Please...Pray

I've tried to teach our little girl some sign language.  While she knows a few signs, she caught on to "please" very quickly and uses it A LOT.  She'll walk to a door and sign please and wait for you to open it.  She will see something across the room and start signing please and expect you to retrieve for her what she is spying with her little eye.  And most importantly she signs please like crazy whenever food is present.  It is a bit difficult sometimes to determine what it is that she wants, but I much prefer the frequent random tummy or chest rub (the sign for please) to the squawking or crying which would be her alternative means of getting something she wants.  Just so you all know that she isn't the most polite child on earth she does more than her share of squawking and crying when she doesn't get what she wants, regardless of how politely she asked for it. :)

Since signing please is such a big part of our day to day right now it seemed appropriate that there was something to learn there.  A 14 month old signs please to get what she wants because she is still very dependent on me or other caregivers and needs our help for most if not all activities.

I believe that as Christians we are called to lead lives in which we are fully dependent on God.  What that means is that we are doing things that on our own are extremely difficult or impossible.  In reality, that really doesn't have to be anything special because just day to day striving to not sin and to live more like Jesus is something that cannot be done on our own.

Which leads me back to signing...no, I'm not suggesting we all walk around all day rubbing our tummies...mostly because it just wouldn't be as cute as when a toddler does it...

I am suggesting we pray with the same urgency, frequency, and persistence that my little girl signs please.  God's word tells us to "pray continually" in 1 Thessalonians 5:17.  We all have small moments of down time that we can turn into pray time - washing dishes, sitting at stop lights, folding laundry, mowing the lawn, etc.  As a need or an issue comes to mind before you can worry about it, pray over it.  When you think of a friend, pray for them.  When you screw up, pray about it.  When you are happy, pray.  And don't forget to say please :).