Tongues, prophecy, interpretation of tongues, healing, faith, miracles, discerning of spirits. These are the gifts that Paul writes about in 1 Corinthians 12! It’s possible you may even be asking God to operate in these gifts yourself. You may be seeking out what gifts you have to offer the body of Christ. And you should! It is up to each person to pursue God and see what He has for them to do.

God has given each of us a unique personality and a unique purpose. In the same way, God has a purpose for your child! If your child has received salvation, they are in a position to use their unique gifts to build up the body of Christ right now!

In many ways, I think children have an advantage over adults. They have not lived long enough to have people belittle their faith and try to train them to believe that God has no interest in performing miracles today. We are in a great position, as parents, to teach our children that they can do anything through God!

Many Christians have a wrong mentality that we have to have everything figured out to be used by God. We have to know exactly how many minutes to pray and how many chapters of the Bible we have to read every day, which leads us to consciously or unconsciously believe our children are not spiritual enough to be used by God. But, the only thing we need to be used by God is faith. Take Abraham as an example; Abraham experienced the miracle of a child in his old age because of what? His faith!

Of course, faith comes by hearing the word of God (Romans 10:17). It is necessary that your children spend daily time with the Lord! Whether it is through resources like the Ultra Kids Family Devotional, the Bible App for kids, or the Mighty Series, starting a daily pattern of reading the Word with your child now will help them grow in love for the Lord. Soon, they will desire to spend their personal time pursuing God.

Our job is to give our kids the tools they need to fall in love with Jesus. We need to read and study the Bible daily with them. We need to give them opportunities to evangelize their friends and see us share the Gospel with our friends and neighbors. We need to show them it is rewarding to pursue God and encourage them that He desires to use their unique personality and gifts.

Your child may be bold and fearless. Instead of seeing this as a potential disciplinary problem, see it as a gift! Acknowledge that the Father may be preparing your child to preach or share the gospel with others!

On the other hand, your child may be quiet but deeply inquisitive. Ask the Lord to show you what He is preparing for them. And when he shows you, pray for opportunities for your child to operate in the Spirit now! It is time to stir up their gifts!

2 Timothy 1 6 says “To fan into flames the spiritual gift God gave you!” I have never felt more convicted that we must stir up the gifts God has given our children. It is time to dedicate ourselves to train our children to expect God to do the miraculous in and through them. It would be terrible to stand before God and have Him ask you why you never told your child they can do miracles in His name. God has a purpose for all of us right now! Don’t miss it for yourself, and don’t let your child miss it!

If our kids see that they can be used by God now--if they can see that God’s Word is true and that we can see it at work in our lives today--they will never turn their back on Him.

If your child is older, explain to them that God has given them gifts and talents to be used by Him. Pray with them that God would fill them with His Holy Spirit and use them to perform signs and wonders. With your younger children, do the same thing but spend even more time helping them find the gifts God has given them and encourage those gifts.

So, take the time to find out what God has planned for your child. Look at the gifts they show already! Some of you may have kids who are great at encouraging others. Romans 12:8 shows us that is a gift from the Lord! Others might be very good at helping other kids with their homework, or they may be interested in playing “school” with their younger siblings. God could very well be preparing them to be used as a teacher!

Each of these gifts is an opportunity. In the last days, God said He would pour out His Spirit on ALL people. So, take the time to stir up your child’s gifts and praise God for the opportunities He gives us to see Him glorified!