On Valentine’s Day, a letter arrived in my mailbox from the little boy I sponsor in Bangladesh through Compassion International. Through an interpreter, he told me about his Christmas and what he had been able to get with the money I had sent him and his family. At the end of the letter, the translator (Timothio) noted, “He is weak in education. Please pray for him. He also prays for you.”
Imagine … a 9 year-old child in a Third World country, praying for me. I was undone.
Wess Stafford, the founder of Compassion International, says in his book, Too Small to Ignore, “I’m convinced that one of the most powerful forces on earth is the prayer of a child.” I love that. I want to just camp on that statement and contemplate what it means to be prayed for by Amit.
He has no agenda; he is not trying to manipulate me; he probably doesn’t even realize how closely Jesus is listening to him. He certainly doesn’t know that the thought of him with his head bowed made me weep, standing there in my kitchen. He’s just a little guy who likes to play games…and struggles in school. And yes, like so many in his village, his family is desperately poor.
But regardless of anything I could ever do to help this child, he has far surpassed it with his immeasurable gift to me: his simple, honest prayers. I am ever so thankful to have Amit on my side, lifting up prayers of untold impact before the very throne of God.
“Watch carefully the children around you. In precious moments you will catch a glimpse of your Savior’s face. Listen intently and you will hear his voice. Walk gently among them; his footprints are all around you. Embrace them, for you are embracing him. Respect them, because they are sometimes God’s agents – exactly the kind of instruments he needs. At such times, only a child will do.” Wess Stafford
Ah, Amit. Thank you for your generosity, my little brother. (Best. Valentine. Ever.)
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Lovely, this. Many thanks and a blessed day to you, Allen
Allen, so glad you found this. When I switched to a self-hosted blog this week, I didn’t realize WordPress.com would not transfer my subscribers to WordPress.org. Now to be notified of a new post via email, most will have to re-subscribe. I am so relieved you are still here.
As always, thanks for your kind words and encouragement.
Hi, I found it from my twitter feed, which I don’t check regularly. So will I need to subscribe to an email feed?
You should be able to re-subscribe on the website, “dianerivers.me” – there’s a subscription form on the top of the right column on the home page and at the bottom of the post page. (I tried to send out a notification with a blog post on the old site – don’t know if that worked.) Thanks so much, Allen.
Hi Diane – yes, your notification from your old blog came in my email, so folks should be coming over. Good luck! I have re-subscribed.
Oh, Melanie – thank you so much! This has been such a nightmare and you are helping me wake up from it. Welcome and thanks for taking the time to re-subscribe!
Huh. I tried to subscribe, but they say I’ve already done it! Crazy.
You’re in, KimZ! Yay! Sorry about the confusion.
Thanks for stopping by today, Diane. I think I lost track of you -maybe with the blog move? I’m so happy to re-connect!
We sponsor a young man through Compassion as well. It has been a joy watching him grow up, and enjoying his generous and kind heart. He, too, always prays for us -and asks for prayer for his family.
Denise – I’m glad to reconnect, too! Thank you! What country is your sponsored child in? I just got a letter from Amit’s pastor and it just warms my heart to hear what they are trying to accomplish with so little over there. It’s humbling and inspiring. I’m so glad to be involved.
Thanks again, Denise, for reconnecting 🙂
We just got a letter from the pastor, too!
(Must be homework time for them! LOL)
Anthony is in Peru. We’ve been privileged to be part of his life for about 6 years now.