Potty Prayers

For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. — Jeremiah 29:11 (NIV)

My husband Howard has started a family project of memorizing scripture. This is the scripture he’s picked for us to work on this week. My daughter was tired from the activities of the day, but Howard sat down with her just to get her familiar with the verse. He could tell she was getting frustrated – trying to learn the whole thing at one time – and he kept trying to tell her it’s ok, just learn the first little part. They worked on it for a little while and then Howard said let’s talk about what the verse means. He told her that God has plans for her.

She replied, “God has plans for me? Why? I’m worthless. I just sit around and play video games all the time.”

Ouch. There are many times I have felt totally and utterly worthless. But to hear my 7-year-old daughter say she feels worthless? That made me feel so sad. I’m praying she’ll understand the balance between being a sinner (and not worthy of God’s grace on our own) and having faith that God does have plans for her – big plans to give her hope and a future. I’m praying God will show me how to help her not feel worthless too.

Prayer: Lord, I am thankful for the lessons You continue to teach me each and every day. Thank You for the little reminders of Your plans for us. Help me to not feel worthless. Help me to understand I am worth something in Your eyes. If I were the only one that needed saving, Jesus would still have hung on the cross for just my sins. Help me to share Your love and encourage others in my family so they don’t ever feel worthless.