HELPING CHILDREN GROW

HELPING CHILDREN GROW

  • Hearing God's Voice, Playing in the Kingdom

HELPING CHILDREN GROW

The kids all gave prophetic words to the members of my new class. Emma could not join us, so she wrote out some cards and asked me to hand them out. The kids did a great job, and the words were powerful. I handed one of the cards to a mom and noticed during the meeting she was quiet, almost timid, and felt like maybe she wouldn’t be coming back.

After class, she was brave enough to approach me and asked for clarification on Emma’s word. Emma wrote many powerful things about this woman’s child, but there was a line where Emma wrote, “The enemy is coming to take your child out.” This poor mom was mortified, scared, and confused. Normally that would be a word to FLUSH and not partner with, but since I know Emma’s history and that she hears God so well, I asked the mom to put a pause button on the word and give me time to talk to Emma when I got home. I immediately asked her if she remembered the word, and she began to say, “Oh yes, I haven’t forgotten about it. Mom, that lady’s child is so powerful, and God is growing and training them now in childhood for their calling. It is really powerful. I saw the enemy trying to bump them off track and get them to lay down their calling because they are so discouraged…” I asked her if she knew what the term ‘take them out’ meant, and she gasped, realizing what she had written. She meant the enemy was trying to take them out of their lane, not ‘take them out’ as in death.

While my daughter heard a very powerful word (which included a strategy for the mother to help her child stay encouraged), she clearly missed it on the delivery. No parent would be encouraged to hear the enemy was trying to ‘take out’ their child. Sometimes we have to cover our children as they are growing and learning. It is okay to make mistakes when we are there to catch them and help them process and grow in their capacity. Parents should be a safe place for children to play in the Kingdom.

LET’S ASK JESUS

Ask, “Jesus, if my life was a movie, what would You name it?”

Gather as a family in the living room, in the car, at the dinner table, or bedtime, and ask Jesus together. This is so empowering for children because they get to witness how God communicates with you, which increases their faith, and together you get to encounter Him. Spiritual hearing is a muscle that is strengthened by worshiping and praying. The more you do it, the stronger you become at it.

INVITATION TO PLAY

Imagine a child who watches every football game with their dad and longs to be just like them when they grow up. Their world revolves around their favorite sports hero. Picture that child playing catch only to realize he can’t hold the ball well. He walks away in utter defeat and concludes football is not for him. He spends a great deal of mental energy and time pushing away his deepest desire and longing to play. This is what so many adults do with playing in the Kingdom. They see others modeling things like healing the sick, prophesying, walking in their destiny, using their voice, and bearing fruit, and they eagerly try it on themselves, only to conclude that they don’t hear God speaking to them. They walk away in utter defeat and conclude they are disqualified from their greatest longing and dreams coming true. No child starts out scoring touchdowns. It takes practice and a determination anchored in faith to play well. If you desire to play in the Kingdom but are aware you lack hearing Him, that is not evidence of being disqualified; it is AN INVITATION to learn. Like any good coach will tell you, you start there and work on the foundational skills first. 

One of my all-time favorite books is by Mark Virkler called 4 Keys to Hearing God – Teen Edition. I love this book because you can read it as a family. Each section is short, easy to read, and provides excellent activation activities to do as a family.

You aren’t disqualified; you are INVITED!

COMMUNION

Look at this precious testimony from a mom embracing taking communion together as a family.

“We had out-of-town company get to our house last night, and we didn’t do our normal evening family devotions and communion. My kids went to bed, and I was up talking with company when, an hour later, my 7-year-old daughter came out of her room, didn’t say a word but went to pour herself juice and break bread for Communion. She sat at the table like this and prayed while she partook. Then she came and hugged me and simply said, ‘I felt like I needed to do this.’ And went to bed. My mama’s heart burst.”

ATMOSPHERE SHIFTERS

I believe this statement includes our children on the playground, in the classroom and with friends! 

“As Christians we should be the best atmosphere shifters on the planet.”

DOES GOD STILL SPEAK TODAY?

Before you can teach your children how to hear their Father, you will need to align your thinking with heaven. First, you have to resolve the following question in your heart – does Father God speak to His children? If He does, you must stand in faith that it will happen. If you don’t believe His voice is for today, then you are walking in doubt, and that alone is an earmuff that blocks your hearing. If you do not believe that He wants to speak to you as a parent, then you will have a tough time acknowledging when He is speaking to your children. Often, we expect God to get our attention by screaming at us, and THEN we will believe He speaks. While He can do anything, typically, it is our faith that allows us to experience the Kingdom. John 11:40. 

Let me give you an example: A child learns in Sunday school that Jesus wants to speak to him, and he BELIEVES it. He goes to bed that night and asks Jesus to speak to him in his dreams. He wakes up the following day and runs downstairs to tell his mom that Jesus took him all over the world and showed him that he would go before a king and tell him about Jesus. The mom says, “Ha, that is a wild dream, all right, but you can’t really go around the world like that.” The child declares, “No, Jesus took me. I saw Him, and He told me I would tell kings about Him.” Mom smiles and assures Junior that kids aren’t allowed to see kings for they are too important. No matter how much Junior insists it is real, Mom teaches him about reality. The child walks away, partnering with his all-knowing mother, and pushes the silly dream aside. These are generally the kids who are most hardened to the Christian faith down the road because they tried it and felt burned. Guess who the enemy uses the most to put earmuffs on a child? Yep, the unbelieving Christian parent. What if Mom responded, “WOW, Buddy, that is amazing. I believe Jesus speaks to us and can do it while we sleep because He never sleeps. I believe He created you to be a powerful mouthpiece for Him and that He has plans for your future far above your wildest dreams. How about you draw me a picture of your dream?” 

Which parent do you want to be? Go ahead and spend a moment honestly processing your belief. Does God speak to His children today? 

A – Absolutely! 

B – I believe but haven’t experienced it.

C – I haven’t seen it, so I don’t believe it.

D – I was taught He doesn’t speak.

DID YOU ASK HIM?

We pray, fast, ask others, do it on our own strength, lean on our understanding… but have we simply asked Him? Learning how to communicate with our Father and hear what He has to share with us is part of becoming a Son or Daughter. This eBooklet will not only strengthen your spiritual hearing but help you teach your children. 

Character Training SOAR Magazine – Let the Children Fly

HOW FAR WOULD YOU GO?

How far would you go to empower your child’s faith? A dear brother mentioned they were coming to Redding for a quick trip. I could feel something so strong on this trip but he did not communicate the purpose. The night before they came I asked a friend if he would be willing to get a word for the family. But in the morning as we were getting ready for church, I felt like God said to focus on the eldest daughter. I called my friend and asked if he would seek God’s heart for her specifically. After the service, they remained in their chairs as the Lord was touching the daughter deeply. We connected with my friend who gave her a very powerful word. Hours later, back at my house, I asked him what made him feel led to come out. He shared that during their church planting summer in Spain, God began to speak to him about truly preparing his children for the call of mission. That it wasn’t just about taking them along but truly preparing the next generation. Shortly after their return from Spain his eldest daughter said, “I think God told me that we are supposed to go to Bethel.” This father booked round trip tickets for five, two hotel rooms and a rental car for a less than 24-hour trip JUST to sow into his daughter hearing from God and empower her in that area. He wanted to strengthen her own faith and get behind what God was doing in her life. Jesus, bless this father for having eyes to see that his daughter was learning how to hear you and getting behind it. Give us eyes to see how we can strengthen our children’s spiritual muscles.

I’M SO HAPPY

“We were out shopping, and my son had his money in hand. He was on the hunt for something to buy in a store that he usually wouldn’t buy something in. He had money, and it was a lot to his standards, and he had the urge to spend it. He found this watch that he wanted. He showed it to me, and I said it was nice. He already has a watch, but I told him it was up to him. After a while of hanging onto the watch, he came up to me and said, ‘Mom, I asked God if I should spend my money on this watch, and He said I didn’t need it. So, I’m not going to buy it. He’s right.’ I didn’t even have to tell him to ask his Father about it. He turned to Him on his own. My heart was celebrating, and I told him I was proud of him for making the right choice and listening to God. Thank you. Thank you for your help, your words, and for showing us how to seek God in everything we do.”

LET’S ASK JESUS

“Jesus, would You please show me a picture of someone? Jesus, what do You want me to tell them?”

Write it out in a text, card, or email and share it with them. Gather as a family in the living room, in the car, at the dinner table, or at bedtime, and ask Jesus together. This is so empowering for children because they get to witness how God communicates with you, which increases their faith, and together you get to encounter Him. Spiritual hearing is a muscle that is strengthened by worshiping and praying. The more you do it, the stronger you become at it.

BE INTENTIONAL

One morning, Lauren (then 15) led our family devotions. All of the kids woke up super late and assumed that waking late meant we would forgo our new commitment to meet in the living room at 7 EVERY morning to spend time with Jesus as a family. We talked about the sacrifice it sometimes takes to follow Jesus and that if their outfit, hair, makeup, packed lunch, etc., were perfect, it would add little to their day, but giving God room and time to speak to them would fill them in a way the other things can’t. Lauren chose to read to us from her daily devotion about the urgency of the Lord’s return and making every day count. She had each of us think of one person in our world that needed to know they were loved, and then we asked Jesus to show us HOW. Lauren shared that God highlighted a new girl at school who was crying. When she asked Him HOW she could love her, He said to hand her a card with her phone number on it and invite her to come over for dinner and go to youth group with her. The Spirit of God was all over this assignment, and we spent the rest of the time praying for Lauren’s confidence to walk in love and obedience. The ONLY thing Lauren had planned was to read the verse. God showed up and did the rest. We don’t have to be a Bible scholar, school teacher, or executive leader to usher our children to Jesus. We need to be intentional about making space and have faith He will show up.