Recently, I had the great pleasure of removing slime from our carpet.  You can read all about it and what we learned from that experience in my slime post! But, one of the things I needed to remind myself to do during the hour-long ordeal was to pray in gratitude for my daughter…

Now, don’t get me wrong, I am very thankful for Eliana.  She is definitely a blessing to our family!  But, she is 11, and she is still working on taking better care of her things.  So, when Brad and I found the dried slime on our carpet, we weren’t pleased.  It seemed like just one more example of how Eliana didn’t seem to care about her belongings – or our carpet!

So, I reminded myself to pray for her.  I thought it couldn’t hurt.  After all, gratitude is good.  Plus, from what I learned in reading Sacred Influence, it literally shapes my soul. (You can get the book here – I highly recommend it!) How could I not want that?!? So I prayed for Eliana – and the rest of my family and friends.  After all, I had nothing but time…

Pray for family

In one of my recent posts, Prayer Up, I wrote about praying for my husband.  Not just any prayer – a prayer of gratitude.  While he is not one to leave a glob of slime on the carpet to harden and set in, there is the occasional pair of socks, or a shoe that just never seems to find its home. So, it’s often way too easy to get caught up in the little things and not look at the bigger picture.

I know Brad must find it challenging to find ways to be grateful for me.  There are days when I get completely lost in one task, and end up neglecting everything else I was supposed to do.  It’s never a conscious decision – the day just runs out.  I can only imagine how frustrating that can be for him.

It’s on those days, in particular, that I am so thankful for his love and his prayers for me.

So, when I was pretty discouraged with Eliana, I thought of the following verse.

Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins.                                                           1 Peter 4:8

Although I have always seen this as a great verse to help guide me in my marriage, I realized it can also apply to my children – and, really, anyone. By focusing on how grateful I am for Eliana, and how much I love her, it definitely helped me get over my frustration with her for being irresponsible with her slime.

Pray for those who offend

As I was praying in gratitude and my love for Eliana, I thought about the real “smallness” of my sacrifice.  I gave up an hour of my life to fix a mistake my daughter made.  In the end, the worst that happened was that my hands smelled like vinegar, and I now have a washcloth that will probably be forever green.  Not really that big of a price.  And, during that time, I needed to remind myself why I was grateful for her and all the ways I loved her? The more I thought about it, the more convicted I became.

When Jesus was on the cross – dying – he prayed for the ones who put them there.

“Father, forgive these people,” Jesus said, “for they don’t know what they are doing.”                                                         Luke 23:34

So, even after those people did the most terrible and horrific things to him, Jesus prayed for their forgiveness.  And, I was there praying because I was upset with my daughter for a spot on the carpet…  How petty was I?

Again, I am just beginning to read more and study out the bible, and I am definitely not the expert.  But, as I reread that verse, I feel convicted all over again.  Although I was not a soldier who made Jesus carry the cross and nail him to it, I am a sinner – which makes me just as guilty.

While I wasn’t one who crucified him, I was one who caused it.

If Jesus could pray for everyone involved with his death – as he was suffering – surely, I could get over myself and happily pray for Eliana.

Jesus Prayed for All

Jesus prayed for all the people who put him on the cross.  And, even though he gave his life to forgive my sins, he prayed for me.   In fact, Jesus prayed for others many times in the bible.  In John, he prayed for all who believe – and even those who will believe.

I am not praying for these alone but also for the future believers who will come to me because of the testimony of these.                                                                                             John 17:20

To me, this verse gives me a glimpse of how much Jesus loves all and his complete selflessness.  No matter what sins have been committed or will surely be committed in the future, his love is constant.  And, never once did I read about how Jesus needed to be reminded to pray for others.  He just did it.

Now, I know I will never even be on the same spectrum as Jesus – but, I will certainly try to be like him in this regard.  To pray for others easily and often, without prompting or reminding.  For me, that would be an amazing goal to work towards.  So, the next time Eliana, or anyone else, creates an opportunity for me to work on this goal, I pray the gratitudes will come easily and freely, and the prayers will work wonders in my soul.

Your thoughts?

What verses give you encouragement to pray?  I found so many examples of Jesus’s prayers, and they are all super encouraging to me.  I would love to hear if you feel the same!  Please share your favorite verses below.  I can’t wait to read what you have found!