Our latest Winner’s Way magazine included the beginning of this article, How to Ensure Your Child’s Success, part 1.
3. Speak words of faith and love.
The third thing we must do to ensure our children’s success is speak words of faith and love to our children and about our children. If you don’t speak right words to them, it can hinder their lives and development.
Words are very powerful. Proverbs says life and death are in the power of the tongue. Jesus said in Mark 11:23 that you will get what you say. If you believe it in your heart and speak it out of your mouth, that principle in the Word works positively. Remember the woman with the issue of blood in Mark chapter 5? The Bible said that lady kept saying, “If I may but touch His garment, I shall be made whole.” She said it over and over again and what happened? She was healed.
This principle also works negatively. Think about the ten spies who came back from spying out the Promised Land. God had already told them, “I’ve given you the land,” yet when they spied out the land, they came back and said over and over, “We cannot conquer the enemies so we cannot take the land.” What happened as a result? They couldn’t do it.
Children are a product of our words. They will stay away from certain things and they will love certain things all because of words spoken over them.
Words form images and carry vision. They can give or take strength. They can give courage or discourage. We need to be very careful what we say around our children and surround them with words of faith and love.
We see throughout the Word of God that spiritual law is enforced and activated by our words. Never say to your children, “You are stupid,” “Come here, idiot,” or “You won’t amount to anything.” When you say, “Oh well, they’re going to end up on drugs,” or “He’s going to end up in jail,” you may think that you’re just telling it like it is, but the Bible says that you are calling things that be not as though they were. You need to call things like you desire them to be and like the Word of God says they can be. Speak words of faith and love to your children.
Your words will ring in your children’s ears for years and years. Maybe your 17-year-old is giving you some problems. You need to put your hand on his or her shoulder and say, “It’s going to be all right. You’re going to be a big success. You’re going to serve the Lord.” They may not respond right away, but they will remember those words you said.
Now it doesn’t help to nag. If you’re continually badgering and fussing at your children or talking negatively to them, your words can invoke spiritual laws that can trap them and hinder them. Even though your mind might be screaming one thing, never stay up all night worrying. If you start to worry, stop it! Start saying with your mouth what you want.
I realize you might not have started off knowing all these things, and you feel like you’re too late to start, but God is a merciful and good God. You can start today and change your situation. You can start by hearing the Word of God and saying the right things and loving your child.
Years ago, a minister I knew imitated the example of Jacob, the Old Testament patriarch. Jacob would call his children in to him, even at his death, and lay hands on them and speak blessings over them. This minister I knew would have parents come up during a service and lay hands on their children and invoke a blessing. He called that the “invoking a blessing” service. He said that months after he would have services like that, parents would see transformation in their children because, like with Jacob, there was an impartation.
My children are grown now, but growing up, when they were in trouble or in rebellion or had bad grades, Pastor Mac would go into their bedrooms, close the door, and walk around in that bedroom. He would call them by name, and say, “Jim, you’re going to be a blessing.” Our son John’s name means gracious gift. I remember Pastor saying over our son, “John, you are a gracious gift from heaven.” He would walk around our kids’ rooms and speak blessings. He would say, “You’re going to be strong mentally and physically,” even when it looked the opposite way. He would say, “You’re going to marry the right person.” And guess what happened? They married the right women because we mixed faith with our words.
So, the first three things that will set your children on the right path are: lead them to God, train them in a godly manner while living right before them, and speak godly words of truth and love over them.
I have three more things I’d like to show you that will help you instill success in your children. I’ll post them after Christmas.
[…] This is the last installment of a three-part article by Pastor Lynne. Here are links to part 1 and part 2. […]