Do your kids feel led by the Holy Spirit about family matters?

[Aerynne]

Feel free to move this if necessary- I could think of a few different places to put this and wasn't sure which to choose.

Today we were contemplating going somewhere and dd felt that the Holy Spirit was telling her not to go to there (it wasn't a bad place, just perhaps not the right thing for today or something). That happens to me all the time, and some of the time I find out later why I didn't feel good about it (one of the kids where we were considering going gets a fever later that day or it turns out that what I do instead was very important) but sometimes I don't find out why. But my dd is so little and I don't want her getting that mixed up with what she wants, etc. Do your kids feel led about stuff and if so how do you handle it if it's different from what you want to do? I went with what dd said today, mainly because I was so darn grumpy that I wasn't sure I could be receptive to the Spirit. But in general I don't believe the Spirit tells the kids what the parents should or shouldn't do. She's often told me she's felt led to do or not do something that was about what she should or shouldn't do, but I've never had her tell me she felt the Holy Spirit was telling her what all of us should do. I so want to encourage her to follow the Holy Spirit:heart, but I don't want her in the habit of telling us what to do.

Thoughts?

[hopeforchange]

:popcorn

[Marrrg]

That is a tough one. :popcorn

[dulce de leche]

That is difficult. Honestly, there may be sometimes where she misses or uses it to try to get her own way. However, I firmly believe that God does speak to little ones, and that as her relationship grows, she will be discerning and reverent enough to not be manipulative. I would err on the side of believing her unless I was certain that there was good reason not to.

[jrsmama]

I *love* this topic. :)

Last year, when J and I were getting ready to go on our mission trip to Thailand, he was pretty scared at first and then when we got really close to the day of leaving. He said "Mom! The Lord is really telling me that we shouldn't go!" I know that part of it is that he hears me talk about my own experience really working to listen the the Lord and what he wants for us so he's starting to reach for his own relationship like that which just absolutely thrills me for him :heart

I also know that sometimes it's not easy to distinguish what a person feels led to do by the Lord and what they are feeling through their own emotional responses to situations. That takes time and intention to be in the Word, to grow spiritually and to really focus on a private relationship with Him.

I told him that I was very glad to hear that he was listening for God's encouragement in his life and to keep listening. But that sometimes it is difficult for grownups and kids to get led by our emotions rather than what He really wants for us. I didn't want to discourage him at all, but did want to help him understand this challenge that we all face.

As it turned out, it was a wonderful trip that has really impacted him and he got to see what happens when we live past our fears.

[butterflyqueen71]

I guess I have mixed feelings about this. :think

Now, I'm thinking of my own dd who is only 6.5, who we encourage to pursue her own relationship with the Lord. I certainly listen for her input and I do believe she has a sense about things and is a very intuitive little soul. But she doesn't have the words to say that she is being "led by the Holy Spirit", or the maturity to know what that actually means. And dh and I don't use that language around dd, although we do use that language with one another.

I guess at this stage, I would be reluctant to teach my child "how to hear from the Holy Spirit" so much but more inclined to encourage her to build her own relationship with God. I think the natural progression from that would be to teach her to discern what God may be saying to her or through her. I would be very careful of the wording I'd use as far as "God told me" at this stage, because for little ones her age, that is a huge responsibility to carry, you know?

That said, we do listen to dd and value her insight and input and we teach her to pray and that we seek the Lord for His wisdom and He shows us what to do. If, as a natural progression of that, she has a "sense" of something then I feel it is mine and dh's job to help her interpret that. I also believe the Lord could use dd to give her insights and ideas that could contribute to the family, even at this age.

As far as getting "direction" for the family...I just don't know about that. :think



:popcorn

[Eggy]

I think it's definitely possible for kids to be led by the Holy Spirit and I think fostering that and encouraging it in young children is excellent. I went to achurch service one time where my son (20 months old at thhe time) had hand, foot, and mouth virus and had about 10 sores in his mouth. During their time of prayer, the pastor takes words of knowledge from people his church, discerns them, and then will announce specific needs for prayer during that time. That night, someone came forward and said someone with sores in their mouth needed to be healed. I took my son forward for prayer and by the time we got back to our seats ALL of the sores in his mouth were gone. I later learned that word of knowledge came from a SIX year old boy.:heart

As far as the original post, I think it depends on the circumstance on whether or not I would solely listen to my kids. Did you get the sense she just didn't WANT to go? Or was it something else? I can generally tell based on my kids attitudes if it's really something Spirit led, or child/flesh led. Did she want to stay home and watch a movie? Or was it a place she was looking forward to going but really felt like you shouldn't?

Discernment as a parent I think should be most important in this. And I think it's an excellent time to foster that by taking time to pray with your daughter and ask the Spirit for more guidance in the matter and for Him to speak to YOU on the matter as well.