Little Boy Asks Police Officers at Chick-fil-A If He Can Pray Over Them

By Kayla Kunkel October 29, 2019 at 6:33am

The thoughtful gesture of a young boy from Texas is warming hearts across the world after a photo of him praying for police officers at a local Chick-fil-A was posted on Facebook.

Kimberley Clark Stone captured the moment at a Chick-fil-A in Burleson, Texas, on Thursday.

Burleson County Officer Dicke, Officer Ayuso and Officer Lyman were in line behind Stone when the boy, 7-year-old Wyatt, asked if he could pray for them.

“Right when they got in line the little boy picture ran up to them and asked them if he could pray over them,” Stone wrote on Facebook. “He grabbed their hands and prayed the sweetest prayer that I have ever heard.”

According to Stone, the boy thanked God for their service and asked Him to protect them as they protected the community.

Jessa Cox, Wyatt’s mother, said she wasn’t surprised when she saw that her son had stopped to pray for the three officers.

“My husband Keith and I try and model what it means to really walk out our faith,” she told The Western Journal. “And one of the ways we do that is to pray for people, this was not a one time occurrence. I have seen my son pray for people many many times, and we have done that as a family as well.”

Lauren Lyman, the wife of the rightmost officer in the picture, told The Western Journal that the picture evoked a mixture of emotions.

Are you inspired by Wyatt's boldness?

“My initial reaction was a slew of emotions: Pride. Gratitude. Shock. Who is this kid so I can hug him?!” she wrote.

“We live in a world where my husband and his brothers in blue are hated and condescended more than they are loved and respected. I expect for him to come home and tell me about the good, bad, and the ugly of his day,” Lyman continued.

“Most days, his stories are about the bad and the ugly. Thursday, his story was all good. That sweet boy put JOY in a place where it’s rarely found.”

Lyman said that Wyatt’s simple act of faith should be inspiring to others, commending his boldness and citing 1 Timothy 4:12.

“How often do YOU pray for the people you love?…much less the people you do not know…much less pray for them in a public place, out loud, for the world to hear!” she told The Western Journal.

“He didn’t have any idea how desperately our family needed this encouragement. It’s been the hardest year we’ve ever faced. Our trials have been hard to walk through.”

“But the 30 seconds this young man spent praying with these officers reminded us HOW we were able to walk out of this season on the other side,” she continued, adding that she and her husband are more encouraged to “passionately and openly walk with Christ.”

Since Stone shared the photo, it has been shared over 137,000 times and has also been shared thousands of times on other Facebook pages.

Cox, is not only proud of her son’s willingness to encourage the police officers in such a sweet way, but she is also excited about how many people across the world have seen the post.

“I just truly believe that the Lord is putting this photo in front of the eyes that are meant to see it,” Cox wrote in a comment. “And even if out of these thousands and thousands of people … one heart is truly changed for HIS glory than it is all worth it.”

Lyman said she is eternally grateful for Wyatt’s prayer.

“He showed BRAVERY in a way few people are willing to. And gave COMFORT that’s hard to come by,” Lyman told The Western Journal.

“This sweet boy let his light shine that day. And it was the most beautiful, blinding light I’ve ever seen! ‘Thank you’ doesn’t even touch my gratitude for him.”

UPDATE, Oct. 29, 2019: This story has been updated with additional comments from Wyatt’s mom Jessa Cox.

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