When my college senior was only 14 years old, we had the most amazing conversation about prayer

Honestly, Emily has always been a very curious girl, and her questions about prayer were no different.  Here's what she asked:

Does God really hear me when I pray?

How does God answer my prayers?

From the time they were very small, we taught our children to pray. 

We prayed at meals, at bedtime, and when a fire truck or an ambulance would go by.  

As far as our kids were concerned, prayer was as normal as eating, sleeping, and taking a bath. It was part of our lives – an essential activity in our daily routines. 

So, it shouldn’t surprise me that our children took prayer seriously. 

According to 2010 report from Pew Research Center, nearly 80% of Americans believe in miracles.  I believe this is because it’s what they’ve observed- either directly or because they’ve heard about miracles from people they trust.  I know this is true for me.  I can’t deny what I’ve seen and experienced.

It happened on a regular basis at our house. 

In fact, it was the norm to hear this comment almost daily as we were growing up. 

Long before the days of cell phones, video games, 500 TV channels, and X-Box; our parents sent us to the ultimate destination to play. 

It was called, “OUTSIDE.” 

“Honey, if you will do just one thing, I think you can be good at this.” 

 These were the words that came out of my husband’s mouth as we begin playing the fourth hole that day. 

My son received a new video game system this Christmas. Subsequently, he spent a massive fair amount of time over his school break playing one of his new games. 

As a mom, I felt some tension in wanting to limit his screen time, hoping he would do something more “constructive”.  At the same time, I understood.