
Reflecting on her child’s heartfelt prayer, AnneMarie Miller examines how her prayer life needs to change this year.
“Come, Holy Spirit,” I said as I began a short period of daily personal prayer with my small kids. I closed my eyes, enjoying the momentary silence that fell over the room.
Suddenly, I heard my toddler speak.
“I’m going to talk to God. God, what do you need?”
That simple, heartfelt prayer gripped my heart. Throughout the rest of the day, I continued thinking about this prayer. I marveled at my child’s beautiful simplicity and open vulnerability with God. Throughout Jesus’s public ministry, He looked upon children with love and reverence and held them up as an example:
“Let the children come to me, and do not prevent them; for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.” (Matthew 19:14)
The more I learn about children, the more I realize that I need to become childlike in my prayerful conversation with God.
The problem of self-absorbed prayer
As I pondered my child’s prayer that day, I started to wonder how my life would change if I said this prayer. What would happen if I simply ask God what He needs?
Much of the time, I focus on myself and give God a long list of petitions. Yes, God wants us to bring our petitions to Him (cf. Matt 7:7-11), but sometimes, I grow absorbed in my own desires. It’s easy for my prayer to become a long litany of “God, I need this … God, I want this … God, please help me with this.” Too often, my prayer becomes less about God and more about myself.
When I do pray about God’s will, there have been many times when I overcomplicate things. I place all sorts of conditions in my prayer. I explain to God that I want to do His will, but I also want His will for my life to meet certain criteria.
However, if prayer becomes about my long list of desires and my overcomplicated ideas about God’s will, I forget that prayer is relational. It’s the path by which I communicate with God throughout the day. It’s not just something I do to get what I want, when I want it. Prayer is the way that I grow more deeply in communion with God. It’s an opportunity to become open, vulnerable, and trusting — like a child.
Praying like a child
I would love to say that this simple prayer immediately became part of my daily life. I would love to say that I wholeheartedly embraced simplicity and openness in my prayer with God. I would love to say that I immediately began focusing less on myself and more on Him. However, although I was initially inspired to bring this prayer into my life, I quickly let this incident slip into the past.
However, as the memories of that day flood my mind, I realize that it’s not too late. Here we are, at the beginning of the new year, the Year of Hope. Maybe it’s time to add this prayer, this question, to my daily prayer.
What would happen if I began offering this simple prayer each day?
What would happen if I stopped overcomplicating God’s will?
What would happen if I stopped focusing so intently on myself?
What would happen if our entire parishes began praying like this, and simply asked God what He needs?
This year, let’s find out.
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Copyright 2025 AnneMarie Miller
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About the Author

AnneMarie Miller
A bibliophile, wife, mother of young children, and lover of the Liturgy, AnneMarie Miller enjoys exploring the manifold—and quirky—ways in which God speaks. She can often be found reading books to her kids, burrowing her toes in the red Oklahoma dirt, or sipping black coffee. Her reflections on Catholicism, literature, and hope can be found on her blog, Sacrifice of Love.
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