UNANSWERED PRAYER?

The preacher’s 5 year-old daughter noticed that her father always paused and bowed his head for a moment before starting his sermon. One day she asked him why.

“Well, Honey,” he began, proud that his daughter was so observant of his messages, “I’m asking the Lord to help me preach a good sermon.”

“How come He doesn’t do it?” she asked.

BEING THANKFUL

A rabbi said to a precocious six-year-old boy, “So your mother says your prayers for you each night? Very commendable. What does she say?”

The little boy replied, “Thank God he’s in bed!”

EXPRESS PRAYER

Our son had only heard his grandfather pray at Thanksgiving, Easter and other special occasions; when he typically said a long prayer over the food. One night, after a fun camp-out and fishing trip, Grandfather (to our son’s surprise) said a very brief blessing on the food. With a gleam in his eye our son grinned at his grandfather and said, “You don’t pray so long when you’re hungry, do you Grandpa?”

UNTIMELY ANSWERED PRAYER

During the minister’s prayer one Sunday, there was a loud whistle from one of the back pews. Gary’s mother was horrified. She pinched him into silence and after church asked, “Gary, whatever made you do such a thing?”

Gary answered soberly, “I asked God to teach me to whistle … and He just then did!”

TIME TO PRAY

A pastor asked a little boy if he said his prayers every night.

“Yes sir,” the boy replied.

“And do you always say them in the morning too?” the pastor asked.

“No sir,” the boy replied, “I ain’t scared in the daytime.”

THE BLESSING

My wife invited some people to dinner. At the table she turned to our six-year-old daughter and said, “Would you like to say the blessing?”

“I wouldn’t know what to say,” the child replied.

“Just say what you hear Mommy say,” my wife said.

Our daughter bowed her head and said, “Dear Lord, why on earth did I invite all these people to dinner?”

BEWARE OF TRASH

One four-year-old prayed, “And forgive us our ‘trash baskets’ as we forgive those who put trash in our baskets.”

ALL MEN / ALL GIRLS?

When my daughter, Kelli, was 3, she and my son, Cody, would say their nightly prayers together. As do most children they blessed every family member, every friend, and every animal (current and past).

For several weeks, after we had finished the nightly prayer, Kelli would say, “And all girls.”

As including this at the end soon became part of her nightly routine, my curiosity got the best of me and I asked her, “Kelli, why do you always add the part about all girls?”

Her response, “Because we always finish our prayers by saying ‘All Men’!”