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God's
Secret Weapon
by Brenda
Steen
The ultimate secret weapon. Every nation wants it. And for years in
countries all over the world, military minds and scientists have worked
together trying to create it.
They've struggled to produce a weapon so ingenious it can catch a
potential enemy entirely by surprise. A weapon so powerful there is no
defense against it. A weapon that can overcome any enemy and win any war.
Naturally speaking there are no such weapons. But in the realm of the
spirit, there are.
That's right. God has in His divine arsenal weapons so surprising and so
powerful that when He releases them in their full power, they will stop
the Devil and all his troops dead in their tracks.
One of those secret weapons has been much on my heart of late because I
believe God is ready to launch it with a magnitude we've never yet seen.
It is a weapon that is small in size yet mighty in power. It is a weapon
that will push back the kingdom of darkness and speed the return of the
Lord Jesus Christ.
What is this great weapon?
Our children.
Of course, most Christians would never think of mere children as God's
secret weapon. They've greatly underestimated our children's potential.
But Satan hasn't. The war he has raged against children has been long and
fierce. Satan is - and always has been - afraid of them.
That's why Egypt's Pharaoh ordered the Jewish baby boys to be executed
(Exodus 1:22). That's why Herod ordered all male children two years old
and under murdered (Matt. 2:16).
Those are Biblical examples of the Devil's efforts to destroy God's little
ones, but the examples don't stop there. Secular history also reveals
chillingly brutal treatment of children in cultures all over the world.
These types of historical assults are evidence of the Devil's own attempts
to prevent God from releasing His power through children in these final
days.
The Foolish and the Weak
"Why on earth would God choose to work through children?" you
may ask. Because as 1 Corinthians 1:27 says, "God hath chosen the
foolish things of the world to confound the wise: and…the weak things of
the world to confound the things which are mighty."
The fact that those weak and foolish things include children is proven by
the account of David and Goliath in the seventeenth chapter of 1 Samuel.
No doubt, you know the story. The armies of Israel weren't being
humiliated by the Philistine army because of the Philistines' military
strength, but because they had one secret weapon: a giant named Goliath.
I
believe with all my heart that if we are diligent to teach our
children the ways of God, we'll see them move in power like
children did in John G. Lake's day.
- Brenda Steen |
Goliath taunted and terrorized Israel for 40 days. None of the Israelite
warriors were strong enough or adequately skilled in battle to challenge
him and for a time it seemed Israel would be defeated.
Then God released His secret weapon - a boy named David. God chose a
foolish thing in the eyes of the world, a child, to put to shame the
entire Philistine army and their giant.
He demonstrated the startling truth of Psalm 8:2. "Out of the mouth
of babes and sucklings hast thou ordained strength because of thine
enemies, that thou mightiest still the enemy and the avenger."
Today God is doing it again. He is pouring out His Spirit on our sons and
our daughters. He desires to work miracles through them. And as we
continue to pray for them and release our faith He will anoint them in
increasingly amazing ways.
I believe with all my heart that if we are diligent to teach our children
the ways of God, we'll see them move in power like children did in John G.
Lake's day. Brother Lake's daughter, Gertrude, had a great burden of
prayer for children because she had seen with her own eyes what wonders
God could do through them.
I once heard her tell how a child ministered to a man at one of Brother
Lake's meetings in South Africa. The man had suffered a sun stroke and had
a large cancer on his face when he came for prayer. Before Brother Lake
could pray for him, a little girl crawled up in the man's lap, laid her
hands on his face and prayed. Instantly, the cancer disappeared and he was
healed from the effects of the sun stroke.
During another of Brother Lake's meetings, a Chinese man received a
startling word from the Lord through the lips of a child. The man had
prayed, asking God if the manifestations he'd seen in Brother Lake's
ministry were from Him. After the service, a little South African girl who
knew nothing about the Chinese language walked up to him, "This is of
God," she said in perfect Chinese.
Joshua Fights Back
If we are to see our children move in that kind of divine power today, we
must recognize their ability to hear from the Holy Spirit and pray
mightily. Spiritually, we must begin to take them seriously.
Raising Royalty
Some might say that children who pray mightily and are led of the Holy
Spirit are unique, but these are normal kids. The only thing that makes
them different is the fact that they know who they are in Christ.
They've been taught that they are children of the King - sons and
daughters of the most high God. And in childlike faith, they simply
believe that when they speak, their heavenly Father listens.
…if
we will teach them that God can and will pour out His power
through them, we'll be startled at what they begin to accomplish
in the realm of the spirit.
- Brenda Steen |
Can all our children have that kind of confidence? Yes, they can and they
will if we as mothers, fathers, grandparents, aunts and uncles realize we
are raising royalty and teach them accordingly.
Kings' children are raised to know who they, are and to whom they belong.
It's imperative that we raise our children the same way. If we will accept
that awesome responsibility, if we will teach them that God can and will
pour out His power through them, we'll be startled at what they begin to
accomplish in the realm of the spirit.
Even in the natural, we're seeing that children have more potential than
we once thought. A while back, the cover of a nation magazine featured a
baby's face. The caption read, "They're smarter than you think."
Doctors believe now that babies can learn in the womb. The Bible says that
John the Baptist leapt for joy in the Holy Spirit and was filled with the
Spirit from his mother's womb.
Although I've never personally seen a baby moved by the Spirit, I have
seen little children, elementary school age and even younger, overflowing
with the power of God.
One of the first times was a few years ago when the Lord instructed me to
start a new prayer group at my church after the Wednesday night service. I
didn't know who would attend, so I just made the announcement then knelt
at the alter to pray.
Gradually, I began to hear voices around me. But they weren't the voices
of adults. They were the voices of children! One little boy swept up in a
spirit of worship prayed, "Oh God, You're humongous! And You have
tons of glory!"
Another child cried fervently, "God, I claim the whole world's
salvation! Not half the world, the whole world!"
We adults watched in wonder. God orchestrated that prayer meeting, and
it's still going strong. Many times the children beg me to pray with them
all night long.
The move of God hasn't stopped with that prayer meeting either. It's
growing. Not long ago, for instance, the Lord brought holy laughter to our
church. As the Spirit moved among us, the adults sang, danced, ran and
celebrated. Then suddenly we heard a sound that made us stop and listen.
It was the sound of great travail from the children.
That's when I remembered something else that John G. Lake's daughter told
us. "When you hear the children travail," she said. "know
that Jesus has one foot in the door."
Clearly, the battle of this age is almost over and Jesus is closer than we
think.
God is launching His secret weapon: the children, Let us pray for them as
never before. |
