Little Hallway Prayers

Prayer was like breathing for my grandmother, Vinita. It started when she was a little girl in the 1920s on a West Texas farm. She climbed a windmill, began communing and cooperating with God…and never stopped!

As a child, I followed her around like a puppy. I sat underneath her sewing machine as she stitched and either talked to Jesus or sang little songs to Him. When I spent the night with her (which I did often), she let me sleep in her bed. I lay there and listened as she inhaled and then breathed out prayers in her sleep. She truly prayed without ceasing!

“Nonnie,” as I called her, didn’t get technical when she prayed. She didn’t focus on rules or fancy phrasing. She focused on God and communing with Him. She knew Him face to face. They were a team!

Talking to God came naturally when I was at her house. Most of the time I didn’t know what to say, but it didn’t matter. I talked to Jesus about whatever came to mind and sang little songs to Him, just like my grandmother did.

I was about four years old when Nonnie “recruited” me: “Let’s go pray for your daddy.” She never told me he wasn’t living for God, but I knew he smoked cigarettes and shouldn’t! So I prayed for him — not just with Nonnie but also by myself.

One of my favorite places to pray for my dad was in Nonnie’s long hallway. Three framed pictures of him were on the wall from the days he pursued a career as a recording artist. He held a cigarette in one of the photos, and it really bothered me! Even if I were cartwheeling down the hallway, when that cigarette caught my eye, I’d stop and put my hand on the picture and pray, “God, save Daddy.” And He did save my daddy, Kenneth Copeland.

Looking back now at those little hallway prayers, I don’t think many believers realize how much power there is in consistently lifting things to the Lord. Prayers don’t have to be long or sophisticated to be effective. It’s the faith released in those prayers that does the work.

As you fellowship with God today, remember — you don’t need to complicate prayer. Share with your Father what’s in your heart like you would a friend. Prayer is a simple but continuous encounter with Him!