Training my children to hear from God

The other day my 11-year-old son purchased two protein drinks from Sprouts with his own money. He drank one and planned to save the other drink for himself for another day.

Later that same day we went to pick up his 14-year-old big brother who was a Recreation Crew team member at Vacation Bible School. He was, to put it mildly, suffering from End of the Week VBS Exhaustion.

Big Brother asked Little Brother if he could have the protein drink instead. Little Brother said yes. He didn’t ask for any reimbursement or any glory. Honestly, I was shocked.

My youngest son’s strong tendency to be territorial over every little thing he owns made this seemingly small blip on the screen of life a truly monumental moment!

I talked with my youngest son later that day about his selfless act of sharing. He told me that he felt the Lord had already prepared him to give it away and he was glad to be able to bless his brother. He did this out of a sacrificial love for his big brother.

I seized that teachable moment to discuss with him the notion of inner promptings. I explained that following false impressions can be disastrous. However, following the promptings that are in keeping with God’s character and His Word lead to blessings. I told him that this is what I believe he did when he shared his extra protein drink with his big brother.

1 John 3:17 says, “But if anyone has the world’s goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God’s love abide in him?”

When our children want to share from their own bounty, as parents we want to verbally encourage them to do the right thing. But if we hold our tongue and wait for the Spirit of God to work on their hearts, they will learn so much more than simply doing what we prompt them to do. They will learn to follow the prompting of the Holy Spirit.

Deuteronomy 11:19 tells us, “You shall teach these things to your sons, talking of them when you sit in your house and when you walk along the road and when you lie down and when you rise up.”

Copyright © 2014 Deborah Rice, PeaPodFamilyPress

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Tags: 1 John 3:17, brotherly love, Deuteronomy 11:19, sacrifice, sharing, single mom, single parent, training children

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