Let The Children Come
When we say âeveryone gets to playâ we sometimes overlook youth, and we usually arenât referring to the kids in our churches. At best, we let them be spectators as we participate in the ministry of Jesus. But, Jesus told us, âLet the children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as theseâ (Mark 10:14b).
Is it possible for a child to be used by God to deliver a prophetic word? I heard of an instance just recently where a child told her mother, âOne, two, three, four… thatâs how many there are of us. But one is missing. Heâll be here soon.â She was telling her mom that their family wasnât complete. They would have one more brother. Within two years that brother was born.
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Could a child speak a word of wisdom to an adult? A single mom who had angry blowouts with her children came to see me one day because her three-year-old daughter told her the night before, following an emotional outbreak, âMommy, Jesus doesnât like it when you treat us that way. Ask him and he will help you change.â
A Child’s Prayer
Could a childâs prayer bring healing? A four-year-old child prayed âJesus heal cancerâ for a woman diagnosed with breast cancer. After a trip back to the doctor she learned that she no longer had a cancerous mass in her breast.
What if a child started a âGod talkâ with his or her friends? Several kids from our church have. They have shared Jesus with their friends on the playground at school. One of our teenagers started a âGod talkâ with a homeless man one very cold winter night. He ended up buying that man dinner, bringing him into his warm truck and praying for his foot condition, and then, rather than turning him out to sleep in the cold, he took the man home for the night. (The next morning his parents were very surprised.) Now that sounds like something Jesus would do!
We know that the Holy Spirit has distributed his gifts to all believers. Does it matter that a significant portion of believers are kids and teens? After all, one out of every four people in the world today is 14 or under. Could we be missing out on 25% of the ways God would like to see his kingdom advance because we have overlooked including a whole population of youth when we say that âeveryone gets to play?ââ