Spontaneous Praise!

Okay, so as I was looking through my previous posts I realized I never posted a story I had every intention of posting. This story was to be its PS, so now I am in a pickle. That is just how my day has been going.....

You see two weeks ago we blew a transformer at school and all the power went out. It was before school even started, and so the kids were arriving to a dark, hot building. By my first class it was pretty unbearable (this is of course Houston, were the high was in the 90s with 10,000 percent humidity even in late September!) and the kids were already whining. So, I did what any good teacher would have done...I told them we were going to pray, so that way they would feel guilty about whining, right?!?!?!?!? As the story goes, the power came back on as the first child was in the middle of his prayer, and we were totally in awe of the power of God. His presence was so heavy in the room. I have been praying since then that that day will be a faith shaping experience for each of those children.

Fast forward two weeks to today. Guess what? Power went out this morning, and you will never guess what my precious third graders (my first class of the day, in the above paragraph) were begging me to do when I got to their stuffy classroom....PRAY!

"Oh, oh, oh....Miss Liddell, can we pray for the power to come back on?"

"Please, please....Let's pray so God will turn it back on before we even finish praying...please!!!!!"

Something in my heart urged me to talk to them about the motivation of our hearts and what God looks at. When God answers our prayers He gives us something to tell other people about how cool He is, and we need to remember who answered our prayers. You see, I had a feeling that pride had crept into what God had done for these kids, that somehow they were the reason the power came back on. What followed was beautiful...

Earnest, honest, prayers that brought tears to my eyes.

"God if you turn the power back on, help us to tell other people who cool you are. We don't want to brag or boast because we know You are why the power came back on. Thanks God."

"Jesus, help us not to brag. Thanks for being powerful and help me remember to always tell people about when you turned the power back on for us."

And so many more.

But what really struck me about the whole morning was what transpired later. You see, we finished praying (some kids even prayed two or three times) and the power was still off. There was this great anticipation in the air. This anticipation that God was going to turn the power back on. It amazed me. They prayed, and waited full of expectation, for God to answer their prayers.

Faith, being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.

Faith. Waiting, with great anticipation, to see how cool God is and how He will answer our prayers.

You see I view my waiting for God's answer to my prayers as a hassle, an irritant, something I wish to be minimized. How backwards do I have it? The waiting is an opportunity to praise. The waiting is an opportunity to reflect on His power, His goodness, His answers all those times before. The waiting reminds us Who is in control, and Who answers our prayers.

And you know the spectacular thing? When you understand this truth, and when you value the waiting, cherish it, revel in Him, something amazing happens.

Praise erupts from within the depth of your soul. When God answers your prayer, you simply can not contain your praise. How do I know? Sadly not from my own life, but from these third graders.

When the lights came back on, spontaneously, without direction or guidance, the entire class erupted in praise. Some kids jumped out of their chairs and were jumping up and down cheering. You would have thought it was Christmas.

"Miss Liddell, can I pray to thank God for answering our prayers?"

Of course.

"God, You are so cool. Thanks for turning on the lights and help us to tell everyone we know how cool You are. Thanks again, amen."

When was the last time you physically jumped up and down with excitement?

When was the last time you jumped up and down because God answered your prayer?

I can not recall a time this has ever happened to me. Perhaps this is because I have been missing the joy of the waiting. Perhaps this is because my faith is not that of a child.

May your faith be blessed and challenged. Cherish the waiting. Expect His miraculous answer. And when God answers your prayer, erupt in spontaneous praise. Jump up and down. Shout, scream, yell and dance.