Planting Life
Happy New Year, Readers!!! I’m so thankful to God for taking us to greater heights last year, and I also want to thank you for joining me last year as we explored several topics in bringing restoration and transformation to families. I’m so excited about what God has in store for us this year, the year of “Abundant Life.” Welcome to our season of Abundant Life!
Abundant life is God’s desire for His children, and one of the tools He has gifted us with to flow in abundant life is our tongue. Death and life are in the power of the tongue and what we declare or do not declare determines if life is given or snuffed out.
“Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it and indulge it will eat its fruit and bear the consequences of their words.” (Proverbs 18:21, AMP)
For a long time, I wondered why some adults sometimes found it difficult to believe what God says about them from His word. It puzzled me when I observed some even make declarations, but there was no belief in what they said, making it very challenging for them to walk in boldness and confidence in their declarations. This was a question I needed an answer to, and as I pondered on it for a while, the Holy Spirit began to give me an understanding of the root cause of this phenomenon.
Negative words (a.k.a negative declarations) are likened to weeds in one’s field; such negative declarations should never be spoken over our children's lives. Even our thoughts towards our children should never be negative in nature, as it still has the power to influence the outcome of their lives. This is because as a man thinks in his heart, so is he (Proverbs 23:7).
Nevertheless, it is not good enough to refrain from pronouncing negative words in our children’s lives; we need to take an extra and much-needed step in pronouncing positive declarations over them. A field with no weeds remains a fruitless field if no seeds are planted in it. It is the planting of good seeds that causes it to produce good fruits. Remember, children are like sponges that absorb anything that is given to them. As positive declarations are spoken over their lives, especially to their hearing, it becomes who they turn out to be. As we speak life into them as frequently as possible, it becomes the atmosphere they get accustomed to, inadvertently becoming their norm. Hearing your life-filled words floods their minds, and with time, they begin to believe them and act them out. This can be likened to when one goes to the mall and unconsciously hear the music in the stores, and upon returning home, one unconsciously begins to hum to the song. This is the same thing that happens with children. As life is spoken to our children's hearing (not just in our private prayers), it becomes the hum in their lives.
The Bible says, “so then faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of God.” (Romans 10:17, NKJV). The “first hearing” is what they hear from young as kids, and the “second hearing” is what they begin to speak over their own lives as they grow. This is important because the “first hearing” of life from you as parents creates the possibilities in their minds, eventually becoming what they speak over their lives, becoming their reality. Rachel was a mother who almost changed the trajectory of the life of Benjamin by speaking the first negative words to him through the name she wanted to call him, “Benoni,” which meant son of sorrow. He would have become a man that brought sorrow everywhere he went, but Jacob (the father) stepped in and uprooted those negative words and called him Benjamin instead, meaning son of my right hand (or strength). As parents, we should not allow our situation or circumstances to pressure us into declaring negatively over our children’s lives.
Let’s begin to cultivate a habit of planting life into our children. If your kids have grown into adults, it’s not too late to begin to do it. It can be as simple as calling or texting them, and you begin the conversation by declaring life over their lives. For example, you can say, “Hello, Beautiful/Handsome.” This simple yet powerful statement speaks to their identity. It reminds them that they have been fearfully and wonderfully made in the image and likeness of God. “Hi Champ” speaks about the abilities God has placed in their lives and reminds them that they can do all things through Christ, who gives them strength.
The “Declare” album by Pastor Emmanuel Adewusi (which is available on all music platforms) and the book “I Know Who I am” by Tumininu Agboola are excellent and powerful tools for pronouncing life over our children. As these words are spoken, I pray that these life-filled words will be manifested in our children's lives in Jesus’ name, amen.
The temptation to speak death over our children is real, especially when they might have done something that isn’t too pleasing or even when you are stressed or frustrated. However, it takes the help of the Holy Spirit to caution us not to speak death over them and change it into life. The nudges and prompts from the Holy Spirit can only be accessed when Jesus Christ has been given a chance to become our Lord and Personal Savior. This takes a simple step, as simple as saying this prayer with me:
“Lord Jesus Christ, I believe you are the Son of God, and I believe You died for me on the cross of Calvary. I know I am a sinner, and today, I come to You to forgive me for all my sins and to make me a brand-new creation. I accept You as my personal Lord and Saviour. Thank you, Lord, for forgiving me and making me born again, in Jesus’ name, Amen.”
Congratulations!!!! You are now born-again! This means you have been engrafted into the family of Jesus Christ. If you made this decision, I would love to hear from you today and provide resources for your new journey! Please fill out the new life in Christ form and leave a comment on this post.