he began to pray. When he was done, he said: "Mom, I want to kiss you." I couldn't resist and so I agreed. He jumped off bed and rushed to me. He kissed me and whispered into my ears: "Mom, I love you the most!"

Like hard ice melted instantly, I hugged his little body and said softly: "Mommy love you the most too!"

The next morning I got up and read this scripture: "Hatred provokes conflicts; love covers inequities." I felt really ashamed of myself when I recalled what happened the night before. A four-year-old child knew how to forgive and how to cover inequities with love, but I failed to do that and I only passively responded to love with love.

Oh Lord, please give me wisdom, grace and forgiveness so that I may understand how to nurture these young children with the love of the Lord.

The author came from Hangzhou. She now lives in Los Angeles and works as a computer programmer.