I want to share a little background for this song that you’re about to hear. At the end of last year, I got the chance to meet a precious family who, let’s just say, spends a lot of time in another country, doing their thing for the Lord. Around February or so of this year, (this infamous year of 2020 where the world seems to be constantly spinning off the rails and every day seems to bring a new heartbreak or scare or “what next” moment) I was able to attend a Bible lesson led by this family, which was entitled ‘Praying God’s Word’. It was informative, interesting, and inspired, if you’re into alliteration. And, if you’re not, well, it was still all of those things. Basically, in teaching us about praying, they broke prayer down into five categories. This is especially nice because most of us have five fingers, which are conveniently attached to us, and thus easy to hold up and remember. The first finger, (or thumb, if you will) reminds you to praise God. This is arguably the most important aspect of prayer. After praising Him, move on to the second finger, which stands for thanking God. Then, third, spend time confessing your sins to God. This is followed by fourth, praying for others. Finally, lastly, and of the least importance, (represented by the tiny pinky) pray for yourself.

There was a lot more to the lesson, all of it good. But praying the “Five Things” is really what I took away from the study. My husband Andrew and I immediately began incorporating the practice into prayer times with our three kiddos (ages 5, 7, and 11). It helped give them a focus, and a way to really think through what they were praying to our Heavenly Father. It didn’t take long, however, for us to notice that there was some struggling with the aspects of ‘praise’ vs ‘thanks’. Those concepts can be tricky! We spent time talking about the distinctions between the two, and giving the kids examples. One night, though, my 7 year old said, “Mommy, I just can’t think of what to say to praise God! I feel like all I ever say is that He’s ‘powerful’ and ‘creative’. I need some help.” Without really thinking, I just sort of started singing some examples for him. His face lit up, and he begged for more. So, I kept going for a bit, singing a few more examples before laughing and telling the kids that that was enough and tucking them into bed. Later, I tried to remember what I’d sung, and recorded what I could onto my phone, just to have it. I sort of figured that was that. But then over the course of the next few days it kept coming to mind, and the kids kept asking me to come up with more ideas for verses. Before too long, I had a bit of a bridge, too. But all in all, it was still just a little ditty in my head.
The next time I got to see my Mama, (who I basically consider the queen of children’s music, incidentally) I asked her if she could take a listen to what I had come up with. I told her that I liked it, but that I also knew it was missing something. I am not exaggerating when I tell you that before 10 minutes had passed, she had written a beautiful melody for what became the chorus of my little song. Almost immediately, God dropped lyrics for that chorus into my head. And within about three hours of sitting down together, we had the entire song worked out, written, scored, and recorded. It was a whirlwind and a blessing, all in one. And it was SO MUCH FUN working together! It was an added bonus that my daughter and my mom and I each sang on the recording, so now we have three generations singing together, which I love so very much!
The final chapter of this little saga is that my amazing Mama spent the next month or so arranging and tweaking and fixing bits and pieces of my little fledgling song, turning it into something m o r e. She even sent it to another songwriter, in order for him to give it a listen and make sure it made sense musically. And THEN, once it was done she spent countless hours making a lyric video for it. Seriously. She must have reworked it a dozen times, making little and big changes, until this finished product is far better than anything I could have ever dreamed of. I’m so thankful for all of the heart she put into this whole project. She’s amazing, and working together with her has been a dream come true. I can only hope that it’s just one of many such projects that we get to do together!
From start to finish, God has been so gracious to have everything come together on this song. I hope and pray that our little offering brings Him honor and glory. I’ve already been abundantly blessed throughout this whole process, and I pray that this little song will help others grow closer to God in their prayer lives, too. Especially kiddos. I pray that they will know Him better, love Him more, and find that it’s a joy to spend time with Him. After all: it’s what our prayers are for. ;)
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