Over my almost 40 years of ministry, many Pastors, youth/children ministry leaders, and parents have told me that teaching on the subject of praying in the Spirit is such a challenge. To help ease their (and perhaps your) frustration, I am sporadically posting blog posts to share solid, biblically sound, simple-to-teach, simple-to-do illustrations to use while teaching on this all so important subject.
Let’s look at the next illustration to teach about these benefits. Once again, I will give a brief, skeletal overview of the illustration. Then, with the Holy Spirit’s help, you can personalize and modify the illustration to become a powerful teaching tool.
The Importance of Praying in Other Tongues
Part 15 – Remind Ourselves that God is a Promise Keeper
“Even though you are bad, you know how to give good things to your children.
How much more your heavenly Father will give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!”
Luke 11:13 (New Century Version)
“This promise is for you, for your children, and for all who are far away …”
Acts 2:39 (New Century Version)
Note: While every Bible translation does a tremendous job of sharing the original content of the King James Version, I chose the New Century Version for its easy-to-understand language for children. For this illustration, you will need a Bible, a grocery bag with a few “essential” food items, and a small piece of bright-colored yarn.
Here is a fact that I know all to well to be true. From time-to-time, we can all forget something important. After all, life can be busy and our attention is pulled on by so many, many things to the place that we just simply forget. For example, there have been times that I have gone into the grocery store to get a needed food item like a gallon milk and later leave the store with important things like (show grocery bag and then begin to pull out the food items as you list them) a bag of Cheetos, two or three bottles of Dr Pepper, a bag of Oreo cookies, a bag or two of M&M’s, and a few other essentials. You already know where I am going with this. When I would get home, reality kicks in. I didn’t buy the gallon of milk. (Show empty bag). I just simply forgot.
Has this ever happened to you? Well, I have great news. I have the answer. I have found that if I have some reminder like a piece yarn (show yarn) that I tie around a finger (tie around your finger), as I am shopping, I can look at the yarn and it will cause me to focus and remember that I have something that needs to be remembered!
In our Bible (show Bible), we find that God made a promise that He would bless those who ask Him with a special gift from heaven, the baptism or infilling of the Holy Spirit. (Read scriptures). When believers in the Bible received this special gift, we find time and time again that God provided them with what I call a spiritual “piece of yarn”. They all began to pray in a special heavenly prayer language. This is so exciting. Just as the piece of yarn would jar my memory when I was in the grocery store, hearing us pray in this unknown-to-us prayer language reminds us that God is a promise keeping God.
Oh … one more benefit about this spiritual “piece of yarn” reminder. If God has kept this promise, we can KNOW that He will keep EVERY promise that He has given us!
