The more you become a Son/Daughter, the more conflict you will have in areas that did not phase you before. It isn’t that you are getting ‘worse’; it is that God is teaching you who you are, and with that comes an intolerance for the things that oppose your identity and calling. This is where we need to rise up in our authority over the things that once influenced us, but that are now defeated under His foot in our lives.
A mom shares: “My oldest daughter (6) has been having nightmares every single night for months, and last night I used your illustration about the police officer and taking authority to tell fear to leave. Holy Spirit prompted me to tell jealousy to leave. And I saw my daughter get triggered and start to cringe. She couldn’t keep it together. I told her she could do it, and it was a long process of telling her that jealousy has been a bad friend to her since she was 3 (all from Holy Spirit!), and she just nodded in agreement but couldn’t speak it with her mouth. There were tears and frustration and agony from her. It was so deep. We ended the night with her finally repeating after me to break her friendship with jealousy and declaring that her new friend was thankfulness. It was such a powerful moment. That night, she had no nightmares and slept through the night!! My daughter is not a ‘jealous’ type of girl. One would not look at her actions and think that’s what she struggles with. She is thoughtful, sweet, and kind. But God knows what’s going on!”
Giving up control-based parenting does not mean giving up your God-given authority. It does not mean the child is in control, nor does it mean they get to make the decisions. I am not sure which is worse – a parent who partners with the spirit of control or a parent who allows the child to be in control.
How many of you have had some unpretty moments of your mouth releasing things that you later regretted? YEP! I know because many parents have confessed this to me. I want to share something if this is you. There is so much gossip, hatred, wickedness, strife, offense, and slander being released IN the atmosphere.
Picture it like a spray bottle or someone sneezing. If you were to walk by as the water droplets were being released, the water would get on you, and you would now be wet. The water is not coming from WITHIN you; it is coming ON you.
In this hour, there is a real temptation to partner with the venting and releasing. Sadly, children often get the brunt of it. I need not tell many of you how powerful the atmosphere has been. You are called by your Father to use that tongue of yours to declare LIFE, PEACE, TRUTH, and FREEDOM. If the kingdom of darkness is felt, I can assure you how much more powerful the Kingdom of God is to change the atmosphere.
As God was showing this to me, I sensed Him reveal that many have used such sharp words that have caused you to move behind guilt and shame. This is the strategy of the enemy to cripple and render you powerless in this hour. If this is you and you have sinned with your speech and anger, REPENT – go low – confess it to God – make it right with the hearts you have hurt, and then use that tongue of yours to speak life, peace, truth, and freedom. Open your mouth again, and do not allow yourself to be sidelined because you came UNDER something that is not you.
Before your child leaves for school, have them ask, “Jesus, how do You feel about me?” This helps them enter the building with the TRUTH about their identity. When they come home from school, and you notice them being off but aren’t sure why, have them ask again. Sometimes they just need help realigning themselves after being surrounded by spiritual orphans all day.
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.
I have a core value: condemnation and accusation do not get access to me. Of course, if I fail, I repent. If I am wrong, I am humble. But I will not let the enemy speak to me about my journey.
God has given us authority over anything that is out of alignment with the heavens, such as fear, strife, unbelief, anger, anxiety, or doubt. If it is not in heaven, you have authority over it. Rise up, speak to the anger, fear, and unbelief, and say, “NO MORE.” Break up with those nagging thoughts that are like flies swarming around us when we are worn out, tired, or weary. You don’t have to put up with them – deal with them. My bathroom mirror reads, “Stop the nonsense,” meaning I do not cross the mental line and partner with those words. I live by faith, not circumstances.
As a new believer, I was a part of a church that I loved. I loved the leadership, community, and movement. But when we began to worship, I would be plagued with thoughts of how the pastor didn’t want me there. I battled it in my mind thinking I had some hidden insecurity. It was so bad one week that I went to ask a mentor for prayer. In the middle of worship, she brought me to the head pastor and said, “Lisa is struggling with thoughts that you don’t want her here.” I felt a little exposed and silly as he assured me there was room for me. I was able to receive that, but I had to work hard to maintain it. I began to associate going to that church with the incredible challenge it was just to feel ‘fine.’ Years later, I endured the same thing nearly every single week at another church. I hated those thoughts as that was not how I felt as I walked in, yet the moment the worship started, so did my thoughts of not being wanted in that house. I felt like I was a wedding crasher showing up at a church not knowing the bride or groom and like I had no right to be there. It wasn’t until years later I discovered that this is a real demonic spirit called ‘imposter syndrome’ which whispers to you that you are phony, do not belong where you are, and, at any moment, someone is going to call you out for not really belonging there. It tells you that you have no right to be called, included, or seen. It is hard to feel connected, safe, and secure with this lying spirit. Why did I battle this at these two locations and not others? Because the spirit was present in that church. Someone needed to discern it, and then someone in authority needed to deal with it. Yes, I had authority over it speaking to me, but it had a legal right in the house to speak to those present and needed to be dealt with on a corporate level. While it was not ‘in’ me, but rather around me, due to my lack of understanding, I was plagued with wondering what was wrong with me. And all be it, so did scores of others.
If you are plagued with these thoughts in your community, check how you are feeling before you walk in. If you walk in feeling like you don’t belong, it could be a soul issue that needs some additional healing from your previous experiences. However, if you are fine walking in and then suddenly attacked with these thoughts, I suggest you find someone who understands the spiritual realm, and you share with them what you are discerning. Your church leadership has authority over this and can pray against it.
I was doing a Parent Coaching session with a mom and had all I could do to keep it together (I know, I am not supposed to be crying, but I couldn’t help it). She received some deliverance stemming from a horrific experience at a very young age. Afterward, Jesus handed her a permission slip that was dipped in blood. She said she wasn’t sure what it meant, and I began to prophesy over her. Daughters were never meant to ask for permission to be themselves. God is giving you back your permission to be YOU. And it is dripped in the blood of Jesus because He thought of you and what you experienced at such a tender age and bought it back with His blood. The redemption of having permission to be YOU is now complete.
You can’t fully explain to a single person what married life is like. They have to experience it for themselves. Nor can you fully explain what childbirth is like, as one has to experience it to understand it. You also can’t fully describe to a spiritual orphan the deep PEACE, JOY, and HOPE available to Sons and Daughters, for they have to experience it themselves. It isn’t to be experienced by what one does but by who they believe in. Faith activates the experience!
