What an amazing weekend! It was such a privilege to take 12 young children away to the N.S.W/A.C.T. Regional Sunday School camp this past weekend. We had Sister Lyn St John from the U.S. visit to speak to the children. Sister Lyn works for the World Network of Prayer and taught the chidlren some different ways they can pray, and what happens when they pray.
On the first evening, Sister Lyn spoke to the adults about the importance of teaching children to pray. She spoke about the interest children have in the supernatural world.
In a recent list of the top 10 childrens books in Australia - as voted by children - the top one was all of the Harry Potter series. Number 3 was the Twilight series/book (not sure). If we don't show children how God Almighty can change their lives and how they can live with the power of the Holy Spirit in their lives, how their prayers can change their circumstances....they will start to look for a supernatural outlet in other places that are dangerous for their minds and futures.
God CAN use children. Children CAN touch the throne of God. If it was children who touched Jesus heart here on earth, it can be children who touch His heart in the heavens.
At the camp there was a powerful move of God. Children were filled with His Spirit, a large group of boys spent over an hour and a half in fervent prayer together. What a beautiful and challenging thing to see and experience.
Over the following few weeks, I will post a devotion you can use with your children which teaches them about prayer. If you use any of the ideas, try to take a photo of your family during your family devotion time. Send it to jmdowns@grapevine.com.au and be in the running for some great prizes. If you can't take a photo, simply leave a comment about how your time went together. Winners will be randomly drawn each week. If you give permission, it would be great to post some of your family devotion time photos here on the blog. Remember if you have any ideas that work well for your family, please let us know.
The prize for this week is a magnetic Rewards Chart from Little Billies Positive Parenting Tools. It includes an A4 magnetised sheet and 76 magnets that cover a range of behaviours/activities.
Kingdom Praying
It is very important for children to learn about the world around them. It is very easy to have tunnel vision and not thinkd or pray about other people's needs. The bible promises that when we pray for the Kingdom first God will take care of our needs (Matthew 6:33)
T = Tribal people
Most of these people live in remote areas so it is hard to get to them. They are very fearful and believe that everything has a spirit. They worship idols, practice witchcraft and go to witch doctors. Most of the time there is a lot of dirt where these people live, so use your brown m&m's to remind you to pray for this group of people.
H = Hindu people.
Hindus believe in millions of gods who are good and evil. They believe that how they live their life will determine how they will return in their next life (reincarnation). They do not eat animals because animals are considered sacred and could possibly be an ancestor. Hindu women wear a red dot on their foreheads, so use your red m&m's to remind you to pray for hindu people.
U = Unreligious people.
Most unreligious people are not allowed to worship God because of laws in their country. Many of these people have been taught that there is no God and that only the government can help them. China is a country like this. China has yellow stars on their flag, so use the yellow m&m's to remind you to pray for unreligious people.
M = Muslim people.
Muslims believe in one divine being, called Allah, whose messenger was Mohammed. They believe that Jesus was a good teacher but not God. They believe that they can earn their way to Heaven by doing more good deeds than bad deeds. A lot of Muslim countries have green in their flag so use the green m&m's to remind you to pray for Muslim people.
B = Buddhist people.
Buddhists believe that there are many ways to God. They try to find enlightenment through yoga, meditation and martial arts. Most Buddhists have an altar at home or work where they worship idols. Buddhist monks wear orange robes, so use orange m&m's to remind you to pray for Buddhist people.
O = Orphans.
Some kids are orphans because their parents have died but many in the 10x40 window are orphans because their parents did not want them. These kids need to know the love of God and need many other physical things. When you are feeling sad, sometimes we say you feel 'blue' so use the blue m&m's to remind you to pray for orphans.
