Parents, don’t wait until your children spin out of control to go to war.
Start praying when they are little. Hannah dressed little Samuel in a linen ephod when he was a child. That means she dressed him as a priest long before he ever did anything priestly.
[Tweet “Dress your children in words of affirmation and destiny when they are young.”]
Hannah adjusted that ephod to size year after year. Take God’s Word and adjust it to your child’s understanding as he grows in the admonition of the Lord.
Little did I know that standing up and receiving the gift of faith that changed the way the brain of my heart was wired also would change my prayer life and the way all of us as intercessors prayed. It changed the course of my children’s lives, our youth, and our community. Crime went down, truancy went down, graffiti went down, and graduation went up. Dances and clubs in the neighborhood had to shut down because all the kids were waiting in line to get into the Friday night youth meeting to dance before the Lord! And the public school system, which threw the name of God out, has asked our church to come in and speak to their youth.
But most of all, that gift of faith changed the life and culture of our church!
Had this generation not gotten saved, we would have become extinct like dinosaurs! Now the way youth ministry is done throughout the United States has been changed. Buses from other states come just to be a part of the youth meeting. When there is a fire, everyone will be drawn to it.
You don’t have to advertise a fire. The fire is what draws the people.
Those young people with the saggy pants are now pastors, deacons, worship leaders, and musicians in our church. They are among the most anointed and gifted of this generation!
God needs to raise up a generation of Hannahs who will stand up and not give up! A generation that will change their posture. A generation that refuses to accept lifelessness and barrenness. A generation that will not give up, but give birth!
But first, before we can stand up for others, we must stand up for ourselves.
We must take our stand and receive the incredible, amazing love that God has for each and every one of us. We must allow the truth of this overwhelming, undeserved love to wash every crack and crevice deep within—cleansing everything that would dare mock, question, or try to reject that incomparable love.
Now is the time to change your position, stand up, and freely accept every blessing God has for you. You will know beyond the shadow of a doubt that you have made the eighteen-inch journey successfully when you start to immerse yourself daily in the pool of His amazing grace, naturally accepting His love instead of rejecting it. In turn, you will also be able to love others unconditionally, because you know that you know beyond the shadow of a doubt that you are unconditionally loved.
The revelation of His love will bring about a revolution! Church, we need a revolution! It has to start with us!
It has to start in the fertile womb of a clean heart, which will be impregnated with holy Seed and thus produce spiritual children. As parents, we gave birth to them a first time, so it is up to us to give birth again!
Nehemiah said, and I paraphrase, “After I looked at the situation, I stood up and spoke to the people and said, ‘Do not be afraid of them. Remember the Lord, great and awesome, and fight for your sons and daughters’” (Neh. 4:14). In Psalm 106:30 Phinehas the priest stood up and the plague was checked. Judges 5:7 says, “Village life ceased. It ceased until I, Deborah, arose [stood up]; I arose like a mother in Israel” (mev).
[Tweet “Don’t ever give up—stand up and fight for what belongs to you.”]
Remember, God’s kingdom suffers violence, but the violent (in the spirit) take it by force (Matt. 11:12). There’s always some gory before He pours out His glory, but there is an appointed time.
Wait for it. Though it tarry, it will not delay!
Copyright © 2015 by Maria Durso, All Rights Reserved. Purchase a copy of my new book, From Your Head to Your Heart, on Amazon here.
Leave a Reply