About a month or so ago, before putting our daughters to bed, my youngest reminded me to plug in the nightlight. She’s not necessarily afraid of the dark, but she has a hard time falling asleep without a tiny sliver of light. As I was tucking her in-- a phrase popped into my head, “but yet I know that God is near in darkness as in light.”
The phrase is from a prayer I prayed over my girls years and years ago when they were much younger. The whole of it is as follows:
“I hear no voice, I feel no touch, I see no glory bright; But yet I know that God is near In darkness as in light. He watches ever by my side, and hears my whispered prayer: The Father for His little child both night and day doth care.”
When I shared the prayer with them again that evening, they had no memory of it. As mentioned previously, it had been years since I recited it to them. But the prayer had lodged itself deep within me. And as it resurfaced, it gave me comfort even as I sought to comfort them. God is near. In darkness as in light.
Since that night, my girls and I have re-learned this prayer. Even though my daughter will most likely outgrow her fear of the dark, I want to help her develop the faith muscles required to proclaim that God is always near— just as much when we can’t see Him as when we can. Because I know that this will serve her well for the inevitable times in life where we feel God’s absence.
Lenten Prayer Cards for Children
It’s fairly easy to imagine that over the course of this last year, you might resonate with the experience of not hearing God’s voice, feeling His touch, or seeing His glory. In Covidtimes or not, if you follow Jesus long enough, there will be seasons where God seems absent. Of course, we know from many promises in Scripture that although we might not feel God’s presence, we can be assured that He will never leave us or forsake us.
As one of our Lenten Resources, the CLT created prayer cards for families with young children to learn some new prayers together during Lent. For those of you with older children or no children at home, you might consider memorizing a collect from Compline over the next several weeks. Whether or not you choose to incorporate more written prayers in your Lenten practice, I hope that you’re able to carve out some time and space to be with the One who is waiting for you to draw near. In darkness as in light.
