“Jesus said, ‘Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven’ (Matthew 18:3, NIV). By this, I think Jesus was commending the beautiful innocence, humility, and dependence of kids. It makes me think of the sweet prayers my daughters prayed when they were little. There was no pretense, just the purity of little hearts and minds. We are born with unfiltered expectancy. Our filtered skepticism is learned.
“It’s a strange polarity that I’ve seen play out time and time again, as evidenced by reading through my journal. When I’ve been less honest with God, the more guarded and antagonistic I’ve been with others. By contrast, the times I was scribbling honest, feverish prayers at God seem to be the times I was experiencing the most peace with others. This should come as no surprise. The Psalms are full of raw, uncensored petitions.
“It worries me when I find myself in the company of what I call the prayerfully restrained. I’m sure you’ve experienced this — those times when you sit in communal prayer and find yourself listening to well-curated prayers flowing perfectly from pristine lips. When this happens, an alarm goes off in my head. These people are not safe, I surmise. I usually flinch and wonder when the shaken-up soda cans of their souls are going to explode.”
