“Dear God, Please put a forcefield around everyone’s house tonight!”
I need to correct something about the way I’ve been communicating.
These past few weeks, I’ve been encouraging you to join the Cry Out! Prayer Challenge issued by our partnering ministry Revive Our Hearts. And then, I’ve been asking you to use it as a training tool for your True Girl.
But that might be backward!
This week, I’ve been wondering if I should have invited you to be trained by your daughter.
What started me thinking about this reversal? Grayson’s prayer.
Grayson is a little guy in my church and a week or so ago his mom posted his bedtime prayer on her social media account.
“Dear God,
Please put a forcefield around everyone’s house tonight.
Your name, Amen”
Isn’t there something innocently powerful about that petition?
He prays audaciously because He believes God can do whatever he asks. And his prayer was not selfish. He asks God to protect everyone. Not just him. Not just his family. Not just his friends. Everyone.
There’s something truly unhindered about the prayers of a child. They are pure and true. Powerful and simple.
A picture is worth a thousand words, so let me show you what I mean.
That’s my favorite photo from our Fall 2019 True Girl tour. I’ve been treasuring it in my heart for some months. This week as I looked at it, I had a desire to pray like her.
This week I’m learning to learn from the faith of children.
It’s not a new lesson. Mark 10:13-16 reads:
And they were bringing children to him that he might touch them, and the disciples rebuked them. But when Jesus saw it, he was indignant and said to them, “Let the children come to me; do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of God. Truly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it.” And he took them in his arms and blessed them, laying his hands on them.
When some people—probably eager parents—bring children to the Son of God, his disciples try to “protect Him.” Jesus rebukes them! Clearly, our Savior is eager to receive children and their prayers, “force fields” and all.
But He doesn’t end His lesson for the disciples there. Jesus also tells them that they should be more like the children in the way they come to Him. He invites them to learn from them.
Yep! I had it a bit backward.
Of course, you’re tasked in Scripture to disciple your children, so there is nothing wrong with the idea of teaching your daughter the importance of prayer and inviting her into a prayer challenge with you. But it’s possible that her prayers will arrive at God’s throne with a greater degree of faith than your own.
In the hand of God's Spirit, a child's capacity for faith is, in some respects, greater than that of a grown-up. At any rate, the faith of children is usually far more simple than that of adults. They take the Word of God as they find it and they believe it to be the very Truth of God.
-Charles Spurgeon
I invite you, once again, to join me in the Revive Our Hearts Cry Out! Prayer Challenge. If you’ve been reading my weekly challenges, you know that I’m eager to have our daughters praying with us. This week, I’m wondering what you can learn from the True Girl in your house. Why not take a few minutes and just ask her what God has been putting on her heart as you’ve been praying together. See if there’s something you can learn so that you can come to God “like a child.”
BONUS TOOLS TO RESUSCITATE YOUR & YOUR TRUE GIRL’S PRAYER LIFE!
Children in Revival Throughout History [Video]
This short video recounts many revivals throughout the world and spanning history. Their common denominator? The prayers of children. (Created by ForChildren.com.)
The Children & Their Hosannas! [Transcript]
A sermon transcript of a message delivered by Charles Spurgeon in 1884 reminds us to come to the Lord “like children.”
Our True Girl theme verse:
"So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed him, “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” John 8:31,32
Mom, the best way to teach your daughter to live like an authentic True Girl is to live like an authentic True Woman. And to do that, you've got to get your life lined up with the Truth of the Bible. Listen to Dannah Gresh every weekday on Nancy DeMoss Wolgemuth's Revive Our Hearts podcast. The program features biblical teaching, interviews that offer godly advice, and other opportunities to abide in God's Word.
