 Have you been thinking about how you can get your kids and teens praying more? I'm with you on that. One of the most rewarding aspects of our faith journey is prayer, and it's only natural that we want our kids to experience that. After 20 years in youth ministry, there is never a time I'm not thinking, how can I motivate my students to pray more often, pray with sincerity and see the results of their prayers? While the actual act of praying isn't hard, it can be challenging to master the discipline of a healthy prayer life, especially for teens. But maturity plays a part in that. I have found that youth with strong prayer lives revere God and take their faith seriously. Many times, parents will seek counsel from me after years of allowing their kids to backslide, not attend church or to avoid any and all accountability in their relationship with the Lord. I'll be as real with you as I can here--that just won't work. You cannot magically hope for your young ones to have a reliable prayer life where there has been little to no investment into their faith walk as a whole. Prayer stems from faith, and faith from relationship. Is a strong, consistent and effective prayer routine for your kids possible?? Undoubtedly. But they may need some help from you; from your strength, example and participation. As parents, coaches or mentors, our example of spiritual discipline, such as prayer, can be just the thing our kids need to see to take a leap of faith themselves. Stay with me on on this, because I do understand that many of you pray fervently and frequently and your kids still aren't showing interest. I get that. So let's agree that there is more to it than just demonstrating that you can pray. In leading by example, we can hold our youth accountable to routine and responsibility when it comes to their faith disciplines. For example, we show that we practice what we preach by maintaining a lifestyle of prayer and devotion ourselves, and we don't let them off the hook when it comes to developing their own. There is a book that was very popular in my adolescent years, called, All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten. The premise is that the simplest, most basic principles of life that we learn as little children are just as effective (if not more) when we become adults. And while this isn't an article on kindergarten do's and don'ts, I think the same principle applies--our basic prayer habits are learned early and quick. Get in your kids face about their prayer habits early, quick and consistently. Consider this admonishment found in Deuteronomy 4:9, "Only take heed to yourself, and diligently keep yourself, lest you forget the things your eyes have seen, and lest they depart from your heart all the days of your life. And teach them to your children and your grandchildren,." Teach diligently and persist; they may push back but fight for them until they are mature enough to maintain their faith disciplines on their own. So, in place of just desiring that your kids pray more often, make moves to help improve their entire faith walk. Take a moment to think; what do I know about my kids personality that can help me in this? What are they insecure about? What makes them tick, and what do they look forward to? What are their questions about God, faith and purpose that I can help answer? What can I completely remove from their life that hinders their faith walk, and what can I add? And lastly, perhaps the most important, what am I willing to roll up my sleeves and do with them, to help them get to the spiritual place I know God is calling them into? 1. Their strong prayer life will stem from a strong faith life, in general. Work with them to improve their relationship with God. Do this by setting expectations and not letting up--times with no tech or media--just bible or quiet time. Planned family prayer and devotions, discussions after Sunday service about what they learned and how they'll apply it, etc. Make it a point to come off the sidelines and into the field when it comes to your kids relationship with the Lord. 2. Pray with them and not only for them. There's not a parent I know that doesn't pray for their kids. But to see measurable, consistent growth, I recommend praying with them. Yes, even with your teens. First, it will reinforce accountability. Second, you'll be able to see and hear where they truly are and how they are progressing. Third, it will allow you to correct, inspire and empower their prayer life into a mature place. 3. Partner with the Holy Spirit. He knows things. Parents, He knows things about your kids that you don't. I know that you want to see results now and fast--but don't skip this step. Take a moment to sit down with the Holy Spirit and get inside information about what is really going on with your kids. He just might reveal to you that there's this witchcraft book they've hidden in the back of their closet that they read at night when everyone is asleep, or that they're being bullied beyond belief and they haven't told you about it. You might learn that they're struggling with their image to the point that they have been thinking about suicide or He might reveal to you that they don't have a desire to pray because they are not sure God is even real. He knows the things that you need to know in order to truly help your kids turn their faith and prayer life around. For more tips, resources and help to empower your kids, follow fb.com/prophetgeneration. Dr. Adia Amos, Founder KingdomFive 
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 Intercession is one of the most powerful tools you have as a parent or guardian, so don't hesitate to take the lead in breaking the heavens open over your kids. As they make a press to become who they are in Christ, your wisdom and experience can put the adversities and challenges they'll face at bay. Years ago, a powerful intercessor and worship leader in the city would tell the story of how she warred for her children in prayer day in and day out, never giving the enemy an opportunity to gain traction in their lives. Her children would comment about how they were "soaked" at night from their mom crying out over them, anointing their rooms as they slept! No doubt those kids could say their mom literally "prayed them through". You have the opportunity to anoint your children in a way that no one else can. Use your voice. Decree stability, a strong sense of self, and confidence in who they are. Your prayers may be the difference you've been looking to see. Jesus' prayer in John 17 shows just how significant the guardianship role is. He took ownership over His assignment to the disciples, as the steward of their souls and His obedience secured their future in God's kingdom. He understood that the goal was that they bear fruit and become who God needed them to be. Understand that your work in your children's lives, your time, prayers and investment--is powerful enough to bear fruit too.
 You can help empower your child's future in the time you spend building who they are today. It's never too early to cast vision, dream big with them or help them discover who they are. I love that kids are natural dreamers and visionaries. You don't have to tell them to "imagine." They see fewer obstacles and entertain much more "possibilities" than adults. They are less tainted, cynical or skeptical. Youth is a good season in their lives to get them thinking about how they will lead their lives in the future, but also what steps they can take today to help make their dreams a reality.
1. Brainstorm, Dream and Imagine With Them Your kids look up to you. They imitate what you do and they are shaped by how you think. Get engaged in the conversation about their future early and aggressively. Explore with them--their crazy wiles, tangents, stories--everything. Help them brainstorm a million ideas, but as the adult in the relationship pay really close attention to the themes that repeatedly come up in their conversations, the similarities and what they have an affinity towards and are drawn too. You will learn and be able to help steer them in the right direction but just taking that extra moment to listen and observe. 3. Foster emotional maturity now. How your children deal with life and its ups and downs, processing their expectations and learning how to overcome, will show up later in their adult life when their emotional intelligence really counts (either for or against them). Help them process their emotions in a healthy way. 3. Empower a sense of community and caring. The ability to connect with those around you in a positive way is priceless. Make sure their world involves the awareness that they are not the only ones in it. A kid that respects and values relationship and connection grows into an adult that looks for ways to plug in and not isolate; to work with people and through their circumstances, rather than avoiding them. 4. Talk "Big". Your child's world should involve ideas, themes, and conversations that are outside of their everyday "kid-life." When they think big, they dream big. If their minds are challenged, their character stretched--they will rise to the occasion and reach to become someone greater--a person of significance. Talk to your kids about the issues of the world, the true adversities people face, the responsibilities we have to God, to our nation, to one another. They should have opportunities to think and consider outside of their scope--they will take this kind of thinking with them into adulthood. 5. Don't simply rely on the "hard-knocks" and disappointments to teach them. Yes, we are shaped by what happens to us--no doubt. A breakup, a broken family, our own mistakes and mishaps. But don't just rely on the natural ups and downs of life to teach your kids how to mature and be ready for adulthood. Teach and demonstrate wisdom in the good moments--the normal times. Illustrate maturity and responsibility through how you live, day-to-day. Let them in on what is to lead and maintain the family, the value of work and earning a living, the importance of sincere worship and being accountable to God and the consequence and/or benefit of the choices we make. 6. They Can Take It. The environment and mentality that surrounds your child will become what they believe. If you put destiny and purpose on their mind, they will think about and consider the future more naturally. Children adapt to their environment. Provide for them the setting and the resources that will help shape them for tomorrow. If you don't baby them, they will mature.  We all want to see our kids succeeding, happy and in sync with God in their own way. Making quality time for "God-moments" in your house is key to seeing that happen. There has to be a God-culture in your family routines and lifestyle. When God is real to you, He will be real to your kids. If He is a ritual to you, if He is a once-a-week "thing" you do--this is who God will be to your kids. Understand that you are the first demonstration of worship and relationship to God for your children. Time with Him in your everyday life moments, referencing Him even when not in prayer, talking about who He is and including Him in the fabric of your family, teaches your kids that He is more than religion; that He is alive. Demonstrate the relationship you want them to have; they will follow you.
 It's that time again! School's back in session for so many of our young people and that means new adventures, new fun and new challenges! Send your kids off to school this semester with power and a mind to WIN! A productive day begins and ends with prayer.Teach your kids these five power declarations and incorporate them into your prayer time every morning or evening and watch God make a way for them each and every day. 5 Back-to-School Power Declarations for Every Day
Six Morning or Before Bed Scriptures for Devotions or Prayer
As a parent or mentor, you may have asked yourself, 'how can I give my kids the support they need to fulfill what they were born to do? To manifest God's word on their life? What should they be exposed to, and what should I shield them from? Every child is different, so I don't believe there's only one way to nurture purpose. But here's a few key practices I learned along the way to get you moving in the right direction. As a rule, always seek the Lord's voice at every step and trust what He's telling you that your child needs.
 Guest Post: Prophet Brandon Fleming Senior Pastor, Destiny City Christian Center Edmond, OK Guiding Our Children to Greatness: The Value of the Talent Children are an incredible blessing from the Lord. They are precocious, full of curiosity and wonderment; a joy to be around. I’m sure that anyone who parents, mentors, or works with children is already aware that you’ve been afforded the privilege to shape future generations through your involvement with young people. To that end, I would like to share with you some wisdom from the Word of God that I believe will help you in your endeavors to brighten the future as you develop young people to affect their world. In Matthew 25:14-30, Jesus tells the parable of man who travels to a far country, but not before calling three of his servants to him to distribute oversight of portions of his estate: five talents to one, two talents to another, and one talent to the final servant. Verse 15 makes it clear that the distribution of these talents was not arbitrary, but done so on the basis of the evaluation of each servant’s several abilities. As the story progresses, we see that each servant takes the talents that they have been given and puts them to use in distinct ways: the servants with five and two talents go into the market and trade with their talents, while the servant with one talent simply goes and hides his master’s money. When the master returns, he judges the activities of each servant, offering promotions to the first two servants, while condemning the last servant because of his actions of hiding his investment instead of handling it wisely. The servant with the one talent lacked the understanding of what his master’s talent could produce. The servant was called wicked and slothful, not because he was lacking something valuable, but because of what he did with what he possessed. We cannot let this be the same outcome with the children in our lives. I believe there is a unique revelation that can be applied to our endeavors in working with young people: teaching them the value of what they possess (talents) and teaching them how to leverage (manage) that investment.
Yours in grace, Prophet Brandon Fleming Prophet Brandon Fleming is a cutting-edge Prophetic voice called to affect nations with the Word of the Lord. He carries a distinctive and heartfelt passion to equip the Body of Christ to discover God and discover destiny! Prophet Brandon serves as the Senior Pastor of Destiny City Christian Center, a thriving, multi-cultural Apostolic and Prophetic body of worshippers within the greater Oklahoma City/Edmond community founded by the late Dr. Mario Maxwell. His church, which is affectionately known as “Destiny City”, stands as a beacon of God’s glorious transforming power to all those who would seek to encounter Him. http://www.destinycity.tv  Adia Peterson
Founder, KingdomFive! Student Ministries 1 Samuel 2: 24-28: Now when she had weaned him, she took him up with her, with three bulls,[g] one ephah of flour, and a skin of wine, and brought him to the house of the Lord in Shiloh. And the child was young. Then they slaughtered a bull, and brought the child to Eli. And she said, “O my lord! As your soul lives, my lord, I am the woman who stood by you here, praying to the Lord. For this child I prayed, and the Lord has granted me my petition which I asked of Him. Therefore I also have lent him to the Lord; as long as he lives he shall be lent to the Lord.” So they worshiped the Lord there. NKJV Parent and Mentor: The Most Important Role As a parent, leader or mentor of a prophetic child, your role in their destiny moment in God is the most important. The fulfillment of Hannah's vow to the Lord, put Samuel in the right place and the right time to receive his visitation from the Lord and begin his journey of walking in the purpose God ordained for him. It could not have been an easy thing to do, sacrificing family time, missing many of his pivotal growing up moments, or putting his key coming-of-age life lessons in someone else's charge. She sowed Samuel's life in trust, and her faithfulness to the promise she gave the Lord, placed him on track to become a great man of God. Even now, generations later, Samuel's legacy speaks for itself. Mentoring and developing a future giant usually means there will be sacrifices made. There will be one tough call after another as you navigate through the day to day and its demands, making split-hair fine line decisions between the relationship with the Lord your child must maintain and what they must give to everything else. Your decisions about their schedule and activities, how they spend their time, the priority they give the Lord and the quality of their relationship with Him is crucial. As the guardians over their destinies, the Lord will use your leadership in their lives to reinforce His blueprint and plan. Evaluate the role God plays in their everyday, and the level of importance, priority He is given. His place in their lives is paramount, and beyond that their availability to Him. The answer is paramount. Do they have a consistent time to hear and seek Him, and are you enforcing and encouraging it? Take the lead and set the pace for them.
Adia Peterson KingdomFive! Founder “And now, Israel, what does the Lord your God require of you, but to fear the Lord your God, to walk in all His ways and to love Him, to serve the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, and to keep the commandments of the Lord and His statutes which I command you today for your good? Deuteronomy 10:11-13  Strong, solid and sound prophetics begin, not with the speaking, but with the heart. Beliefs, attitudes, mindset and character are essential keys to prophetic fortitude. In fact, the condition of our heart is so important to the Lord, He addresses it in scripture more than 900 times! As you are mentoring and empowering your young giant to serve the Lord, emphasize the importance of growing in strength from the inside out. See Proverbs 20:7 for more clarity on this. Before He strengthens their gifts, He will condition their heart. He will work to ensure they can sustain destiny and bear up under the weight of their calling. Remember Mr. Miyagi from the original ‘Karate Kid’ and his famous command to "Daniel-son"--'Wax-on, wax-off...' What seemed so futile, became the foundation of Daniel’s greatest defense when he was in the fight. He couldn’t become a master until he learned first, the true "heart" of the sport. Connecting Heart to Prophetics for Your Teens …that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might through His Spirit in the inner man, Ephesians Fact: young people are inherently expressive, and are constantly communicating, verbally or non-verbally. They are figuring out their own feelings, establishing their opinions and beliefs and working to distinguish their individual identity. Combine that with a developing prophet or prophetic teen and hashing through all of that takes on an even greater dimension! The question becomes, how do I help them navigate through all that they are feeling, hearing and experiencing? How can I mentor them to hear accurately, to speak and represent the Lord soundly, and reliably? Luke's gospel admonishes that a good man, out of the good treasure of his heart, brings forth good, and an evil man, evil. For out of the abundance of his heart, his mouth speaks! There’s a prophetic connection here that I believe is valuable for prophetic mentoring. We know that communication is a major element of effective prophetics but if our words are the fruit--what is the seed? As you are developing your children to be reliable messengers for the Lord, emphasize relationship over expression, character over talent, prayer over preaching, and worship over platform. Everything internal will become the basis and foundation for all they express externally. Keep in mind, however impressive their outward expressions may be, the focus of their mentorship and development should be those things which build and strengthen the heart-the core of their beliefs and faith. Let’s take a look at some quick talking points you can use to work through these principles with your teen.
Guest Blog: "Raising Jeremiah", Dr. Ulf Spears, Strategic Leadership International, President4/3/2016  Raising Jeremiah Dr. Ulf Spears When I was a child I heard the voice of God calling me into his kingdom and I received Jesus Christ as my Savior at the age of eight along with being called to ministry at the age of eighteen. I knew that without God in my life I would not be able to make it due to the challenging environment I had already experience in my home and neighborhood. Yet, to my surprise, the call on my life and the challenging environment were the perfect combination to press and fashion my life toward the Lord’s purposes. As I began to move towards those purposes by reading the bible, I realized that I was not the only person called by God’s at a young age; Jeremiah the Prophet was called generations before me and laid a foundation for what I would possibly experience, overcome and accomplish in ministry. With this in mind, here are some training points for parents as they raise young prophets, taken from Jeremiah 1:1-17:
Parents, I believe that if you keep these training points in mind as you raise your young prophet; they will be more prepared to be transferred into the hands of Lord and other trainers for further development. You can do it: Raise Jeremiah according to the word of the Lord. About Dr. Ulf Spears Dr. Spears has worked for over 15 years in the fields of education, nonprofit, business, and leadership development. He serves as the president of Strategic Leadership International, an organization that provides leadership training to leaders and organizations through consulting, coaching, training, and mentoring. Dr. Spears is a speaker and educator providing practical, academic, and spiritual perspectives that address issues affecting human, social, business, and spiritual development. He has a passion for empowering leaders and organizations to be innovative, creative, and proactive industry pacesetters. As a result, he serves in the role of consultant and advisor, providing trainings that challenge, inspire and develop leadership skills, habits, and qualities in the areas of change, strategy, and management. Dr. Ulf shares about his past, growing up and accepting Christ and how it shaped his future. |
