Prayers for More Time

Over the course of two weeks, Jacob continued to ask us how much longer Macayla will be with us and we have repeated the answer we gave before as talked about in an earlier post. A couple of mornings ago, Macayla wet her bed so I moved her to the bed with Jennifer so I could change Macayla's sheets. About that time Jacob woke up and for some reason he went straight into Macayla's room. Upon seeing she was not in the bed, he got a worried look on his face and anxiously asked, "Where's Macayla?" He was relieved to discover her snuggling with mom and he joined them. Jacob asked me again yesterday afternoon how long Macayla would live. Later, at bedtime, Jacob said his prayers and thanked God for our family and prayed for Macayla:

"God, thank you for Macayla. Please let her stay with us a long time. Help her live to ten y...Help her stay with us three ye...Lord, keep her with us for five more years." 

It reminded me of the story of Abraham "negotiating" with God over Sodom and Gomorah's fate. I don't believe we ever negotiate with God, but He welcomes our requests like this because we stand to learn through the process. My hope is Jacob and our family learn God hears our prayers and even if He says no, we will still trust Him. It's hard when God will not do things the way we want, especially if we are asking for something good like extending a life. But our view is limited. Our knowledge is limited. God's is not. But still, we pray Macayla will surprise us as she usually does and be with us longer than predicted. However long she is with us, when it is over we will not have to ask, "Where's Macayla?" We know she is in His hands and He promises that is non-negotiable.