LET’S ASK JESUS
“Jesus, would You be willing to reveal to me what needs to come into alignment in our family?”
“Jesus, would You be willing to reveal to me what needs to come into alignment in our family?”
Years ago, as a homeschool mom of four, we went to the library weekly. I cared deeply about what their little minds were feasting on and had a high guard against witchcraft, sexual material, and language. They would bombard me with, “Mom, can I rent this one?” I finally said one day, “Ask your Father!” They asked Jesus, and 9 out of 10 times, He said NO. The amazing thing about children hearing their Father is that their spirit knows it is the truth and can be trusted. I was filled with joy to receive this testimony.
“We’ve been slowly learning to hear His voice. My nine-year-old just came to me with a book on cd from the library and said that God told him not to listen to that one. He put it back on our library shelf. I’m so thankful for your teachings that have helped me connect my kids directly to Him, as I do not have time to pre-read every book they want to read.”
Too many believers have limited their relationship with God with the written Word (which is very important and must be our anchor of truth), but He wants us to relate to Him, hear Him, feel His love, and experience Him. I liken the difference to wives whose husbands are overseas; while they may exchange beautiful love letters, it is not the same as the wife whose husband is there every night holding her, kissing her, and protecting her. The latter is the kind of love Jesus wants to have with us. We all know no marriage would be healthy or survive without communication. That is how personal God wants our relationship with Him to be. How could anyone find that level of intimacy with someone without talking, listening, and responding to each other? I have often heard people say that they believed God loved them in the “He loves the world” sense but had never fully understood how much He loved THEM personally until they heard Him speaking to them.
Let’s invite Holy Spirit to do what He does best. Pray out loud: “Holy Spirit, I invite You to come and remove everything and anything acting as earmuffs. I want to hear my Father’s voice more and more. I grant You permission to teach me anything You want about my Father’s voice. Come and have Your way with me.” Do we think that after all He went through to get us to come to Him, He suddenly has nothing more to say to us? God wants to speak to YOU!
We were in the midst of our move when a leader asked for Hudson to come and be filmed receiving a prophetic word. That was great, but the leader insisted he show up in a tie. My son was less than amused, and I wasn’t able to do much about it as our boxes were already packed. He said he would figure out the clothes but just to get him there. Like most teen boys, Hudson was a bit miffed at having to wear someone else’s clothing but did it and honored their wishes. But then I got an email saying they had to redo the filming since the lighting wasn’t as good as with the others. Hudson said no, thank you. I got another email and another and another. I was trying to say goodbyes and pack the last of our items and yet felt obligated to honor their request. I finally told Hudson to reply, stating his reason for not coming back up.
Here is his email: “Dear _____, I do not mean to be disrespectful at all, but I do not feel you are using the prophetic in the way it was intended. Prophetic words come from God, through you, to me, and you have already given me that word. I do not see why I need to wear a tie to receive what God wants to say to me. If I come back in and get filmed with you giving me a word, it will be fake because I already received it and can’t act on camera like I did the first time. I am sorry, but I will not be coming back in. I hope you are able to use the first video.”
I grit my teeth a bit when he first read it to me as my ‘honor your leader’ bells were going off, but I heard the Lord say, “He is right,” and I let the chips fall wherever they needed to fall as the leader received his email.
God so loved the world that He gave His only Son. “Jesus, will You show me a picture of how much YOU love me?”
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.
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!
I encourage you to set an alarm on your phone, and every time it goes off, no matter where you are and what you are doing, ask yourself, “Jesus, how do You feel about me right now?” You will be surprised by what He has to say at that very moment.
When parents find themselves parenting harshly, it generally stems from a belief that love must be earned. While this is not true about their heart for their child, it was the belief that they were raised in. Performance and pressure are the ingredients to be loved. This operating system is not Kingdom and will not produce the fruit of love, connection, and trust that we desire with our families.
Do you find yourself being overly harsh, firm, and rigid in your parenting? Ask, “Jesus, will You please show me what LIE I believe about raising my children?” Verbally break agreement with the lie. Ask Jesus for HIS truth.
I was coaching a mom whose daughter was believing lies about herself. When the mom asked her to ask Jesus, she said, “I don’t hear Him speaking to me.” The mom went on to say she hears Him well when she worships and isn’t sure how to help her ‘hear.’ I encouraged her to have her daughter take the statement she believed about herself and turn it into a song. If it was life-giving, brought peace, and one that people would sing at Church, she could be assured it was a true statement about herself. If the church wouldn’t adopt her song, neither should she. Oh, baby girl, your spiritual ears work just fine!!
How many people would like to have coffee with Jesus in the flesh for just for one hour? Could you imagine how that encounter would change your life? I am not sure I would do much talking but would be ALL ears to whatever He had to say. But listen to what Jesus Himself says in John 16:4-7 – “I didn’t tell you this earlier because I was with you every day. But now I am on my way to the One who sent me. Not one of you has asked, ‘Where are you going?’ Instead, the longer I’ve talked, the sadder you’ve become. So let me say it again, this truth: It’s better for you that I leave. If I don’t leave, the Friend won’t come. But if I go, I’ll send him to you.” Jesus is saying someone is coming that is BETTER than being able to sit with Him 1:1. The Friend, the Holy Spirit of God, comes to and for us.
Look what is stated in Matthew 13:16-17 – “But you have God-blessed eyes – eyes that see! And God-blessed ears – ears that hear! A lot of people, prophets and humble believers among them, would have given anything to see what you are seeing, to hear what you are hearing, but never had the chance.” They never had the chance because the Friend, the Helper, the Holy Spirit had not yet come.
I just assumed that all believers heard God speaking the way I did; after all, that IS what the Word says – “His sheep will know His voice.” I vividly recall talking to a friend one day about hearing God, and while she loved the Lord, she said she had never heard Him speak. That blew me away. It opened my eyes to the fact that so few children hear their Father’s voice. I started teaching classes, and it has been a life mission of mine to help connect young and old to hearing their Father’s voice. Jesus says He loves us, and we are to bank our entire being around that; but how can we really know that love unless we experience and hear it?
John 15:5 (MSG) says, “I am the Vine, you are the branches. When you’re joined with me and I with you, the relationship is intimate and organic, and the harvest is sure to be abundant. Separated, you can’t produce a thing that will last. Anyone who separates from me is deadwood, gathered up and thrown on the bonfire. But if you make yourselves at home with me and my words are at home in you, you can be sure that whatever you ask will be listened to and acted upon. This is how my Father shows who he is – when you produce grapes when you mature as my disciples.”
Did you catch that? When you make room to hear what HE has to say, the harvest is abundant. It doesn’t say when you labor hard or do umpteen good things. It says when you listen to what HE has to say! Do you want your works to fall away someday or last forever in eternity? The key is doing what you hear the Father telling you to do, not what religion, the Jones’, or fear of your mother-in-law tells you to do.
Romans 8:14 shares, “For those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God.” The goal isn’t to be FILLED with the Spirit; the goal is to be LED by His Spirit.
Mind vs. Spirit – All the wisdom in the world doesn’t change a person’s heart. When I speak wisdom, it goes from my mind to your mind. But when Holy Spirit speaks, it goes into your spirit, and that is where the real transformation occurs. One word from Jesus can change more than a 12-week course. This is why it is so crucial that we are often bringing our children to the Lord’s presence to ask Him what HE thinks. This is creating an encounter for our children. Instead of ‘wisdom’ alone guiding them, they are learning they have a relationship with the living God who wants to help them in all situations.
Jeremiah 33:3 – “Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know.”
Why does the Creator of the universe speak to us? Because He sent His Son to die so that we could have connection with His heart because He wants to fulfill His assignments on earth through us because we are no longer orphans, but Sons and Daughters. He speaks to comfort, lead, reveal, heal, redeem, lavish, provide and love us.
Think about what life would be like if you went mute and had to try to teach, train, and love on your children without words. Seriously, think about how many times a day you use your words to guide your children to teach and train them, encourage them, cheer them on and help them. How often do you use your words to lavish love all over them and tell them how precious and beautiful they are to you? Now, how many times a day do you let your Father speak to you?
I hear this testimony often and it is so much fun. People will take the class, but before they get to the lesson, Holy Spirit has already taught it in His own way.
A mom shares: “Lisa, last week without me teaching her, my daughter got up one night and told my husband she needed to draw me a picture Jesus gave her. She went on to draw two more over the next few days for me and they were all so prophetic and encouraging to me. She’s never done this before, so once again, it felt like the Holy Spirit was teaching my daughter the lesson I had just learned. He is so pleased with your ministry, Lisa! It’s been amazing to experience Him and see what He has done in my family and me as I have been going through this course. Thank you for allowing Him to use you in this way. I am extremely grateful.”
Our class is not about intellectual parenting information. It is about TRANSFORMATION!
Register now: Journey – ONLINE CLASS – Let the Children Fly