LET’S ASK JESUS

LET’S ASK JESUS

  • Hearing God's Voice, Let's Ask Jesus

LET’S ASK JESUS

“Jesus, will You please show me how You feel about my mother/father/sister/brother?”

Ask for each family member and then share what you heard. 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 it gives you a chance to model how you communicate with God, increases their faith, and you get to see and encounter Him as a family. Spiritual healing is a muscle that is strengthened over time, like worshiping and praying. The more you do it, the stronger you become at it.

HE DOESN’T HEAR

I feel the need to share that when we started practicing hearing God’s voice ourselves, some kids got it really fast, while others took longer. At times, I started to feel pressured or would believe the lie that they weren’t getting it, but, like reading, once it clicked, they took off. Is it really a tool we want to risk backing off just because it might take them a little longer than we think it should? Also, for Hudson, I kept saying, “What did you HEAR?” and he would say nothing. Finally, I realized that something was going on and asked God to show me what it was. I realized that he wasn’t ‘hearing’ anything but ‘seeing’ pictures. Once I changed my verbiage to, “What did you get?”, he instantly started ‘hearing’. I urge you not to worry or get too caught up in the process, but I do encourage you to keep sowing into it. When a parent laments that their two-year-old isn’t getting it, I smile and encourage them to keep practicing because when they are three, they are going to be further along than most thirty-year-olds. 

Children hear without filters and the fear of man, and they are void of a religious spirit or awareness of social etiquette. Their ears are pure, and we need to protect them. They have the ability to hear quickly. We need to trust what they are hearing. The Spirit taught me that if I was going to teach my children to hear Father God, I had to guard against positioning myself as the middleman. This can be a hard place for a mama to rest in, but I do not want to create a dependency upon me whenever my kids hear Holy Spirit whispering to them. If what they hear seems a little fishy or self-motivated, do NOT call that out, as it could squelch their listening ears. Instead, treat it like practicing their ABC’s. A lack of perfection doesn’t mean they shouldn’t try it again, nor do you make them feel bad for missing the letter M. It means that they must keep practicing. If it wasn’t the Lord, I promise He will organize the circumstances to reveal that in a teachable moment. The only time I get to test if the word they say is from God is if it truly is out of line with the Scriptures. Tread with grace as they are exercising their spiritual muscles and seek not to shut them down.

If your child is not interested in practicing, I question two things: #1. Have you spent enough time teaching it to them? Kids who feel like Mom/Dad expect something from them (hearing Jesus) but do not understand what you mean will shut down out of fear of disappointing you. #2. Are you making it FUN? The Kingdom is righteousness, peace, and JOY and if it isn’t FUN, then you are most likely partnering with a religious spirit of expectation or performance.

STRENGTHENING OUR SPIRITUAL EARS

Here are some fun ways to strengthen the spiritual hearing of the whole family. I STRONGLY encourage you to practice together in fun ways in times of peace, so that during times of trouble they already know Jesus is a safe and trusted friend. Doing this as a family is super helpful because it gives everyone a chance to learn from each other and creates a family lifestyle of inviting Jesus. If a child states they don’t hear anything, I simply ask them to listen again, and we come back to them after everyone else has shared.
When you are sending out a birthday card, have the kids ask God what He wants to say to that person, and then draw them a picture (you can caption it based on what they heard).
When you have extra time on your hands, have the kids ask God what you should do with your time. These are some of our best adventures!
When you can’t find something, have the kids ask Jesus to show them a picture of where it is.
When they are upset about something, have the kids ask God to show them what is bothering them.
When you come up against something ‘different,’ ask Jesus what He wants them to do about it.
When you see a homeless man, have the kids ask God what He wants them to know about that person.
When they are behaving poorly, have them ask Jesus to show them what they did wrong (instead of YOU telling them).
Ask Jesus how He feels about the person next to them. This is fun to do at the dinner table or in the car.
When they are struggling, ask Jesus how His heart feels about that.
Ask Jesus what is important to Him regarding your family.
The ideas are endless! You can’t practice strengthening their ears enough.
Do children hear from the enemy? Yes! Who of us didn’t have encounters with paralyzing fear, nightmares, or recurring horrible thoughts as a child? First, the more the children are connected to GOD’S voice, the easier it will be for them to spot the enemy’s voice. I never taught my kids when they were small the words ‘devil’, ‘demon’, ‘evil’, ‘hell’, etc. I simply said that God has an enemy who works against Him. Enough said! Because the enemy is fear-based, I didn’t want my children to be educated about him. I just focused on the goodness of God so when the enemy came, there was such a drastic difference that they could spot it. The more they grew, the more I increased the teaching as it related to their world. What does the Word say to do when we are faced with the enemy? Resist him, and he will flee. Children can do this!
THE ENEMY IS ALREADY DEFEATED
It is important children know that God and the devil are not at war. God has already won, and the enemy is always on the bottom – always!
CATCH AND RELEASE
Kids who walk in their authority need to have a healthy view of how big God is and how defeated the enemy is, but when we believe lies, we are actually partnering with the wrong kingdom. Teach children by playing a game of catch calling out truth/lie statements. When they catch the ball have them discern if that was a truth or a lie. Such as, “You shouldn’t steal that cookie. That is not honest.” Then I would ask, “Which voice was that?” Then I would say things like, “You are stupid. No one likes you,” and would ask which voice that was. Later when they were playing with each other I would often call out, “Hey, which voice do you think you are partnering with right now?” or “Is that something that would come from God’s Kingdom?” Don’t just focus on the negative stuff. Ask these questions when they are being kind and loving, too. Growing in discernment over lies is vital to their spiritual health.
I had a mentor who really made my spiritual ears come to life. I remember going to her with my ‘issues’ and she would always say, “Can we ask Jesus about that?” It was an odd concept to me that we could ask Him about the ordinary, everyday life stuff. We don’t have to keep Him reserved for just the big spiritual stuff. He wants in on the little things that concern and matters to us, too. Get in the habit of simply asking often, “Jesus, what do YOU think about that?”

HEARING GOD AS A FAMILY

Family devotions were led by Hudson one morning, and I was curious to see what he would come up with. When he woke, I reminded him it was his day and asked if he was ready. His response was, “Nope,” but I could tell his wheels were spinning. He grabbed his sister’s devotions, which touched me deeply, knowing that he was ministering to four females. While seeking Jesus is unisex, I was so touched by this thoughtfulness. He talked about getting hurt by friends and how we sometimes have to stand alone but that we are never alone with Jesus. He did a great job of engaging us and asking us questions about the passage he had just read. One of the things I cherish most about my family is the way we all support each other by asking Jesus questions together. We each got to ask something as the rest of us listened to what Jesus had to say. It is so life-giving and encouraging to hear what everyone heard Him say, which is the very essence of the prophetic (hearing God for others).

LET’S ASK JESUS

Ask, “Jesus, how do You feel about me right now?”

Please write it down. You can’t listen to lies about your worth when you know what the Creator of the universe says about you.

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!

YOUR FATHER WANTS TO TALK TO YOU!

How many times a day do you talk to your child? To communicate love? Lead? Inform? Correct? Speak identity? Instruct? Comfort? How many times a day do you listen to what your Father wants to say to you?

JESUS PRAYS FOR YOU

I love asking Jesus questions. And I love hearing what He has to say. Recently someone invited me to ask, “Jesus, what are You praying for me today?” And the concept messed with me a bit. We are in a significant season, and we will step into all that we have been contending for in the past season. It’s a powerful moment for me personally, as well as Let the Children Fly. The resistance, warfare, and battle in the spiritual realm has been real – very real. I asked Jesus what He was praying for me today, and I saw a proud parent watching their child play in a school band recital. The joy on the Father’s face was more beautiful than the music. But then the scene changed, and I saw a father and child with backpacks on as they began to climb a mountain – together. I got emotional as I realized the Lord was saying He has been praying for me to learn how to do things WITH Him (the climb) and not just FOR Him (the recital). That is exactly what He has taught me in this season and what brought me to this place of profound breakthrough. We can only go alone so far, but when we learn how to walk with Him in our journey, He takes us further, deeper, and higher.

LET’S ASK JESUS

“Jesus, who do You want me to show extra kindness to today?”

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 witness how God communicates with you, it increases their faith, and you get to encounter Him as a whole family. Spiritual hearing is a muscle that is strengthened by worshiping and praying. The more you do it, the stronger you become at it.