A Simple Prayer

Mother was born at home and it would be
many years before she would leave. From the family's  front door Mom could see the church the family attended and the small graveyard where family and friends were buried. My mom needed no school bus since a walk across the street would take her to the door of her school. There were 2 classrooms and only  thirteen students.

One summer Mother went to Vacation Bible School. She learned a prayer.
  Give me clean hands, clean words and clean thoughts, Keep me from habits that harm.Help me to work as hard and play as fair in thy sight alone as if the whole world saw. Keep me ready to do a little good every day and grow more like Christ.
Amen

I liked the prayer but something was missing. I realized that my mom knew there was more than what was stated in the prayer.

When my daughter was nine she and I flew to see my parents. Shortly after arriving a trip to the mall  ended when we were hit by a  pick up truck, My mom and I were hurt.. I had a concussion and I stayed in the local hospital. My daughter wasn't hurt, but my mother had injuries that required a hospital stay.She was concerned about many things. One of her major concerns was a need for my father to have constant oversight because of his developing Alzheimers. During this time of uncertainty when she had power over almost no aspects of her life, God led her to this Bible passage in Philippians 4:4-7 "Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything but in everything by prayer and supplications present your gifts to God. And the peace of God will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus."

Wow.Rejoice in the Lord always...Do not be anxious about anything...Present your requests to God...The peace of God will guard your hearts...

My mother was a very capable woman, a capable mother, teacher, caregiver first to her mother and then to her husband. When the accident  happened she could no longer pretend to be in the driver's seat. All of her abilities and energy could not change anything. Ah, maybe that was what was lacking in her childhood prayer. It hinted that we needed God to accomplish these things. When you look at the Philippians passage and other passages we realize that it is only God who can bring these things to pass through us. If we had to accomplish the most noble to do list on our own, it would be impossible. Maybe her greater realization of this truth made her lean more on God's Word. She referenced this passage many times over the years. When I was staying with her I'd bring in the newspaper. Reading it was a very important part of her day. She would not touch it until she had read her Bible and devotions. As interesting as the paper might be, it could not compare with the truth that comes from the only One that could grant her the ability to fulfill her childhood prayer.

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