When it comes to teaching kids to pray, we want to teach them about praying for others, then show them how it's done to give them practice. We want to teach them to pray for needs of people they will never meet as well as to pray for people they know - answered prayers validating and building their faith. We want to teach them about laying on their hands and praying in Jesus' name for healing. And to be honest, sometimes we want them to sound like adults. But how do they ever learn about the Holy Spirit? How do they become familiar with the moving of the Spirit in their own lives? Let's look at the benefits of "Holy Spirit Training."

Nobody Trained Me
   Perhaps what you know of the Holy Spirit has been dug out through years of personal experience, mountains of sermons and personal Bible study. Perhaps you still struggle, this very moment, with recognizing the voice of the Holy Spirit in your life (vs. your own will). Maybe it is a struggle for you to broach the subject of the Holy Spirit with your children or kids group because you feel unexperienced and "imperfect." Actually, these things work to your advantage! You will have front-row seat to watch the Holy Spirit in action, knowing full well that what happens is not because of your personality or teaching skills.

Spiritual Trainers
   In Deuteronomy we are instructed to train up a child, not just teach them. In combing through curriculum for elementary students, I've noticed that across most all of them, no matter the "brand," the same stories are taught over and over again, year after year. George Barna, a Christian pollster, says that teaching the same basic "Bible stories" over and over, even in engaging ways, gives kids the impression that after 18 years of it, they've learned all they need to know and can move on to newer and more captivating things.
   Teaching until kids "get it" is no longer good enough. We want kids to be able to win sword drills and shout out correct answers to make us, the teacher, feel good. But it isn't going to connect them to the God they serve. They may learn about Him, but they won't get to know Him. Our kids today need to be trained in spiritual matters by learning and doing. This is going to take a new commitment. Willing Sunday School Teachers and parents are going to be transformed into Spiritual Trainers.

Training Requires Partnership
   I watched my brother train his son to brush his teeth this summer at Disney World. Josh, who is seven, has been brushing his own teeth for several years now. But this particular morning he wasn't really in the mood to spend very much time at the sink brushing his teeth. Can you blame him? The call of Disney was very strong. My brother stepped up behind him, held the toothbrush and let Josh put the toothpaste on it, then together they brushed Josh's teeth. Now, that's training. Training goes beyond teaching because training is a partnership.

Trying Vs. Training
   John Ortberg, in his book, "The Life You've Always Wanted," describes the difference between trying and training. If you find yourself getting excited about the prospect of kids being trained in the Holy Spirit then remember that it isn’t about how hard you or the kids “try.” It’s about the training process and the work of the Spirit. Ortberg used an example of a couch potato being asked to run a race in the Olympics. The couch potato could try and try and try, but without training, he wouldn’t be a success. The same is true with kids and the Holy Spirit. Sometimes you can get them to try, but without training, it doesn’t last.

Submitted by: AC (c) 2004