Several years ago, I had the privilege of being invited to speak to the children’s ministry leaders at Abba’s House in Chattanooga, Tennessee. After teaching the Saturday afternoon sessions, the nursery director approached me and told me the following story.
One of the nursery director’s staff told an amazing story about her three-year-old daughter. The mother told about her little girl noticing that she was sick and asking about what was wrong. After explaining that she wasn’t feeling good, her daughter asked if she could pray for her mother. The little girl then prayed a simple, three-word prayer, “God healed Mama.” The mother shared that God heard and answered her prayer. The mother was healed!
A couple of years ago, I had a mother ask me, “Pastor Billy, can a seven-year-old be baptized in the Holy Spirit?” She asked that question because a few days earlier she came home after a hard day at work and was questioned by her concerned son. After hearing his mother tell him that there were a lot of pressures that she was feeling, the little boy asked to pray for her. As the little boy began to pray, the mother heard strange words and syllables in his prayer. When asked what was happening, the little boy told his mother that he was praying in his heavenly prayer language. After hearing my whole-hearted “Yes” response to her question about children being baptized in the Holy Spirit, she came back to me a couple of weeks later to tell me that her son later asked for permission to pray for her again. He then laid hands upon his mother and began to pray in his prayer language. Within a couple of minutes, he began to give the interpretation of his tongue and said, “Mom, the Holy Spirit wants me to tell you …” and then he began to give a heavenly insight.
My reason for sharing these stories is to remind you that God is a t-o-d-a-y God. As parents and children’s ministry leaders, we relegate Him to being a s-o-m-e-d-a-y God when it comes to children. We are convinced that God will someday use children when they are older and have been in church for umpteen years. NO!!! The God who used the Old Testament’s young Samuel desires to use today’s child. The God who mightily used the three-year-old girl in Tennessee and the seven-year-old boy in South Florida wants to use our children. Let’s be adults that encourage children to yield to God. Let’s provide the opportunities. Let’s make room for children to boldly obey God’s leading. Let’s allow that to happen today.
