This is so precious. I was teaching this mom how to help her children hear God, and she sent me this testimony. THIS is how we teach our children how to be the light around them.
She shared: “We have a not-so-friendly neighbor who never waves to us, making the kids upset. We just asked Jesus what He wanted us to know about him… It amazed me what we heard… We ended it by praying for him.”
We were on the road, and as we were packing up our hotel, I noticed how clean and neat it was despite the night before when it was trashed with our stuff everywhere. I realized I had taught the kids that we lay down our rights in order to show love. In this case, I taught them over the years we have every right to trash a hotel room and let housekeeping do their job, but is that who we WANT to be? We have decided as a family we want the housekeeping staff to walk in and say, “Oh WOW,” which often includes leaving them notes, a tip, and finding a tidy room. The Kingdom of God is righteousness, peace, and joy, which means right living must occur if we live in and share His Kingdom with others. The laying down of our ‘rights’ to do things His way brings peace and joy that no amount of ‘rights’ could ever bring. It is an honor to play in His Kingdom by loving others well.
Your family’s prayers can change the world – literally! Revelations shares how the story ends. Pay attention to Revelations 8 – “The smoke of the incense, with the prayers of the saints, ascended before God . . . Then the angel took the censer, filled it with fire from the altar, and threw it to the earth” (Rev. 8:4-5).
This is not to be taken lightly or flippant. When you pray, you are filling the prayer bowls of heaven. Gather your family and place a bowl with a little water in the center of the table. Give each person a glass filled with water and a spoon. Play a game to see how many spoonfuls of water they can get into the larger bowl to make it spill over (literally). It will simply take ONE more spoon full of water to tip the water over the edge. Have fun, and let joy break out. Then share the verse above and tell them that their prayers can change the world. I encourage you to use Philippians 4:6-7 as your prayer guide as a family. Talk about the verse, act it out, and then pray in response to each line. Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need and thank Him for all He has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.
**Don’t worry about anything – make a list of the things you are worried about.
**Take that list and pray over each item.
**Tell God what you want and need.
**Thank Him for what He has done in the past.
**Thank Him for what He is going to do now.
Years ago, the kids and I went through the Kingdom training classes. One night, I was selected to be a part of the team to ask Jesus (prophesy) what He wanted to say to each person. There had to be well over 150 people lined up around the room. It was a powerful night of activation for me. I got to the end, and Jary was waiting, but when I got to her, she turned the tables on me and began to prophesy such deep rich words of life over me. It is hard to explain all that happened at that moment. All I know is that I received something so profound through this woman’s prayers. Years later, I can say that I am walking in what she released over me.
The number one thing I hear my children thank me for is teaching them how to hear God. We had a long season where they were learning and growing. We practiced and strengthened their spiritual muscle of hearing (just like reading the Word, worshiping, or praying). I was teaching them that He is safe, good, and trustworthy. In the beginning, it was never about the fruit; it was about building a relationship with Him so that they knew He was there in their time of need. They have repeatedly witnessed Him speaking, showing up, leading, guiding, correcting, healing, loving, encouraging, and helping them. With all of the parenting methods out there today, I am convinced the two greatest gifts I can give my children are knowing how to hear their Father and helping them resolve hurts, lies, and offenses.
Grab your copy today: Conversations with our Creator eBook – Let the Children Fly
Such a precious testimony of how this mom is training her son to hear God in a time of peace.
“My son wanted to take a toy to the kids’ club at the gym. Instead of saying yes or no, I had him ask Jesus. Right away, he heard no. We talked about how we always listen to Jesus and what He says about things. A few days later, he wanted to bring the same toy and told me that Jesus said it was ok. I was suspicious but decided not to be the middleman in the situation with God. He brought the toy and almost left it at the gym (my daughter remembered and got it for him). Later, I asked him if it was Jesus that said he could bring the toy to the gym or himself. Right away, he admitted it was his voice. It opened up a great conversation about why we need to listen to Jesus. Thanks for the encouragement that he really does hear at 3.5 years of age. I continue to ask the Lord for creative and fun ideas for teaching my kids to hear. I’m excited about what He has for us this year!”
If you have read many posts of Let the Children Fly, you will know that hearing God is a core ingredient to partnering with Him in your parenting. The fruit is literally changing the next generation!
I grew up with a legalistic pressure to witness to others. There was little emphasis on loving the person, just on getting them ‘saved.’ Needless to say, this approach made for some painfully awkward moments. Jesus was all about the person, loving them where they were and offering them hope for the future. He doesn’t tell us to do this out of our own strength, but rather with the power He has given us (see Matthew 10:7-8 and Mark 16:17-18). We are commanded to usher the things in heaven to earth everywhere we go so that people will see the Kingdom of God is real, alive, and active today. I call this playing in the Kingdom because there is an element of childlike joy, ease, and fun that goes hand in hand with partnering with God on earth. God gives us incredible gifts like speaking to us, hearing what He has to say to others through us, healing the sick, and revealing hidden things. (See John 16:13, John 14:12, Deuteronomy 29:29, Matthew 10:8, and 2 Peter 1:21). It is a privilege and honor to be able to play in His Kingdom.
I was teaching parents about healing and seeking God first and got this message the next day. Holy Spirit is the best Teacher, and He often illustrates the lessons with real-life situations.
“Wow… this is so awesome. I had one of my usual horrible headaches, which I normally try to ignore and massage away and then eventually need to take some extra strong pain killer to cope the rest of the day. As I was reading through today’s lesson, I started praying for healing again, which I had not done in a while, and I instantly felt relief and 8 hours later, I still have no need for medicine. I guess more than anyone in the family, it is me who is learning how to play in the Kingdom again – so that it becomes a lifestyle for my children.”
When I was teaching the children about the prophetic, I asked the kids to ask Papa what He wanted to say to the front desk gal at the doctor’s office. Kids barely recalled who she was, but were confident God knew her, and we asked anyway. One got “God’s not mad at you,” another got “It’s not your fault.” The youngest one just drew a picture of a dog. And another got a picture of a present with the message, “Something good is coming your way soon.” I wasn’t sure if I should release the words since they seemed a little out there, but I felt God was telling her it was okay. When they arrived, she was away from her desk, but her computer screen had a picture of her and a dog. When she returned, they asked her if that was her dog, and she started crying. I felt led to share the prophetic cards, and then the lady shared that something awful happened to the dog, and she felt like it was her fault and shouldn’t be trusted with another dog. The cards meant a lot to her hurting heart and removed the guilt. Our flowing in the prophetic as a family has allowed us to be the light to those around us.
