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Have you ever been
to an old fashioned "Testimony Service?" It's a
fading memory for me. We don't usually take much
time for that these days in our non-traditional
approach to worship services, Bible studies and
small groups. As I recall, testimonies usually
had something to do with what God had done for
someone - it was personal. I've found something
interesting about the importance of "declaring"
God's attributes as well as speaking out on His
behalf in other ways. I believe that declaring
is a God-focused approach to "testifying" that
goes a step beyond what has been done in the
past.
The word
declare in Scripture comes from the
Hebrew word which according to Strong's
Abbriged Definition means to stand boldly
out opposite; by implication (causatively), to
manifest; figuratively, to announce (always by
word of mouth to one present); specifically, to
expose, predict, explain, praise.
So what do
declarations have to do with kids prayer?
It is a fact that there is
power in positive (and negative) speaking. One
of the reasons why we encourage people to pray
Scripture is because of the power of the spoken
Word. What would happen if kids were trained to
declare God's name, work, righteousness,
glory, and strength which are all areas
encouraged by Scripture to be declared. What if
kids learned to declare what they see of
the Lord, which is also Scriptural (that's why
we encourage sharing time as part of prayer
time). How about if they declared new things for
their families, neighborhoods, churches, etc?
What if...what if? The answer is, things would
change!
Try these
declaration ideas from Scripture then apply them
in your prayer setting. |
-
I Chronicles
16:24 - declare His glory among the heathen
(do this while praying
for the 10/40 Window instead of asking God
to do something - declare His glory over the
people of the window)
-
Psalm 22:31 –
declare His righteousness
(declare God's
righteousness over future generations and
younger children)
-
Psalm 50:6 –
declare His righteousness
(even the heavens
declare His righteousness...join the
heavens. Expose His righteousness in the
face of unrighteousness that is all around
you.)
-
Psalm 64:9 –
declare the work of God
(some day everyone is
going to declare God's work...start ahead of
schedule -- find out what His work is
through study and declare it)
-
Psalm 96:3 –
declare His glory and wonders
(tell of His presence
and the miracles He does)
-
Psalm 77:14 –
declare His strength among all people
(speak His strength
into the lives of people who need Him...all
people)
-
Psalm 102:21 –
declare His name (Jesus) among the people
(declare His name -
the most powerful name in the universe -
among people)
-
Isaiah 21:6 –
declare what you see of the Lord
(this is the time for
kids to declare what they see of God
- this is quite possibly even a prophetic
kind of "seeing" - how He is moving in the
world or how He wants to move in their home,
school, church, etc.)
-
Isaiah 42:9 –
declare new things [as the Holy Spirit
leads]
(declaring new things
is a prophetic act under the direction and
power of the Holy Spirit...bringing kids
closer to experiencing more of the five-fold
ministries of church/Body leadership)
-
Isaiah 45:19 –
declare things that are right
(when things are
wrong, declare what is right. When things
are right, give praise to God for it, giving
Him the credit due His name.)
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