I was reading a book and felt an invitation to ask Father God, “Are You mad at me?” My mind knows He is not, but my heart needed to hear it. I then asked Jesus and the Holy Spirit the same question. I was undone by their responses of love, grace, and tenderness to me. Oh, do we ever have a fortress around us in our time of need. It’s okay to need to ask Him to show you His truth.
I want to lead you into an encounter with Jesus.
#1. Ask, “Jesus, will You please show me a picture of what my child’s life would look like being connected to You?” #2. Go tell them! “Hey, guess what Jesus just told me about you?”
Hearing from God and then releasing it over our children is a way to help them connect to His heart.
Moms and Dads, we have some important work to do today. I was on a prayer call with some mama bears and God had me go after this hard with them. A few messaged me immediately afterwards saying this was for their child.
There is a spirit of hopelessness, death, and suicide being released in waves to the Body of Christ in this hour. Many adults have heard the whisper themselves, catching them off guard.
It is one thing to have a mature adult brain and hear that spirit whisper lies of hopelessness, and it is another to be a child with a brain that isn’t fully developed to try and process what they are hearing. Children naturally assume anything they hear inside their head is them when in reality, part of it can be a spirit.
Yes, some children are so overwhelmed by life, lack of coping skills, and the trauma they have endured that they are partnering with death as a way to escape. They need legitimate help and care as they process their pain.
That is not what I am talking about here. I am talking about a demonic spirit of death that has whispered an invitation to end life. I am talking about helping children discern that this spirit is not them. I am talking about the enemy’s lies in this hour to get people to partner with him in his agenda to take us off course.
I want to give you the steps to help them. They need to know you are there to help them fight this lying spirit off of them.
First, confess to Jesus if you have heard, entertained, or come under the power of this lie-based invitation to end it. “Jesus, I confess that I have…”
Second, break agreement with it. “I break agreement with the lie of suicide. I break its hold on me and influence over me in Jesus’ name.”
Third, invite Holy Spirit to come and fill your mind, body, and spirit with His peace. Ask Him to wash your mind, eyes, ears, and words with His truth. Let Him saturate you with His perfect love.
I encourage you to partner with Holy Spirit on how to move forward with your child. I suggest doing this 1:1 or as a family meeting.
You don’t have to start out using the words suicide, death, or killing yourself. You can approach it more gently.
Be led by the Holy Spirit in the conversation. He will guide you as you yield to Him.
I suggest filling their love tanks first and affirming your love and care for them. I would use language such as, “Sweetie, some people are sharing that they just feel like life isn’t worth it anymore, or they don’t want to be around anymore. Have you ever thought that or felt that? It is okay if you have and you haven’t done anything wrong, but I want to help you with that if you have.”
Just speaking about it loosens the enemy’s grip. You can invite them to write you a letter if they need to share anything with you but don’t feel comfortable telling you directly.
If a child admits they have heard the thoughts to harm themselves, I encourage you to #1. Keep your peace. #2. Don’t assume they are moving into acting on it. There is a difference between being suicidal and hearing the lies about it. #3. They are overcoming and defeating it by confessing it. Praise them for being honest and bringing it into the light. Ask them, “I am sure hearing that thought to harm yourself was scary. Is that something you desire to do, or was it an unwanted thought?”
If they admit they desire to act on it, it is time to get them additional direct help. If they express it was an unwanted thought, the following will be helpful.
Explain to them the difference between throwing up and being sneezed on. Throwing up is something sick inside of you that needs to get out. But being sneezed on is being slimed by someone else who is sick. Hearing a random unwanted thought is being sneezed upon. It is important to realize it is coming ON you and not from WITHIN you.
You can confidently speak when you tell them it wasn’t from Jesus, and therefore they can reject it. Read together 2 Corinthians 10:5-7 – “Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ.” Tell them they can cast down that thought.
You cast it down by confessing it, declaring it is a lie and that you do not accept it, telling it to go, and asking Jesus to fight for you.
Moms and Dads, I would pray over your children, ask for a hedge of protection, and invite the angels to shield them from this demonic spirit. This is part of your spiritual covering over them.
Give your child permission to come and tattle-tell on the enemy when they hear these thoughts and that you will always help them win the battle.
This one stirs my heart, and I want you to know that there is hope and VICTORY in the name of Jesus.
There are two ways to teach a child how to swim – on dry land, where you explain everything to their mind, OR by putting them in the water and giving them step-by-step instructions on how to survive.
God is inviting MANY into the pool right now and wants to teach you how to use spiritual tools that have not yet been used before. It can be scary for a small child to hold their breath underwater for the first time, but once they trust their instructor’s instructions, they can master the skill and enjoy playing in the water. God wants to teach His children how to master the weapons of heaven so that they can play in His Kingdom on earth.
How many of you have felt a strange heaviness or unique feelings that you know are not you? After posting about what I was feeling in the atmosphere (this constant sense like I was in big trouble. Yet I knew it wasn’t me personally), many of you have messaged me saying, “Oh, I thought I was going crazy until I read your post.” No, no, no, you are not going crazy. God does not allow us to see, hear, or feel things in the spiritual realm just to crush us. Yes, some things are indeed big and heavy, but the purpose of having discernment is for Him to use you on earth.
So first, if you have been feeling foreign and unique things that you know isn’t you (coming from unprocessed pain, unforgiveness, or offense), pinpoint what it is that you are feeling/sensing. This heaviness feels like _____. Second, ask, “Jesus, thank You for giving me spiritual eyes to see and ears to hear. What do You want me to do in response to this?” Third, OBEY whatever He tells you. He is the Commander of heaven and earth and knows how to lead His people. Your job is not to have it all figured out and understand the big picture. Your responsibility is to obey.
I often hear comments about how ‘easy’ it is for me to partner with God in my parenting, as if somehow I have an easy button in parenting because of it (huh?). Yep! I have pressed into hearing Him for my children. Yep! I have some history with Him. Yep! I have faith that He will show up, reveal, and help me. Yep! I have a partner in parenting. But I STILL have to: Exercise that muscle! Make a choice to go to Him! Intentionally listen to Him! Be uncomfortable in the waiting! Trust that He knows more than I do! Surrender my children! I am in a season now where I feel utterly clueless, do not know what to do, and have Mama Bear emotions over my child’s choices. I, too, can often feel like I am at square one in my parenting. My history serves as evidence that He is faithful, but I still have to choose Him and do my part over and over and over again. That is how we build HIStory and partner with Him.
Rest is not being inactive. Rest is the position of our heart after we have released something over to God and left it in His care. We cease taking matters into our own hands and operating in self-sufficiency. We hand over the transaction to Him, and at that moment, we are in restful confidence He can act on our behalf. We rest in the assurance that He is able, capable, mighty, willing, powerful, and active in our lives. Simply put, spiritual orphans can NOT find rest because the world’s weight is on them to self-provide, self-protect, self-defend, and self-secure. But as Sons and Daughters, we have a Father who is alive and well and wants to help us. Have you ever sat on an aircraft and watched people attempt to put their luggage in the overhead compartment? They struggle to lift the weight of their carry-on above their head while juggling their coffee, trying hard not to hit the person in front of them. Along comes a flight attendant in full confidence in their ability to help lighten the load and get them situated. Have you ever watched a child struggle to tie their shoes or fasten their pant button? They get frustrated easily with their lack of ability. A loving parent comes alongside them and, with ease, eagerly helps them. The Father is like the flight attendant wanting to carry your load. The Father is like a loving parent wanting to help in your time of need. Rest is not simply doing nothing. Rest is releasing your burdens for Him to do something.
HeartWork – “Jesus, I surrender and hand to You my burden of _____.”
I came to my spiritual mentor crying over the choices of someone else. I was enduring suffering at the hands of their brokenness. I will never forget his response to me. He said, “Lisa, turn all that emotion into prayers that God would encounter them because one encounter with Jesus can heal their heart, align their mind and restore what is broken inside them.” At first, I couldn’t do it. I was too hurt to love them ‘that much.’ I then began to see that deep down, they weren’t trying to hurt me, but their brokenness was hurting not only me but them as well. It positioned me to intercede for them in a whole new way. Sometimes we get hurt because there is stuff in our hearts that God wants to heal and restore. Other times we get hurt because those around us need freedom.
I want you to consider this: if you are a born-again believer, you have access to two essential things.
First, you have the Holy Spirit inside of you. Teaching isn’t what He does; it is who He IS. His creativity is endless, and He always brings the right teaching tool at the right moment!
Second, you have a teacher’s anointing. It might not be for a classroom or with other children, but if you are a parent, you have God’s anointing, grace, and empowerment to teach your children.
Remembering and accessing these two realities will profit you greatly in your role as a parent!
“Dear Holy Spirit, thank You that as Sons and Daughters, we have You inside of us, and You are creative! Thank You that teaching isn’t what You do, but it is who You are. Thank You for placing inside of me the anointing to teach my children right-living with joy creatively. I break agreement with the spirit of fear – the fear of man and what others think of me and the fear of my children and their displeasure with me when I expect more of them. Fear is not my companion nor the tool I use in parenting. It is simply not welcome in our family. I break the agreement with perfectionism and performance-based parenting. I declare that I have the freedom to flow as the Spirit leads me with my children, and the only standard that I will hold myself to is what He has asked me to do. I break the agreement with the lie that ‘I am ruining my child if I am firm with them.’ I break the agreement with the lie that “It is my job to keep them comfortable.’ My God-given role is to teach, equip, and empower them so that they can go on to lead a successful and fruitful Kingdom-minded life. I break the agreement with excuses for my child, not walking in good character, and excuses that I have given myself for not going after this in our household. I declare that not only am I more than enough for my children, but I was hand-picked for the job to train them! God has entrusted me with much, and I will steward it well. Amen.”
The Kingdom Era will be marked by families moving from busyness to connection. Anxiety to empowerment. Compromise to authority. Mark my words – this is what God is doing in families, and you either align yourself with Him, or you miss it because you refuse to let go of the old.
Church Era in families – busyness, anxiety, compromise.
Kingdom Era in families – connection, empowerment, authority.
Does anyone ever have a moment when God shows you something in your parenting, and you feel profound guilt and shame? Instead of viewing the revelation through the eyes that you have harmed or hindered your child, view it through the eyes of God using your child to restore what was lost in you. The sudden attack of condemnation is the enemy’s attempt to remind you of your lack so that you do not partner with God’s goodness and redemption. You have permission to step over the condemnation and fully embrace God’s goodness and kindness towards you.
I was so struck while reading Psalm 119:143 – “In my distress and anguish your commandments comfort me.” I was reading commands as in obedience, but as I sat with this longer, the revelation came. What does God command us to do? To praise, not fear, rejoice, and give thanks. Whoa!
Praise – gets our eyes off our circumstances and on Him. We become whatever we set our gaze to.
Not fear – fear sabotages our faith.
Rejoice – means to partner with.
JOY – joy releases a natural chemical in our brain that restores our passion and fight.
Give thanks – focuses on what He has already done (and is capable of doing again).
The nature of distress is extreme anxiety. The nature of anguish is server suffering. God’s COMMANDS bring us back to the reality that He sees. He is in control; He is able; He has done it before and can do it again. Yes, His commands comfort me.
