S’mores Prayer

"I love chocolate!" Marylynn exclaimed as she watched her aunt put a piece of chocolate on top of a graham cracker.Aunt Kari smiled. "I love chocolate too. Why don't you set your roasted marshmallow on top of this chocolate and I'll use the other graham cracker to take it off your stick."Marylynn did as instructed, then set down her stick to take the plate her aunt gave her. "Yummy!""One moment, before we have our s'mores, let's pray and thank God for this delicious treat," Aunt Kari said.Marylynn frowned. "I don't know how to pray.""Well, praying is simple. You can talk to God just like you would a friend or like you would talk to me." Aunt Kari smiled at Marylynn's still-confused expression. "Let me teach you. We can use the s'more to remember one way to pray."Aunt Kari picked up a graham cracker. "The first cracker is the greeting. You can start prayer by saying something like 'Dear God.'" She picked up a square of chocolate and set it on top of the graham cracker. "The second part is thanks for all God's sweet blessings--we can remember this because chocolate is sweet. You can thank God for the s'mores we're about to eat, and I can thank Him that I got to have you come visit tonight. Anything you're thankful for.""Like my dog?" Marylynn asked. Aunt Kari smiled. "Exactly like your dog." She picked up a marshmallow. "The next part of prayer is the sticky stuff, or the help we need. We can remember that part because marshmallows are sticky, especially on a s'more. You can ask God for help in anything, like if you had a test you were worried about. You can ask Him to keep you safe on your way home tonight.""What about the other graham cracker?" Marylynn asked."That is the end of your prayer--saying amen. Amen means 'So be it.' It shows we know God is faithful and listens when we pray.""So be it," Marylynn repeated.Aunt Kari nodded. "God loves us so much, and He wants to have a relationship with us--that's why He sent His Son, Jesus, to save us from sin. Because of Jesus, we can talk to God anytime."Marylynn smiled. "Okay, I'll pray now. Dear God..." -Kimberly Brokish