Anthony DeStefano: The Gift of Prayer

CBN.com THE GIFT OF PRAYER
Author of This Little Prayer of MineAnthony DeStefano wants to try to help children, and he says the best way for him to do that is to give them the gift of prayer.  He’s always wanted to do whatever he could to make sure children had what he didn’t have – so when going through suffering or hard times they would have the kind of relationship with the Lord that would get them through with their peace of mind and faith in tact. 

Often, kids won’t talk to their parents, but they will tell God everything.  Anthony says it is important to start children on the road to a life-long relationship and communication with God. 

Anthony did not grow up in a faith-filled home.  It wasn’t until his late 20s that he committed his life to the Lord.  He started getting direction for his life when he started praying.  Looking back he says he would have greatly benefitted from knowing the Lord and praying when going through life’s challenges, like grieving the death of loved ones, etc. 

THIS LITTLE PRAYER OF MINE
A response to his second book Ten Prayers God Always Says Yes To motivated him to move forward with his idea to write a book of prayer for children.  Anthony received a note from a woman named Marion Hammerman, whose daughter had just been killed in the Virginia Tech shootings.  In her note she told Anthony how much Ten Prayers helped her deal with the tragedy and reconcile herself to God and His will for her.  Then, Anthony had an opportunity to spend time with Marion and learned about her daughter, Caitlin, who was killed.  He saw how Marion never really had a strong faith in God before this. 

This Little Prayer of Mine came about after the National Day of Prayer and people’s hearts were on how to reach the kids with prayer.  His good friend Pat Boone endorsed the book and said that prayer should be as natural and easy for a child as eating and breathing. That is exactly what has motivated Anthony. 

He wanted the book to be warm, inviting, and enjoyable for children.  It was challenging to bring the spectrum of prayer to a child’s level, but Anthony gives examples of the following prayers: petition (praying for things); gratitude; generosity/giving (prayers should not be selfish); loneliness and isolation (God is always with you); repentance, and destiny.  He has already received responses from Christian and non-Christian mothers that have thanked him for writing this book.  They have found it helpful in teaching their children, as well as themselves, on how to pray.

MORE ABOUT ANTHONY
In 2002, Anthony was given an honorary Doctorate from the Joint Academic Commission of the National Clergy Council and the Methodist Episcopal Church for "the advancement of Christian beliefs in modern culture." The commission is made up of outstanding Evangelical, Orthodox and Protestant theologians and educators.  In 2003, Anthony’s first book, A Travel Guide to Heaven, was published by Doubleday, as well as Random House Audio, Transworld Publishers in the United Kingdom and a number of other major publishing houses in Europe, Asia and South America. The book was a bestseller and has been published in 16 different languages. Anthony has received many awards and honors from religious communities throughout the world.

Today, Anthony is a successful businessman and runs three companies based in New York. He is also the Vice-Chairman of the Board of Priests for Life, the largest pro-life organization in the world and has worked closely with the national director of that group, Fr. Frank Pavone, for 20 years.   He is a Knight of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta, a member of the National Religious Broadcasters Organization (NRB), the Royal Institute of Philosophy, in London, and the prestigious International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS), also based in the United Kingdom. An avid pilot, Anthony serves as a senior member of the US Air Force’s auxiliary Civil Air Patrol.   He flies his own vintage, 1959 Cessna L19-E Bird-Dog, which was formerly owned by Judge William P. Clark, National Security Advisor under Ronald Reagan.