The school that our boys attend, and that I administrate, doesn’t have school on Fridays; we call it No-Alarm-Friday at our house. This is just about my favorite day of the week. We get up and go, go, go every other day, our life is crazy busy, and it is so nice to slow down for the morning (even if our afternoon/evening is just as crazy as every other day). Possibly my favorite part of the day is when my little guys get up – which is always later in the morning due to no alarm and no reason to get up! They stumble out of bed, crawl up in my lap, and cuddle up with me. Just to spend time with Mommy for a while.
I read a verse this week this made me think about this moment of my day off. Philippians 4:6 says, “Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.”
I know, you’re thinking, “What does this have to do with kids sitting in her lap in the mornings?” Stay with me for a bit longer!
I was a bit confused when I read this verse by the use of the words “prayer and petition”. It seemed redundant; I mean, aren’t they the same thing? Well… actually… no, they are not. The original wording here used for prayer is prayer for the purpose of worship. This can include asking for things, but it’s much more about praising and worshipping God. The word petition is where asking for things comes into play. So, if all I ever do is ask, ask, ask, then am I even really praying? If the only words that come out of my mouth during my prayer times are about me and things I want, or even things I need, then I am not praying with the intent of worshipping and therefore not praying but petitioning. And, I think the order here is important. If I spend time before petitioning God purposefully praising Him and worshiping Him, then my perspective might be a bit different by the time I get to asking Him for things.
So, here’s how my brain put these two things together (the verse and my kids). When my kids get up and crawl into my lap they don’t want anything yet. They aren’t asking for a drink or a snack; they aren’t wanting to play a game or watch a show. Sometimes they don’t even say anything. They are just wanting to be with me.
This is how my prayer life should be. I should take some time to just settle in with God and be with Him. Not asking for anything. Just spending time with Him, adoring Him, loving Him.
I think if we were to get to the place where we spent time really praying before petitioning that our hearts would be in the place that God’s will became our will and then what we ask for we would receive because we are praying for the things that He wants for us!
