Oh’ Momma,
I was married at 22 and by the age of 23, I knew I wanted to be a mother. Conceiving a child wasn’t easy for me; it required a lot of patience. After two years, I finally had a perfect baby boy. I was never able to conceive again. This little boy became my life; my entire world was centered around him. I was determined that he would do all the things I didn’t and be all the things I wasn’t. Yet, the one thing I failed to do was consult God about his plan for this child’s life.
I have always believed in and practiced prayer. From the time I was a small girl, I would pray and believe for what I was praying for. So it was easy for me to teach my son about prayer. On snowy mornings as we headed out, I remember we always prayed to make it safely to our destination. I taught him to pray before meals and at bedtime. I taught him to bring his desires and problems to God, but I didn’t teach him to pray for his God-given destiny. I taught him to seek the hand of God, but not the face of God.
He grew up and was quite successful in academics and sports. I thought we had it all down pat--smooth sailing from here on out. He went to college, and I began to see changes. I brushed them off as teenage phase and then the young adult phase. By the time he graduated college and returned home, I could no longer deny that something was very wrong.
When he first went to college and left his safety net, the first thing that happened was that his faith was challenged. This happens with all our young people. I had no idea of the need to prepare my son for this. If our children don’t have a strong foundation, just like the Word says, they will sink—in sinking sand. He went to church as a child; faithfully he went. He was raised in church; however, he only had the relationship that he “saw” in church and the relationship I had with God. I prayed when I needed something. That was about it. His faith wasn’t solid, and he fell. It began with doubt, and I freaked out. I wasn’t solid either. I didn’t know the Word. I had barely read any of it. I went to church, but that was about it.
The desires of the flesh came in to play, and then the seducing spirits of drugs and alcohol. I was at a loss! I first tried to control this in the flesh. I laid down the law, so to speak, but there isn’t an earthly solution to a spiritual problem. I soon found out! I knew then that I had to seek the One who knew my son, and who knew his destiny. The One who really knew, God.
Bathsheba is only really known for her excursion with David. (2 Samuel 11) When you hear her name, that is immediately what you think of. Yet, she was a mother. She had a son who was almost robbed of his destiny. She and David conceived their first son from their adulterous encounter, and that son died just as God said he would. The bible doesn’t give us a name for this boy, but David and Bathsheba conceived again. This son was named Solomon and he was to succeed David as king. Not by natural birth order, but because God said Solomon shall be king. (1 Chronicles 28) This was his destiny.
It really looked as if Solomon’s brother was going to steal the kingdom from him. Adonijah has appointed himself as king as David lay on his death bed. Nathan, the prophet, goes to Bathsheba and implores her to go to the king and ask that her son’s destiny be fulfilled and that he be anointed king. (1 Kings 1) She does just that and Solomon is seated in his rightful position. He becomes king of Israel.
I love Proverbs. Solomon’s book of wisdom. At the very beginning of Proverbs 31, Solomon gives his mother credit for her advice. She tells her son what things that cannot get a hold of him for him to reign as king. She says, “kings can’t get drunk on wine and you, my son, ARE a king….” I love that!
Now how does this apply to us today, young and old mothers, grandmothers, and great grandmothers? Because your children and grandchild have a destiny in Christ Jesus far above what you could even possibly imagine, you have favor and position, as a child of God, to ask the King of Kings to fulfill your children’s destiny. Don’t pray for worldly things like I did, you know, straight A’s and homeruns. Pray that your child would walk in their God-given destiny and that God’s plan for their life would unfold! Pray that they would know how deep and how wide the love of Christ is for them. Pray that they would be filled with the spirit of wisdom and revelation that enables them to grow in God’s love daily! That isn’t saying that they won’t have straight A’s and homeruns but seek first the kingdom of God and then all these things will be added. Put God first!
Speak to them as the men and women of the kingdom that they are called to be. Say to them, “oh no son. Oh no daughter. You are set apart, the head and not the tail! There are things and people who can’t come where you are called to go. You are destined for GREAT things!”
So how did things turn out for me and my family? God is a miracle worker!! That I know. When I think about all the deliverance that has come to my family, I fall on my face before God because I know the source. It’s all because of the faithfulness of God. He took my inadequacies, he took my failure, he took my lack, and gave me abundance I did not deserve. He showed me mercy and caused the scales to fall from my eyes! A friend of mine said it best when she talked about her journey with her daughter through addiction. She said, “I thought I was leading her to the Lord, but it turns out she was leading me.”
Your child, whether a baby, toddler, teenager, or adult has a destiny in Christ Jesus! He has all their days written in His book. Don’t let the enemy tell you it’s too late, that they have messed up beyond repair. Nothing can change God’s plan for our life. We might get detoured, but God can get us right back on track. Don’t let the enemy steal the destiny of your family. Speak that destiny over and to your children and grandchildren even if they are grown! Tell them who they are in Christ and that they are destined to do greater things!!!!
Alice Bennett, Mountain Momma
I was married at 22 and by the age of 23, I knew I wanted to be a mother. Conceiving a child wasn’t easy for me; it required a lot of patience. After two years, I finally had a perfect baby boy. I was never able to conceive again. This little boy became my life; my entire world was centered around him. I was determined that he would do all the things I didn’t and be all the things I wasn’t. Yet, the one thing I failed to do was consult God about his plan for this child’s life.
I have always believed in and practiced prayer. From the time I was a small girl, I would pray and believe for what I was praying for. So it was easy for me to teach my son about prayer. On snowy mornings as we headed out, I remember we always prayed to make it safely to our destination. I taught him to pray before meals and at bedtime. I taught him to bring his desires and problems to God, but I didn’t teach him to pray for his God-given destiny. I taught him to seek the hand of God, but not the face of God.
He grew up and was quite successful in academics and sports. I thought we had it all down pat--smooth sailing from here on out. He went to college, and I began to see changes. I brushed them off as teenage phase and then the young adult phase. By the time he graduated college and returned home, I could no longer deny that something was very wrong.
When he first went to college and left his safety net, the first thing that happened was that his faith was challenged. This happens with all our young people. I had no idea of the need to prepare my son for this. If our children don’t have a strong foundation, just like the Word says, they will sink—in sinking sand. He went to church as a child; faithfully he went. He was raised in church; however, he only had the relationship that he “saw” in church and the relationship I had with God. I prayed when I needed something. That was about it. His faith wasn’t solid, and he fell. It began with doubt, and I freaked out. I wasn’t solid either. I didn’t know the Word. I had barely read any of it. I went to church, but that was about it.
The desires of the flesh came in to play, and then the seducing spirits of drugs and alcohol. I was at a loss! I first tried to control this in the flesh. I laid down the law, so to speak, but there isn’t an earthly solution to a spiritual problem. I soon found out! I knew then that I had to seek the One who knew my son, and who knew his destiny. The One who really knew, God.
Bathsheba is only really known for her excursion with David. (2 Samuel 11) When you hear her name, that is immediately what you think of. Yet, she was a mother. She had a son who was almost robbed of his destiny. She and David conceived their first son from their adulterous encounter, and that son died just as God said he would. The bible doesn’t give us a name for this boy, but David and Bathsheba conceived again. This son was named Solomon and he was to succeed David as king. Not by natural birth order, but because God said Solomon shall be king. (1 Chronicles 28) This was his destiny.
It really looked as if Solomon’s brother was going to steal the kingdom from him. Adonijah has appointed himself as king as David lay on his death bed. Nathan, the prophet, goes to Bathsheba and implores her to go to the king and ask that her son’s destiny be fulfilled and that he be anointed king. (1 Kings 1) She does just that and Solomon is seated in his rightful position. He becomes king of Israel.
I love Proverbs. Solomon’s book of wisdom. At the very beginning of Proverbs 31, Solomon gives his mother credit for her advice. She tells her son what things that cannot get a hold of him for him to reign as king. She says, “kings can’t get drunk on wine and you, my son, ARE a king….” I love that!
Now how does this apply to us today, young and old mothers, grandmothers, and great grandmothers? Because your children and grandchild have a destiny in Christ Jesus far above what you could even possibly imagine, you have favor and position, as a child of God, to ask the King of Kings to fulfill your children’s destiny. Don’t pray for worldly things like I did, you know, straight A’s and homeruns. Pray that your child would walk in their God-given destiny and that God’s plan for their life would unfold! Pray that they would know how deep and how wide the love of Christ is for them. Pray that they would be filled with the spirit of wisdom and revelation that enables them to grow in God’s love daily! That isn’t saying that they won’t have straight A’s and homeruns but seek first the kingdom of God and then all these things will be added. Put God first!
Speak to them as the men and women of the kingdom that they are called to be. Say to them, “oh no son. Oh no daughter. You are set apart, the head and not the tail! There are things and people who can’t come where you are called to go. You are destined for GREAT things!”
So how did things turn out for me and my family? God is a miracle worker!! That I know. When I think about all the deliverance that has come to my family, I fall on my face before God because I know the source. It’s all because of the faithfulness of God. He took my inadequacies, he took my failure, he took my lack, and gave me abundance I did not deserve. He showed me mercy and caused the scales to fall from my eyes! A friend of mine said it best when she talked about her journey with her daughter through addiction. She said, “I thought I was leading her to the Lord, but it turns out she was leading me.”
Your child, whether a baby, toddler, teenager, or adult has a destiny in Christ Jesus! He has all their days written in His book. Don’t let the enemy tell you it’s too late, that they have messed up beyond repair. Nothing can change God’s plan for our life. We might get detoured, but God can get us right back on track. Don’t let the enemy steal the destiny of your family. Speak that destiny over and to your children and grandchildren even if they are grown! Tell them who they are in Christ and that they are destined to do greater things!!!!
Alice Bennett, Mountain Momma