Ephesians, Chapter 5 Part One

​“Speak to one another with psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs. Sing and make music in your heart to the Lord.” (Ephesians 5:19, NIV)

A Prayer for My Daughter

May my child grow up to follow your example and live a life of love. Grant her a heart of thanksgiving overflowing with goodness, righteousness, and truth. May she live a life pleasing to You and shine with the light of Christ. ...

Grant her wisdom and bless her with a discerning understanding of Your Will. May her heart make music in thanksgiving to You. May her tongue sing Your praises and proclaim Your goodness all the days of her life.

Often in the afternoons, Sweet One and I cozy up on the couch to watch praise DVDs. She sings praise songs at the top of her lungs while the two of us twirl, spin, and dance to the upbeat, energetic music.

Today, she had other ideas instead of dancing. “May I play the piano?” she asked, pointing to the pinewood upright instrument tucked beside the couch.

A favorite praise song started playing on the DVD and she ran over to the piano and patted the wooden covering.

“Will you please lift this up, Mommy?”

Thinking she was finished with the DVD, I shrugged my shoulders. “Sure,” I answered, dancing over to the piano to slide back the covering.

But when little girl sat down on the piano, she did not bang the keyboard in her typical fashion, but gently placed her fingers on a few notes and pressed down. Plink, plunk. “Hosanna,” she began singing, “Hosanna!” plink, plink sounded a few delicate notes from the keys.

I smiled and sat down on the couch to enjoy the show.

“You are the God who saves us,” she continued, “worthy of all our praises.” “Hosanna,” I heard once more, but this time from the DVD that still played in the background.

In sudden amazement, I realized Sweet one had wanted to play the piano and sing this specific song on the DVD. “Come have your way among us, we welcome You here, Lord Jesus,” she sang, picking notes out on the piano.

​As I listened to my sweet girl sing along with the DVD and piano notes plunking out, I realized that many of the notes complemented the music, and were not played with wild, random abandonment. Perhaps it was my imagination, but her voice sounded sweeter and rang truer to my ears then whenever I've heard her sing before. In her own, preschool-age way, my daughter was making music from her heart and singing psalms from her mouth that were as fragrant and beautiful to the Lord as the most precious of offerings. My heart swelled with awe and deep gratitude to the God above, to the Creator who placed in her heart a song to sing and a love of praising His Name.

A Prayer for Myself

May my heart and mouths swell with songs of praise to the Lord today. May the words on my tongue be a fragrant offering to the Lord. Let me proclaim your goodness and tell of the great things for which You have done.