I have been praying over my children for years. I mean years. And it's true, the Lord hears all prayers. Have you ever met someone though who seems to get all their prayers answered? What is their secret? We always used to joke growing up that my mother had a red line communication straight to the Lord's ear. We always knew if we wanted something answered, "Oh be sure to have mom pray for it!" As I became a mother, I was met with the unexpected.
I specifically remember one random day, I was standing in the bathroom of our two bedroom apartment when I had this random thought come through my mind which said, "I, the Lord, will give you a child if you dedicate them to me." Looking back, what seemed like a super random thought was actually me hearing VERY clearly from God. So of course in that moment I remember saying yes. Then immediately thinking, "Oh wow this might not be an easy journey." A month later, I found myself pregnant when we were not even trying with our now daughter. Our parenthood journey, just as I thought, has not been easy for either of our children. The simple things you just expect your children to do or receive out of this life weren't given to us. This spurred my own journey in prayer, however, I soon realized that I didn't know how to pray and when I did; it was with clinched fists. I would spend my time praying from a place of selfishness, worldly desires, and simple prayers such as:"Lord, let my daughter and son speak." "Lord, let my daughter and son have adequate knowledge to graduate." These are fine. It's a starting point. However, why don't we take a lesson from the disciples when they asked Jesus, "Lord, teach us how to pray." What if we started asking the Lord what HE wanted us to pray over our children? This is called praying God's heart and do not underestimate the power behind these prayers. This is your redline for your children, for your family, and for your legacy. So I started listening and seeing what the Lord was saying over my children. There are simple starter steps to this. First you must know that every individual hears from the Lord, I have heard some people say "well I don't hear from God." Yes, you do. Everyone has access to the Lord's voice if they are seeking it. There are different ways you can hear from the Lord which I will write another post about, however, let's focus on a few for this particular exercise. I first started seeking what the Lord spoke over my children by asking Him for a picture or a word over them. I would lay my hands on each of their heads while putting them to bed. The first picture I saw over my daughter Hayden was a beautiful large sunflower which was in a field of many. I saw the sunflower get really big and was being energized by the sun's strength and receiving power from it. It was like the sun was super charging the flower. This is called a prophetic picture. Once you receive a picture, be sure to look up the meaning biblically behind this and how the Lord is speaking to you about it. Sunflowers have a special meaning behind while they are growing they shift and move to follow the sun; which represents our eyes constantly looking to the Father's son, Jesus. Sunflowers have lots of seeds in them to be able to plant other flowers. Colors and numbers are significant as well. This gave me direction in prayer over my daughter to declare that she would always have her eyes fixed on Jesus. It gave me the reassurance I needed that as long as she followed Him, He would give her strength, power, and raise her to grow mightily. If you don't receive a picture. That's okay. Not everyone is a Seer and sees what the Lord is speaking. Sometimes we hear Him from a "Knowing." I would pray over my children and ask the Lord give me a word or a verse over their life. When I read the Bible, He will highlight verses that He speaks over my life, my husbands life, or my kids. This is when I went from praying that my children would speak, out of my own desires for a normal life for them, to hearing the Lord say, "I don't want you to just pray that they speak, I want you to pray that they preach My word." So my prayers went from what my heart wanted for my children's lives to what was on the Lord's heart. It was after this switch in my thought and prayer process that I started receiving hope over my kids. That I started realizing the wonderful things He spoke over them. Sometimes I have encountered comments such as, "well I wouldn't want to know what the Lord speaks about me." I just want to speak into that thought process. It is NOT true. That is the voice of the enemy causing you to feel shame. God speaks a GOOD word over each one of us. So friend, what is on God's heart for you? Ask Him using these small keys. The best thing I have done for my family is learn what the Lord's heart is for each one of us. Since starting this, I have received so much revelation for each one of us that I needed an organized way to keep track. That's correct, you should absolutely journal ALLL of these things which you hear or see from the Lord because you can pray through these things over their lives and declare what He speaks over them. Jesus stressed the importance of what the Father speaks over us. That is how we know our true identities in Him. Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’” Here is an example template of how I structure the prophetic words and declarations for prayer. You can also create one for what the Lord speaks over your family as a whole too. This is an example which I created for a friend's child. I always start with the meaning of their names. In Jewish culture, the naming of a child is significant and speaks over that child's life. I have found this to be very true. The prayer and story of Jabez in 1 Chronicles 4:10, shows the significance of names and the cry of one man to have his name redeemed. Declarations Over Caleb The Power of Declaring the Lord’s heart over us: “How precious are your thoughts about me, O God. They cannot be numbered! I can’t even count them; they outnumber the grains of sand! And when I wake up, you are still with me!” Psalms 139:17-18 Jesus answered, “it is written: Man must not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.” Matthew 4:4
“But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart.” Luke 2:19 “Great favor is upon you, for you have believed every word spoken to you from the Lord.” Luke 1:45 PTL “For every one of God’s promises is “Yes” in Him.” 2 Corinthians 1:20 Caleb: Meaning; ‘faithful’ ‘whole heartedly’ ‘devoted to God’ ‘brave’ Luke: ‘bringer of light’ ‘light of the sacred flame’ ‘bright one’ ‘light giving’ In the Bible: Caleb in the Bible was from the Tribe of JUDAH= PRAISE!! It is important to note that before any advancement of Israel into enemy territory, that the tribe of Judah went FIRST which is the tribe known for praise! Prophetic Words/Visions:
Picture of Caleb sustained by and smelling the natural oxygen that God made through the flowers.
Seeing a thick liquid gold of anointing seeping into Caleb’s lungs for healing and protection.
Mantle of the tribe of Judah / Mantle of PRAISE
Verses:
“But my servant Caleb, because he had another spirit with him, and hath followed me fully, him will I bring into the land whereinto he went; and his seed shall possess it.” Numbers 14:24
“About Benjamin he said: “Let the beloved of the Lord rest secure in him, for he shields him all day long, and the one the Lord loves rests between his shoulders.” Deuteronomy 33:12
“For as long as life is in me, And the breath of God is in my nostrils.” Job 27:3
“Thus says the Lord God to these bones, ‘Behold, I will cause breath to enter you that you may come to life. I will put sinews on you, make flesh grow back on you, cover you with skin and put breath in you that you may come alive; and you will know that I am the Lord.’” Ezekiel 37:5-6
“But it was because the Lord loved you and kept the oath he swore to your ancestors that he brought you out with a mighty hand and redeemed you from the land of slavery, from the power of Pharaoh king of Egypt.” Deuteronomy 7:8
“Then Samuel took a flask of oil and poured it on his head and kissed him and said, “Has not the Lord anointed you to be prince over his people Israel? And you shall reign over the people of the Lord and you will save them from the hand of their surrounding enemies. And this shall be the sign to you that the Lord has anointed you to be prince over his heritage.” 1 Samuel 10:1
I hope this blog post has inspired you to seek the greatness which the Lord has set before you and your family. Rise up prayer warriors and grab hold of your inheritance in the Lord!
In His Loving-Kindness,
Sarah