Spiritual Warfare and Children
Once I was asked the question, “What do I do when my kids give too much attention to the devil?” It was written by a children’s pastor who has a child fascinated with destroying the devil. He draws pictures of bombing him; he talks about it all the time, and it is constantly being brought up. The Bible says in 1 John 3:8, “The son of God came to destroy the works of the devil.” Because of this, it is important to destroy the devil’s works - it’s our job.
But how we do it is just as important.
I would start by sitting the child down and telling them, “Hey buddy! I love that you are excited about destroying the devil, because God is too! It’s one of the main reasons why Jesus came. Let me show you some great ways to do it.”
Isaiah 42:12-13 lays out a wonderful blueprint for battle, “Let them give glory to the Lord and declare His praise in the islands and coastlands.The Lord will go forth like a warrior, He will stir up His zeal like a man of war; He will shout out, yes, He will raise a war cry. He will prevail [mightily] against His enemies.”
This is what God does to the devil when we praise Him. We put our attention on God, and He puts His attention on destroying the devil’s woks. We lift up our voices to God in praise, and God raises His voice at the devil!
It’s absolutely critical we realize and teach our children that the devil craves our attention. He wants it more than anything. Isaiah 14:14 lays this out clearly when speaking of Lucifer wanting to become like God. He wants the attention reserved only for God.
I need to emphasize again how important this is. Have you ever heard a believer speak so much about all the devil is doing in their town, or their nation? You know, the ones who watch the news ravenously in order to keep up to date on all the enemy’s actions? It’s those believers who, if you didn’t know they loved Jesus, you might mistake them for someone who worships the devil. After all, they speak with such reverence and awe at all he is doing.
I know that was a bit of a strong statement, but we hear this too much. No one has the sense to say to these folks, “You sound like you’re praising the devil (which is exactly what he wants) for all his work on the earth.” They don’t realize what they are doing with their words.
Psalm 22:3 says God inhabits the praises of His people. Praise establishes a place on earth for God to come. It’s also what establishes a place for the enemy to come. Praise is the inviting/attracting force of the spirit realm. When we talk about what the devil is doing we encourage and invite him to keep it up. If you’d like to see this elsewhere in the Bible, this is also the entire focus of Psalm 149. Praise God!
Ok, we need to move on before I rant even more…so how do we destroy his works without giving him the attention he wants? Give it to God instead, and watch God bring us victory!
I love the quote from Bill Johnson, “I only look at the devil long enough to pull the trigger.” Let’s teach our children to do the same! Let’s lead them in giving our attention to Jesus, the only One who deserves it, so He can handle the distractions of the devil.
Do you focus on the devil more than you should? What areas can you focus on giving praise to God instead?