Clapping Daddy's Hands

Davey Will and I were playing the other day, and at one point he grabbed my right hand by the thumb.  At first, I thought he was just pushing my hand out of the way of his toys (which he does sometimes), but then he reached out for my other hand.  I eventually realized he wanted to play an activity we do sometimes:  clapping Daddy’s hands.  He grabbed my hands by the thumbs and slammed them together repeatedly:  clap, clap, clap!  Now, Davey Will enjoys clapping his own hands.  But his hands are small and baby-soft, while Daddy’s hands are bigger and more solid – so they make a bigger noise.  Sometimes it’s fun to clap Daddy’s hands!

 

Now, I could have refused to let Davey Will clap my hands, since – again – my hands are bigger and stronger.  Plus, I already know how to clap my own hands.  I didn’t Davey Will’s help.  But it really is a lot of fun to see the delight that Davey Will experiences when he takes the initiative to grab hold of my hands as we work together to clap, clap, clap!

 

As Davey Will clapped my hands that morning, it dawned on me.  That’s what prayer is!  We may enjoy serving other people, doing God’s work in the world.  But we must realize that our hands are weak, and small, and soft.  We really can’t have the impact we’d like to have.  In prayer, we eagerly reach out for our Daddy’s hands, which are bigger and stronger and so much more effective.  Now, He could do the work on His own, and He certainly has the authority to refuse our direction in “hand-clapping.”  But our Father seems to take great pleasure in the delight we experience when we take the initiative to grab hold of His hands as we work together to clap, clap, clap!

 

Prayer is clapping Daddy’s hands.