Be ZEALOUS FOR RIGHTEOUSNESS - Part V

Fathers likewise must live a life pleasing to God because their life will be a living example to their children.
Fathers must therefore the men who worship God, read God's word, talk to God in prayer, listen to God's specific guidance, and obey God in every area of life.

If we as fathers insist that our children do what is godly, but our life does not reflect what we teach, then we have become HYPOCRITES.
If we do not submit to God's word, our children will also not be able to submit to us.
If we always quarrel, yell and scream at home, our children will do likewise.
Children will learn very quickly the same "curse words" that their fathers use.

Children who see their parents living as religious hypocrites grow up CYNICAL about spiritual things.
They assumed that if their parents did not take the things of God seriously, but are only playing a religious game, they want to have none of it when they grow up.
And children from such "religious" homes will be disgusted and will backslide.
That is why it is a dangerous thing to "play church", and take spiritual things lightly.
Your children will learn to do likewise from you.

"Like father, like son" is a proverb that accurately summarizes the principle of learning by example.
Paul himself set a godly example to the young believers in the churches he planted and encouraged them to follow his walk in the Lord (1 Corinthians 11:1).
He also encourage Timothy to set and example for other believers to follow (1 Timothy 4:12).
Fathers are to set an example of godliness before their children at home.

Our actions speak louder than our words.
Children always observe and imitate what their fathers do, even when it is not taught.
Therefore, our actions, and not only our spoken words, must be godly.
Of course, parents are not perfect.
However, we must strive, with the help of the Holy Spirit, to walk after the Spirit and not after the flesh.

Our instructions to our children must be godly.
And our life must exhibit that same godliness.
We must show them by our life what it means to love God with all our heart, soul, mind and strength.

Even if we have failed as parents in the early years of our children's lives, it is never too late to turn to God for His help.
Regrets and complaints will not do any good; only more evil comes from these.
It is only repentance and prayer that can turn the situation around.

All things are possible with God (Matthew 19:26).
Therefore never ever give up on your children, no matter how incorrigible or rebellious they may have become.
Things can change over night if we pray in faith (Mark 11:24).
Our God is a miracle-working God.

We are therefore to pray for the following works of God in our children:

	That God's Spirit will move upon them everyday and convict them of sin, righteousness and judgment.
	That they will be obedient to the leading of the Spirit and not walk after the flesh.
	That they will love God with all their heart, soul mind and strength.
	That they will always turn to God and totally dependent on God.
	That they will seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness.
	That they will love others as Christ has loved them.
	That they will feed on God's word trust fully in God for all their needs.
	That they will always boldly bear witness to Jesus.
	That they will always rejoice in all circumstances.

We also need to pray for God's blessings over their lives everyday:

	That God will fill them with His wisdom and revelation.
	That God will grant them success in all that they do.
	That God will protect them from every danger and harm.
	That God will lead them not into temptation, but deliver them from the evil one.
	That God will grant them the favor of all men.
	That God will fill them with His power to serve Him.
	That God will use them for His glory.

E.g. In Job 1:5, we see Job, a blameless and upright man, getting up early to pray for his children, in case they had sinned against God.

E.g. In the ministry of Jesus to children, he always required a parent to exercise faith for a child. And he always responded in love and power to bless the children when requested by their parents.
This is seen in the raising of Jairus' daughter (Mark 5:21-42), the deliverance of the daughter of the Syrio-Phoenician woman (Mark 7:24-30), and the healing of an epileptic boy (Mark 9:14-27).

As we pray, we are to watch over them in the spirit realm, and war against any oppression of the devil against our children.
We are to exercise our kingdom authority to rule this earth by binding and breaking the power of every evil work in our children.
We do not have to sit by passively and allow the devil to rule in our children's life.
Command him to leave in Jesus' name (Matthew 16:19; James 4:7).

E.g. If we see signs of anger and rage in our children, we can command them repent and pray with them for God's love to fill them and flow through them instead.
We can then take authority over any demonic influence in our children and command the spirit of anger, rage and hatred to leave in Jesus' name.
We can pray and exercise our kingdom authority while the children are asleep.
We do not have to shout or yell.
We only have to do it in faith.
[Refer to the prayers for Good Family and to the Deliverance Prayers in The Prayer Handbook for specific examples].

This authority to rule was lost by Adam to the devil, but has been restored to all men through Jesus Christ (Matthew 16:19; 18:18).
We can thus use this authority to prophesy blessings over our children.
We must believe that what we say will come to pass, and it will be done for us (Mark 11:22-23).

We must always bless our children according to our prayers to God for them.
If we have asked God to give them wisdom in their studies or work, we must begin to declare: "My son has the wisdom of God, the mind of Christ."
We must not curse them, e.g., by saying: "My daughter is a useless and stupid girl."
If our words spoken over our children contradict what we have asked God for in prayer, then we have wasted and nullified our prayer.

There is tremendous spiritual power for good or evil in the words of parents over their children (Proverbs 18:21).
Jesus, our Great High Priest, is now watching over the words of our mouth (our confession), to bring them to pass (Hebrews 3:1 NAS).
He will intercede for us according to the words of our confession.
However, if we speak words of evil, Jesus is unable to help us from His throne in heaven.
Instead, we open a door for the devil to bring evil through our words (Matthew 5:37).

Parents must therefore never curse their children, even when they are angry.
Our curses will bind them and destroy their lives.
Our words will enter their spirit and bring about destruction to their life, until the curses are broken (Proverbs 12:18).
As parents, we should always repent of the curses we have put upon our children and break these curses, using our kingdom authority in Christ.

They are to point out to their children the difference between good and evil.
In this way, their children will find life (Proverbs 4:20-22).
In this way, their children will walk in the wisdom of God and live a life pleasing to God.
The days of the parents and of the children will be many in the place where God has set them.
They will walk in God's blessings as they know God's word and obey it (Deuteronomy 11:26-28).

In view of the great responsibility of parents to instruct their children with God's word, parents themselves must be students of God's word.
They must not neglect the constant reading of God's word.
Neither must they forget to assemble with other believers to hear the teaching of God's word (Acts 2:42; Hebrew 10:24-25).
They should also send their children to the regular children's meeting of the local church to receive God's word from the teachers.

Discipline will help the child grow up in the fear of the Lord.
It will teach him to do what is right, and not what is evil (Proverbs 22:15).
Such a child will walk constantly in God's wisdom (Proverbs 9:10).
He will be able to relate well with others when he grow up.
He will be successful in all that he does.

However, before a father disciplines his child for an offence, he must make sure that the child has been warned prior to that concerning the wrong.
If no previous warning has been given, then it is not appropriate to punish him.
A warning or two must be given, to teach the child to do what is right.
Only then a child disobeys knowingly should the father bring out the rod.

Children must be taught to admit their wrong and to ask for forgiveness from the parents or the offended party before discipline is imposed.
After the discipline, the child and the offended party (it may be the parents) must make up and be reconciled.
Mothers and fathers must not bring up and harp on and on concerning the wrong after the reconciliation. Such incessant harping becomes a curse.
This will exasperate the child and will drive him into despair and rebellion.

Many children feel that their parents are old-fashioned or narrow-minded.
However, this is a wrong attitude for children to take.
They do not have the wisdom gained from past experience.

If a child feels that his parents are unreasonable in their decision-making, he can appeal to them and talk it over with them.
Parents in turn must be willing to listen to their children and not brush them away.
Nevertheless, children who rebel against their parents' instructions will suffer in the end (Proverbs 15:5).