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If you've never
done this before, you've got to try this. Get
out a blank sheet of paper and draw heaven's
throne room from memory. I'm serious. Borrow
some crayons or markers from your kids and give
it a whirl. How does it look? Now, go through
Revelation 4:1-8 and Revelation 5:5-9. Are you
even close?
Now, on another
sheet of blank paper, draw each bulleted item
without knowing what the next bullet says. (Kids
hate doing this the first time, but as they
begin to remember the elements, they love
it...it also helps them visualize the throne
room in heaven and especially the majesty of the
One sitting on the throne. Ready? Here we go...
- I saw a
throne in heaven
- Someone
sitting on it
- The one
sitting on the throne was as brilliant as
gemstones—like jasper and carnelian
- And the
glow of an emerald circled his throne like a
rainbow
-
Twenty-four thrones surrounded him
-
Twenty-four elders sat on them
- They were
all clothed in white and had gold crowns on
their heads
- From the
throne came flashes of lightning and the
rumble of thunder
- In front
of the throne were seven torches with
burning flames. This is the sevenfold Spirit
of God.
- In front
of the throne was a shiny sea of glass,
sparkling like crystal.
Are you
still drawing each bullet as you come to it?
Yes, there's more.
- In the
center and around the throne were four
living beings, each covered with eyes, front
and back.
- The
first of these living beings was like a
lion
- The
second was like an ox
- The
third had a human face
- The
fourth was like an eagle in flight
- Each of
these living beings had six wings
- Their
wings were covered all over with eyes,
inside and out
- Day after
day and night after night they keep on
saying
- Holy,
holy, holy is the Lord God, the Almighty
- the
one who always was, who is, and who is
still to come
Okay got it?
Now check out Revelation 5. What did each of
the twenty-four elders have in their possession
at this time? a _(1)__________ and a
_(2)__________. What does each represent?
How do these
things matter to kids prayer? Well, this is
a far cry from teaching something about Noah and
Ark isn't it? For kids who have never been
taught much about heaven, it will definitely
have some "shock value." It may even seem
somewhat fanciful to some of you, but to a child
the possibilities of a God this incredible are
endless. For those kids who think they "know it
all by now," this will give them something to
think about.
The throne
room is where we come to submit our petitions
before the Lord. Our prayers are actually
collected, not wasted, not lost in translation,
but they are gathered and used. Can you think of
the applications just from this small bit of
information we have about the particulars of
heaven? To see Jesus this way, triumphant,
powerful, beyond anything we would have
imagined, is to build faith without hardly even
trying. It says to kids, "there really is more
to life that what we can see."
The path to the
throne room is prayer and quiet waiting, even if
it does sound a little like a something at the
end of the yellow brick road. And the power and
directives given by the One on the throne shakes
the nations if we obey. |
