57 For (parents) that are wise and have received the truth, and have taken the Holy Spirit for their guide, and have not been deceived—verily I say unto you, they shall not be hewn down and cast into the fire, but shall abide the day.
58 ...And they shall multiply and wax strong, and their children shall grow up without sin unto salvation.
59 For the Lord shall be in their midst, and his glory shall be upon them, and he will be their king and their lawgiver.
Jesus tells us in Matthew 18: "Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven." Since Jesus has told us to become like children - we don't have to do much to teach them. In fact some times we get in our own way. The traditions of the Church seems to squash seeking after Spiritual gifts, visions, and dreams. This must be re-awakened and you hold a God-given parental key that can either lock or unlock heaven and earth for your little ones. Your children are already so believing. The seed is in them - so water it!! Acts 2:17 tells us: "And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh: and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men (all flesh) shall see visions, and your old men (all flesh) shall dream dreams."
Some ideas:
1. Develop a personal prayer and personal Scripture study life. It doesn't have to be fancy. Consider making a list of all the people and issues that need prayer in your life right now. (link) Pray with your spouse daily.
1. Develop a personal prayer and personal Scripture study life. It doesn't have to be fancy. Consider making a list of all the people and issues that need prayer in your life right now. (link) Pray with your spouse daily.
2. When you teach, as often as possible - draw all things back to the excellency of Jesus Christ and how much He loves us.
3. Help them to develop their spiritual gifts. You and your spouse collaborate and talk about what gifts you see in them and then write them a simple letter telling them what gifts you see they came with. (do this for your spouse also!)
4. Hold quarterly interviews with each child and read that letter to them and give it to them. Talk about how awesome they are and pray with them - asking the Lord to bless them (the wife should bless also!).
5. Lot's of hugs. Go on walks, hold hands when you can or link arms. Foot massages.
6. Ask the Lord what weaknesses the child has and then become a prayer warrior on behalf of that child.
7. Pray as a family daily.
8. Pray as a family for the gift of visions and dreams daily. Help them to become visionary. Below is an exercise I read and have done that will help them to practice seeing in the spirit. Also - try doing this for your spouse before you do it for your children.
Receiving your Armor from the Lord:
3. Help them to develop their spiritual gifts. You and your spouse collaborate and talk about what gifts you see in them and then write them a simple letter telling them what gifts you see they came with. (do this for your spouse also!)
4. Hold quarterly interviews with each child and read that letter to them and give it to them. Talk about how awesome they are and pray with them - asking the Lord to bless them (the wife should bless also!).
5. Lot's of hugs. Go on walks, hold hands when you can or link arms. Foot massages.
6. Ask the Lord what weaknesses the child has and then become a prayer warrior on behalf of that child.
7. Pray as a family daily.
8. Pray as a family for the gift of visions and dreams daily. Help them to become visionary. Below is an exercise I read and have done that will help them to practice seeing in the spirit. Also - try doing this for your spouse before you do it for your children.
Receiving your Armor from the Lord:
Pick a time in the evening when the sun is setting. Have it be on the Sabbath if that feels like the most calm day. Let them know earlier in their interview or sometime before that one day you are going to do a lesson on visualization to help cast their minds forward to that time.
Have lower lights in the house so the mood is more subdued. Consider playing low volume background music (suggested music video link here)
Ask them to get comfortable, sitting up, and ask that no one be touching each other. Ask them to close their eyes, keep them closed for the duration of the exercise, and take deep breaths, slowly exhaling and relax. You could do a 3 minute Pause from the pause app (more on that later).
You can read this:
Imagine you are in a dark room and you see a warm light coming down upon you. Everything is shadowy except the warm light that is covering you. (Pause for a few seconds)
In the distance you see a light, it is starting to come near you, it is a person. Watch them get closer as they move toward you. (Pause for a few seconds)
They are carrying something in their hands. Go and meet them. In their arms they carry your armor. (Pause for a few seconds)
The first thing they hand you is your helmet. Look at it, what does it look like? (Pause for about 20-30 seconds)
Next, is your breastplate that covers your chest. What does it look like? (Pause for about 20-30 seconds)
Now they hand you a sword, examine it. What does it look like? How heavy is it? (Pause for about 20-30 seconds)
Now they hand you a shield. Do you see anything unique about it? (Pause for about 20-30 seconds)
There are shoes for you to wear. What are they like? (Pause for about 20-30 seconds)
Stand in your armor. Feel the weight or lightness of it. What does it feel like to be fully dressed in your armor?
Thank the messenger. (pause)
This is the armor of God that you have been given to protect you from the Adversary. As long as you always keep yourself filled with light and love, it will be strong. If not, it will not help you, but nobody can take it away from you except yourself!
Now I want you to open your eyes!
Ask your kids one by one what they saw. Some may be eager to share. Some may feel embarrassed. Some may not say much. Don't worry - just listen and allow them to share what they feel comfortable with. They may share more later.
Practice seeing in the spirit as a family. I can not emphasize enough how impactful this gift is to a family. I praise the Lord that the Wild at Heart ministry feels the importance of conversing with the Lord, face to face. They have developed different pause programs to help you and your family experience Jesus. They just came out with the pause, "Experience Jesus. Really." Consider taking this summer to do a morning and evening pause as a family - I promise this bears FRUIT!
Go to your app store and download the "Pause" app from Wild at Heart. Then select "Experience Jesus. Really." Then set an alarm on your phone for the most likely time in the morning and evening when most of your family will be together and then pray and ask for the Lord to help you do this program. If you are single, please do this also. You won't regret it.
Have lower lights in the house so the mood is more subdued. Consider playing low volume background music (suggested music video link here)
Ask them to get comfortable, sitting up, and ask that no one be touching each other. Ask them to close their eyes, keep them closed for the duration of the exercise, and take deep breaths, slowly exhaling and relax. You could do a 3 minute Pause from the pause app (more on that later).
You can read this:
Imagine you are in a dark room and you see a warm light coming down upon you. Everything is shadowy except the warm light that is covering you. (Pause for a few seconds)
In the distance you see a light, it is starting to come near you, it is a person. Watch them get closer as they move toward you. (Pause for a few seconds)
They are carrying something in their hands. Go and meet them. In their arms they carry your armor. (Pause for a few seconds)
The first thing they hand you is your helmet. Look at it, what does it look like? (Pause for about 20-30 seconds)
Next, is your breastplate that covers your chest. What does it look like? (Pause for about 20-30 seconds)
Now they hand you a sword, examine it. What does it look like? How heavy is it? (Pause for about 20-30 seconds)
Now they hand you a shield. Do you see anything unique about it? (Pause for about 20-30 seconds)
There are shoes for you to wear. What are they like? (Pause for about 20-30 seconds)
Stand in your armor. Feel the weight or lightness of it. What does it feel like to be fully dressed in your armor?
Thank the messenger. (pause)
This is the armor of God that you have been given to protect you from the Adversary. As long as you always keep yourself filled with light and love, it will be strong. If not, it will not help you, but nobody can take it away from you except yourself!
Now I want you to open your eyes!
Ask your kids one by one what they saw. Some may be eager to share. Some may feel embarrassed. Some may not say much. Don't worry - just listen and allow them to share what they feel comfortable with. They may share more later.
Practice seeing in the spirit as a family. I can not emphasize enough how impactful this gift is to a family. I praise the Lord that the Wild at Heart ministry feels the importance of conversing with the Lord, face to face. They have developed different pause programs to help you and your family experience Jesus. They just came out with the pause, "Experience Jesus. Really." Consider taking this summer to do a morning and evening pause as a family - I promise this bears FRUIT!
Go to your app store and download the "Pause" app from Wild at Heart. Then select "Experience Jesus. Really." Then set an alarm on your phone for the most likely time in the morning and evening when most of your family will be together and then pray and ask for the Lord to help you do this program. If you are single, please do this also. You won't regret it.
