Evening Prayer Time

Every evening just before bedtime, we come together as a family for a story and evening prayers. Prayer time has always been a real struggle for us, and gets more challenging the bigger our family grows. But I hope that God understands our intent, and no matter how "imperfect" our supplication may be, I know that He listens especially to the prayers of children.

We recite several of our favorite prayers every night, and lately we have been trying really hard to get through a decade of the rosary (it doesn't always happen.) But the boys' favorite part during bedtime prayers is when we offer up our special intentions. It is their opportunity to tell God what, in particular, is on their minds, and also a chance for them to stretch out the evening just a little bit longer before we send them off to bed! I thought I would share this special time from our prayers tonight:

Daddy: "Now, who has a special intention?"

Zachary: Says nothing, but pops up from nursing because he knows something important is going on. When he realizes we're praying, he attempts the Sign of the Cross, which looks like he's swatting at a fly. Then he settles back to snuggle with Mommy.

Alex, David, Joseph, Samuel: "MEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!"

Zachy: Pops up again. Giggles, bounces and pat-a-cakes, lays down again.

Alex: "For all the people in purgatory."

Joseph: "For Zachy and all the heart babies, even that girl who was eating lobster." (He's talking about friends from the Ronald McDonald House who celebrated New Year's with a lobster dinner.)

Sammy: "Hey, it was my turn!"

David: "For everybody in the whole wide world!"

Alex: "David, you can't pray for everyone in the whole wide world!"

David: "Yes I can!"

Alex: "No, you have to mention something more sp--"

Samuel: "Hey, hey guys! I wanna..."

Daddy: "And I want to pray for my family and everyone in North Dakota, where they're having a blizzard and there's no electricity right now."

Samuel: "An I wanna pway for John, and the farmers, and the tractors..."

Daddy: "You can't pray for the tractors, because they have no souls, but you can pray for the farmers."

Alex: "Wait a minute. Is it bad to say 'I'm curious'? Because God is living in me, and He's never curious because He knows EVERYTHING!"

Daddy: "Well, it's not bad to say you're cur--"

David: "I wanna pray that my toe gets better!"

Alex and Joseph: "And that... Hey, MY turn!"

Mommy: "And let's pray for the people of Haiti, and for Bob R. and his family, and..."

Joseph: "So that Daddy's finger gets better and doesn't fall off!"

Zachy: Forget this nursing me to sleep business! There's a party going on and I'm breaking free! (He crawls out of my lap and scurries across the floor.)

Alex: "It's supposed to snow. I'm praying that we get snowed out of school!"

Mommy: "You're not supposed to pray for things like that."

Daddy: "Let's pray for the priests, whom the Pope asked to spread the Gospel through the internet."

Sammy: "And for all the heart babies..."

Daddy: "Ok. OKAY! That's good, everyone! Our Father, who art in heaven..."

Phew. And that was actually a pretty good night. Sometimes we start getting into fist fights over whose turn it is. Sometimes we start shouting because our brother asked for a "stupid" intention. Often Alex prays for David not to be so "mean," and David prays that Alex will "shut up." Sometimes Zachy screams through it all, or Sammy cries that we forgot to let him offer his intentions. Lately we have been praying that a certain cute blond in the fourth grade will tell her sister to tell my cousin to tell me that she likes me, too.

But every evening God listens. And He continues to shower us with blessings.