Prayer for a Child

Dear God,

I wanted to share with you a burden on my heart for a little boy right now.

You see, there is this little boy that you have shown me who lives in a mental institution in Eastern Europe. He is almost thirteen years old and has sat in a bed behind cement walls for almost every day of his life. His legs are deformed and stick out in the splits, so he can’t walk. He doesn’t have a mommy or a daddy to tuck him into bed at night, or hug him in the morning. He doesn’t even have anyone to help him get out of bed in the morning and get dressed, or go outside to see the sunshine. 

No, he just sits in his bed all day, waiting for a moment of interaction with a nurse when she brings him a bowl of mush, or on very very special days, a few minutes with a visitor.

But vistors to the institution are very rare, indeed.

The few visitors who have come have not understood for a moment why this little boy sits all alone without a mother or father. They have seen an intelligent, kind, funny and special child who would be a blessing to any family. They have seen a little boy who has moved everyone who has met him to tears with his charming ways and his big heart. 

God, I suppose it is pointless for me to tell you about this little boy, because you know him better than I do. I know you must know him and know him well; for in spite of human conditions that should breed hopelessness, this little boy has a spirit of hope in his eyes. In spite of the bitterness that should come from being left abandoned in a cold and isolated place, little boy has a loving heart and a kind spirit, that he freely shares with others. In spite of a mind stimulated only by surrounding beds of orphans and cement walls, this little boy has a sharp mind and wit, and has known learning. In some unexplainable way, he knows laughter and spreads it, where our human eyes can see only sadness and pain. He knows joy and brings it to others, who cannot even comprehend where his joy originates from.

So God, I know from all of this that you know this little boy and are moving in him. How else can this be explained? I know too that you know him, because when I stop in my busy day and listen to you, I hear you crying for him. In the middle of the night, in the middle of my day, in the wee morning hours, I am jerked awake by your love for him. I feel it in my heart, like a burning that cannot be fulfilled.

This is your child, and I know, like me, you do not understand why this little boy sits alone in an institution when you created us humans to be mother and father. Like me, you do not understand why others have not heard your voice and have been moved to action.  Unlike me, I know you see further ahead for this little boy, and have good things planned for him. You must, because you are a kind and caring father and want all of your children to have good things.  You must, because you have made him so like you in nature. You must have amazing things in store for him, because I hear it in the urgency of your call to action.

God, I am only one, but I recognize when you move me, and I am faithful. Perhaps someone else will see this little boy and know him like you do. Perhaps someone will see him and know something to do that is greater than what I know. Perhaps someone will see him and will be moved in their heart to know, just like you do, that this is their son.

Thank you God, 

Amen