Raising the Seers & Prophets

As we discuss the spiritual realm, and start to lead children into a deeper understanding of the things of God, we will very quickly notice that some children seem to be set apart in their ability to hear God and even to see things in the spiritual realm.

When our eldest sone was 2 years old he started to point at nothing and say, ‘Look Daddy, picard.’ We would look and see nothing. He pointed out ‘Picards’ in people’s cars, he said there would be a ‘Picard’ on a plane with me. But it was only when he stood at the bottom of the stairs and refused to go up that we finally cottoned on to what was happening. He was scared, and pointing up the stairs, ‘Look Daddy, scary Picard.’ It was then that we understood he was seeing angels and, on this occasion, a demon.

Discerning the spirits is one thing. Knowing the delegated authority that God has given us is another. I could have prayed in that moment for the demon to leave, but instead I saw this as a training opportunity for my 2 year old son.

‘Son, Jesus has given us authority over scary Picards – tell it to go in Jesus’ name.’ He did and it went. With that Josh immediately stopped crying, declared ‘he’s gone,’ and marched happily up the stairs by himself.

A quick definition as we think about this – Seers see things and Prophets speak them out. The words are often used interchangeably in Scripture, but while all seers are prophets - called to speak out what they see, not all prophets receive visions from God or see in the spiritual realm.

Some children are called by God from a young age as seers and prophets. This is not just an Old Testament truth experienced by prophets like Samuel (1 Samuel 3) and Jeremiah (Jeremiah 1:5). This is a New Covenant reality, especially for our children. When the Holy Spirt is poured out on all flesh, the children will start to prophesy, Joel 2:28.

When you come across children who are spiritually attuned it can be overwhelming for them as God reveals things to them. For example, in 1 Samuel 3:15, the boy Samuel was afraid to share what he had seen.

Knowing this, what can we do to guide such children, especially if we are not so confident in the prophetic ourselves? How can we be raising our children as seers and prophets?

1.        Encourage them in what they see.

Giving them space to share (and perhaps a journal to write things down in) as uwell as helping them to understand what God may be saying to them is vital if their gift is to be nurtured, not squashed. Even if you do not fully understand what they are sharing, allow them that time and space to share and process things.

2.        Ask open questions.

Questions allow you to grasp more clearly what they are saying and allows you to see how much they grasp what God is saying. Many times I have had a child share a profound insight where the meaning is so clear to me, but remains opaque to them initially. At other times, children have explained the meaning of a dream or vision that is totally unexpected and yet once they have shared it, it is clearly directly from the Lord.

I find the following questions to be of help as a starting point:

a.        What did you see?

b.        Do you know what it means?

c.        Why do you think God was showing this to you?

d.        What does he want you to do about it? When God gives us prophetic insight often it comes with a duty to pray into what we have been shown. Sometimes it requires us to speak out what we have seen. Or as I would frame it for a child, ‘Does God want you to say it or pray it?’

3.        Weigh up the prophecies.

We are not in an era when false prophets must be stoned, instead we live in a time when every prophetic word must be tested against Scripture and by the body of believers, 1 Thessalonians 5:20-21. Test the words. Be willing to show them gently when they may be wrong and encourage them to keep on listening to God. Where they are clearly wrong use Scripture to show them the truth.

Occasionally when we discuss this, someone will mention a child who has had a dream or vision that has left them distressed and has a clear demonic element to it. This is not a prophecy, or the work of an overactive imagination. We must comfort and encourage the child, but we must also take responsibility to pray for them and deal with any demonic root that we see. This is best done without the child present in most situations.

Where it is more of a grey area that is neither demonic in origin nor contrary to Scripture, be prepared to watch and see. This would be for areas where you don’t feel what they have said is from God but it’s not theologically wrong. For example, if they say that they saw a train crash taking place tomorrow, but you don’t feel that word is from God, allow time to do its work and God to reveal His plan. Ask God to clarify anything that is said if neither of you are sure – some other prophets in the room may have the 2^nd part to the vision that makes things clear.

4.        Challenge them to dig deeper.

If you see a child who God is revealing many things to, they will need:

·      Strong character,

·      Godly humility

·      And a deep knowledge of the Bible.

Deception is a great danger in our age. God has given us His word and His Spirit to help us discern His will. Encouraging young prophets to root themselves deeply into the word of God is probably the greatest preparation to be able to carry such a gift.

5.        Find the mentors.

Look for prophets who are mature in their gift and Christ-like in their character, who will take children under their wing and help nurture the gift God has given them. The life of a prophet can be frustrating as they see the way the church should be going and what should be happening but don’t see people change fast enough.

6.        Celebrate humility.

When God speaks so clearly to one who is young our reaction to them can pout them in danger of growing in spiritual pride. We are not impressed that they can hear God, after all we know God speaks. Instead of saying, ‘wow, you are amazing, God really spoke through you,’ we should put the focus back on God, ‘Wow, God is amazing. He is so kind in the way He wanted us to hear/be reminded of these things.’ Highlight how God speaks through others to and how the words they share are confirmed (when they are). (As a small aside, this principle of celebrating God more than a child who has been used by God is important for any time a child, or for that matter anyone else, steps out in ministry.) Humility teaches us to respond with love not judgement (after all it is only by God’s mercy that we are spared His righteous judgement). Humility teaches us that we are not always right, only God is and we are not God.

Anyone who is seeing things more clearly than others in the church is at risk of spiritual pride. They can start to think that they are superior to, or better than, other Christians - even those in leadership over them. This is why the focus on humility is so important. Philippians 2:3 encourages us on humility to consider others better than ourselves. They may excel in the prophetic but can they see how others around them excel in the Lord on different ways and celebrate that.

7.        Train your children to give all the glory to God.

This follows on from celebrating humility. Without God we are nothing, we have nothing and we can do nothing. In all things we should give God the glory. Our response and our words should be seen and heard by children so that they learn to do the same.

Let’s pray that God raises up a generation who will stand immovable in the face of evil, who will walk closely with the Holy Spirit and who will delight to sit with Father God.