Learning To Listen

It is important to teach our children how to listen to their conscience and obey God in the small things.

I Timothy 4:1-2, “Now the spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils: Speaking lies in hypocrisy: having the conscience seared with a hot iron;”

It’s hard to believe but these verses are talking about people who once were believers, but now they’ve “Departed from the Faith” because their conscience became seared. 

If you disobey your conscience repeatedly, eventually your conscience will become seared.  This is not a good place to be, because it’s a place where you can’t hear God.  This is a place where you don’t know right from wrong. 

I’ve met “Christians” who have no problem lying; in fact they believe their own lies.  This happens when your conscience becomes seared.

Proverbs 29:27 says, “….the spirit of man is the candle of the Lord.”

When your conscience becomes seared, the light goes out.

I have a great story to tell you. 

I was a kid’s pastor in 1979, in Port Huron, Michigan.  One couple at my church had two daughters, Stacy, who was six, and Debbie who was four. 

One day, Debbie asked her Mom if she could spend the night at a friend’s house who lived next door.  Debbie’s Mom didn’t know how to respond because their neighbors weren’t Christians, however, she didn’t want to say anything negative about the neighbors. 

She responded by saying, “Mommy needs to pray about that,” hoping Debbie would just forget.

Ten minutes later, Debbie came back, “Mom did you pray about that yet?”

“No, Debbie, I haven’t.  Ask me later.”  Mom was busy cleaning.

Ten minutes later, Debbie appeared again, “Mom did you pray about it yet?’

This happened several more times before her Mom responded, “Debbie, why don’t you pray about it?  You go sit in the big green chair in the living room, pray in tongues, listen to your heart, and tell me what your heart says.”

When her Mom came walking through the living room, sure enough, Debbie was sitting in the green chair praying in tongues. 

Five minutes later, Debbie approached her Mom.  “Mom, my heart told me not to spend the night at the neighbor’s house.”

Praise the Lord! Debbie had learned how to listen to her heart at four years old.

It’s good for children to obey their parents, but it’s better if they learn how to hear God’s voice and obey God on their own.  Mom and Dad won’t always be around, especially when they grow up and one of their friends says to them, “How would you like to try one of these little, green pills?”

Sometimes when Christian kids grow up and leave their home for college, they can fall away from God, because they don’t know how to make decisions.  Mom and Dad always told them what to do, and they didn’t learn how to hear from God themselves.

Mom and Dad still have veto power, but it’s great when parents begin to let their children make some decisions on their own.  They can start by teaching them how to pray about things and listening to their heart.

I wrote twelve lessons on the Holy Spirit and this truth is in Holy Spirit Lesson 2.

Did you know that when you teach Holy Spirit to your kids, you can also share these lessons with the parents of your kids using the Parent Devotional?

Super Church 2.0 Holy Spirit has a Large Group Curriculum, Small Group Curriculum and a Parent Devotion for each week.

Not only are you teaching your kids, but you are training your volunteers and encouraging spiritual growth at home.

=>Click here for more info about Super Church 2.0 Holy Spirit is $149.