Out on a Limb

To pray or not to pray....

We teach our children about a God who cares about their every need. We teach them that He is all powerful. We teach them that He hears their every prayer.

When the family dog ran away after a move to a new town, I was heartsick. I wanted the dog back. My pre-school daughter suggested we pray.

I looked down at her earnest face and my spirit faltered. What if God didn't or couldn't find our dog in this new place?

I couldn't believe I actually thought that, but I did.

When a child wants to pray, you pray. We bowed our heads, held hands and my daughter talked to her heavenly father and poured out a faith-filled prayer. I felt ashamed of my doubts.

I knew the names of only two people in the whole town. I called the first person that came to mind--no dog. I then rang the only other person whose name I could remember; she lived twenty blocks away.

"What does the dog look like? Would he be brown and black? I see a little one running across my backyard right now."  

I described my miniature collie. I thought with every new detail, my acquaintance would realize the stray dog was not my pet. After all, it was impossible for this to be my lost family member. Twenty blocks was a long way from our house.

My daughter and I drove twenty blocks to find.....our beloved pet....playing in my new friend's yard. Of all of the thousands of houses in the entire town, my dog went to the house that I called.

I think He delights in proving Himself especially when it involves our children.  God specializes in rescuing us when we go out on a limb like a little child. 

Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me, 

and do not hinder them, 

for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.”

Matthew 19:14