Can Preschool Children Hear the Holy Spirit?
“When any one heareth the word of the kingdom, and understandeth it not, then cometh the wicked one, and catcheth away that which was sown in his heart.” Matthew 13:19
When teaching any group of people it is important to ask yourself this question, “What do I want them to take home?”
Then your next step is to unwrap the message in a way to be understood. This is especially important with preschool children. They can learn more that you think, but if they don’t understand they won’t keep anything.
Think Like A Preschooler
A good teacher is someone that can take the Word of God and bring it into the life of the person he is teaching. We need to be able to stop and think how a preschool child looks at things.
Feeding children the Word is more than just telling Bible Stories. If all they hear are Bible stories, the will think, “That was really great, but that was Moses.” Even if you tell personal testimonies, they will think, “That was really great, but that was my teacher.”
Ask yourself this question, “What would God say to a 5-year-old?”
Go From The Known To the Unknown
Locate your kids. Find out where they are at by asking questions.
When I first began to teach on the Holy Spirit, I thought how am I going to teach the Holy Spirit to kids? I realized that the kids already knew Bible stories where the Holy Spirit was in operation. For example, Noah had a Word of Wisdom about the upcoming flood and he chose to act on what he had heard. I had to start with with what they knew and add to it.
Repetition Is Your Best Friend
Repetition is an important tool in teaching preschoolers. If you take the time to review you make sure that the message sticks with them for a long time.
You don’t have to spend more than a just a few minutes when you review. Simply ask key questions from the lesson.
When my daughter, Missy was 3-years-old her favorite thing to watch was Mary Poppins. She would watch it over and over and over. After 4 months she switched to The Sound of Music. (I think she liked Julie Andrews.)
Preschool children like repetition because it gives them a feeling of control – they know what to expect next. This is a vital part of their growing and learning process.
Romans 8:16, “The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God.”
Here is a practical way to communicate what the inward witness is to your kids.
Next ask the kids to bow their heads, close their eyes.
Make positive statements that agree with God’s Word like, “Jesus is your healer.”
Then say things that disagree with God’s Word like, “God put this sickness on you to teach you a lesson.”
Ask the children, “What did it feel like inside when I said, “Jesus is your healer?”
Allow for their response.
Then ask, “What kind of a feeling did you get when I said, ‘God put this sickness on you to teach you a lesson.'”
They will say, “A bad feeling” or “A yucky feeling.”
Tell them that’s the inward witness. It’s the same inward witness that will help you decide who to be friends with, and what you’re going to do when you grow up. The inward witness is not as spectacular as a dream or a vision, but it is supernatural.
So, Can Preschool Children Hear The Holy Spirit?
Absolutely, yes.
