"Teaching Little Kyla…"
A series on Travis and Sarah’s journey of parental flubs, flaws, failures and accidental^ fortune.

I’ve recently been amazed at what my daughter apparently knows. Since Kyla’s birth, Sarah and I have been intentionally making decisions that form Kyla’s understanding. We primarily do not want to inadvertantly be promoting or reinforcing behaviors that we will want/need to undo in the near future. Prayer is one of those things that is so misunderstood that I actively attempt to teach Kyla what prayer is and what prayer isn’t. First, I must have my own healthy understanding of prayer.

Two things that prayer is not:
1.) Something that happens only before meals and bedtime or at a church gathering.
2.) A list of requests focused mostly on prosperity, health, and safety.

Everyday an e-mail is sent out to all MVNU faculty, staff, and students. The e-mail contains any prayer requests submitted by those in our community. 99.78% of those requests are medical in nature. I also see numerous students in the cafeteria bowing their heads to pray prior to their meals. I understand that thankfulness for food is good and that when one’s daily diet consists of pizza, hot dogs, and burritos that oneself does, indeed, need prayer for such filth to be miraculously transformed into nutritional goodness. I’ll post more on prayer later but want to stay on track… teaching little Kyla. I will at random times throughout the day ask Kyla if she wants to pray – sometimes before a meal, sometimes when we are playing with blocks, sometimes in the middle of a story… sometimes… whenever. Our prayers always begin with statements of gratitude.

A small tear came to my eye when we were laying on the couch one morning shortly after Kyla woke up (she likes to lay and cuddle in the morning). Out of nowhere she turned her head up to me and said, "Pray?"
I held her hands and she closed her eyes and said, "God… thank you."

^ There is someone(s) greater than me/us (a divine being and a community of people) that intercede with grace and giving.

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