Anna's Prayer

Thank You, Jesus, for dying for our sin.
Thank You that we got passport picture.
Please help Elizabeth to feel better.
Amen.

Those sweet words were uttered by Anna, our exchange student from China. She does not have any religious background. That was most likely the first prayer she ever spoke out loud. (As she has never prayed before coming to live with us!) In fact, she spoke those words to God even though she is not yet a Christian.

Still, I trust God heard Anna.

Most nights Elizabeth, Anna and I sit together to read a devotion and pray. The night Anna prayed the above words, the devotion we read was based on John 15:13, Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends. At the end we were encouraged to thank Jesus for what He did for us. I invited Anna to pray, and you can see what she said.
It delighted my heart to hear her pray as suggested - by thanking Jesus for dying for our sins. To hear her thank Him for the passport picture (She needs to renew her passport, and has been stressed about getting things in order.) brought me joy because I trust she is learning we can come to God with all our needs. And to have her pray for Elizabeth? Shows her love for my daughter, and I pray it is also the beginning of Anna's confidence that God is concerned about us.

Anna is a beautiful girl, and her prayer was beautiful to my ears. I know she is deeply loved by God, her Creator - even though she does not know Him yet. And in spite of her lack of knowing Him, I trust God sees her and hears her and is drawing her to Himself.
What an honor to be a part of Anna's life.
What a delight to have her in our family at this time!
I pray God will speak to Anna's heart through her time with our family, through our time at church, and through personal interactions HE will have with her. Please open her eyes, Father!