It was my second time around being pregnant and I just knew I was carrying a little girl! Even before the ultrasound revealed the gender, I dreamt and saw both my sister-in-law & I holding our new baby girls (they are five months apart, and at the time of the dream, my sister didn't know the gender of her baby nor did she know I was pregnant!). The Lord also whispered in my heart that this little girl was a warrior! There was quite a bit the Lord showed us about our daughter even before she was born and, like Mary, I treasured all those things in my heart.
Carrying a little spark of life in your body is the most tremendous and precious secret, the most awe-inspiring mystery, the greatest wonder of this world! The Lord knows that child in the deepest, most extensive, intimate way possible and He will share tender, undisclosed details with you about that person if you ask & if you listen! The Lord can declare the end from the beginning (Isaiah 46:10)... just get lost in that thought!!!
We spoke and prophesied over our daughter by voicing what we heard the Lord say about our child and we chose a name that means "renowned warrior". On a side note - this is what we are called to do as parents: ask the Lord, who is this child? And then give voice to what the LORD declares over that child! The popular parenting proverb, Proverbs 22:6, "Train up a child in the way he should go" can literally be translated, "according to his way"... train up a child to love the Lord, have certain values, etc. or as the Cambridge Bible Commentary says, "not only the broad principles of education, physical, intellectual, moral, spiritual, which are the same for all, but their adaptation to each particular case, in a careful study of individual character and capacity, and with a thoughtful regard to future course of life..." And the proverb ends with, "and when he is old, he will not depart from it." Or, he will not depart from himself.
If we, and our children, lived life from a place of WHOLENESS, knowing who we were in relationship with Father God... if we knew what the Lord says about us... what He created us to do & participate in, etc. These are the kind of people who all of hell trembles under and who all of heaven celebrates with!!! Partnered with the Holy Spirit, we are equipped to do this for our children!
Back to my little princess warrior... I didn't immediately comprehend all the implications of what the Lord whispered to my heart, and I still don't! But one thing that I discovered was that the Lord was giving me a HEADS UP! I laugh about it often now! This little girl has SUCH a call on her life - she is Passionate. Extremely passionate! This is exactly the wording I use as she screams and nearly breaks glass with her immense VOLUME and ear-piercing cries! This girl cares deeply about Justice, and again, as she RAGES about not getting what she feels entitled to, when she wants it... I speak life over my daughter. And... I train her in the way she should go and fight for her.
Just this past week we had a three or four day stint (its all a blur!) where my daughter screamed and cried nearly nonstop! She was cutting a tooth and was extremely emotional about the littlest things! By the fourth day I needed a BREAKTHROUGH! I had been praying over my daughter and commanding the pain to leave (along with all the normal things a Mom does for a teething child) and bedtime rolled around. After our normal routine, Rowin went right to sleep, all tuckered out as the sweet big brother he is. He truly had been amazingly gentle and compassionate with his little firecracker sister, sharing toys with her, buying me five mins by singing songs to her in her highchair, making her laugh... I needed all the help I could get!!!
I remember she crawled out of her bed and cuddled up to me as I sat on the floor against her bed. She eventually leaned back against my knees and as I rubbed her tummy and stroked her forehead, singing over her, she slipped into sleep. Precious, peaceful sleep and I just stayed like that for a long while. It was sacred time. Time where I was able sing over my child, pray over her, fight for her and whisper blessing into her ear. Do you know this is what the Lord does to us as well?
I once had a picture of a child, raging around a living room like a little toddling tornado. Pulling out all the kleenex from the box, knocking over a mug of tea, pulling out books from the shelf and toys from the box... leaving a mess behind him wherever he went! Eventually the child collapsed onto the floor in exhaustion and the Lord spoke to my heart, "This is what you do, but every night as you fall asleep after a day of trying to do things your own way, I bless you and sing my song over you!"
"The Lord your God in your midst, The Mighty One, will save; He will rejoice over you with gladness, He will quiet you with His love, He will rejoice over you with singing" (Zephaniah 3:17).
As my daughter slept she soaked in my song over her and I spoke the Word of God over her life, here are some of the scriptures I turned into prayers:
Lord, deliver my daughter from this frustration, your blood broke the curse and you have made my daughter a child of God, her inheritance is freedom and glory (Romans 8:21)
Thank You Father that the JOY of the Lord is my daughter's strength (Nehemiah 8:10)
Rest my daughter, Lord, may my daughter rest in You, may this be her strength! (Isaiah 30:15)
Lord, I thank you for making me and my children signs and wonders in this earth! May my daughter walk in the freedom of God and operate as a conduit of Heaven! (Isaiah 8:18 )
Give my daughter peace that passes all understanding (Philippians 4:7)
I could go on and on, but I'm telling you what, as you pray scripture over your child (marriage, business, yourself... you can apply this to any area of your life!), the Holy Spirit will bring to mind the perfect passages! In Romans 8:26, Paul gives us the inside scoop of how the Holy Spirit prays through us!
That night I experienced a BREAKTHROUGH. The prayers of the righteous ARE Powerful and Effective (James 5:6)! Since that night, my little girl's countenance has become so much more content & joyful. Two nights in a row she has slept the WHOLE night in her bed and that is a straight up miracle folks!
Be Encouraged, Beloved as you walk in unknown territory!
Have Hope when you don't know what to do!
Press In when you feel like falling apart!
And pick up your most POWERFUL weapon - the Word of God - to fight on behalf of your loved ones! Oftentimes the most prevailing way of fighting looks like holding your sleeping baby, praying God's word over them or kneeling in your closet and petitioning Heaven for the promises and prophetic words spoken over your life.
It is so intimate a time, its best done behind closed doors.
- xoxo -
Melody
ps. I would love to hear your testimonies of how you have seen breakthrough bust forth from the place of prayer!!!