Prayers from my 
Childhood
 

At evening when the stars come out, 
and all the lights are dim, 
I cannot tell what words to say
I leave them all to him.

The very first prayer I ever learned or regularly said, this was in a small book my grandmother gave me, I have no way of attributing it now. I was told that it was a "Lazy prayer", yet it always made for me a sense of his presence and his love. The prayers we learn in our childhood give us more than we know. Whether it is in the form of swearing, cursing, crying  - or of gentleness and abiding trust. Through all of life, the simple prayers of childhood form one of the foundations of our ability to love and to care. Prayer, like language and music is part of our heritage. 

People sometimes ask, 'How do I teach my children to pray?'. If it is part of your life, they will already have learned. If you have a sense of presence, so will they. Some people simply put their head round the door and said, 'Have you said your prayers'? Not that they were religious themselves. I always answered, 'Yes' whether I had or not. But alongside that, I remember my grandmother whispering in the night, I remember a nun telling her beads, I remember a grand-uncle holding me in his arms and saying "oh Lord, help us get this little mite home". 

Only two things are ever necessary to teach us to pray. A desire for the presence, and the will to be present. He knows what is in the heart. Sometimes we don't. 
 

What are the prayers of Childhood ? 
Can we still use them? 
 

Bless mummy and daddy....

Make mummy well.
Find daddy a job 
 

Instructive, isn't it ?

Lord, Bless this food to our use, 
And us in Thy service.

Help me pass, Lord, help me pass this test.

Make her like me Lord.

Don't let them hurt me . . .