The Supernatural Power of Declaring Identity-Scripture Over Children (of any age!)

Our church has a street ministry, and on Sundays we bring people from the streets of our city to church and feed them.

We often get a grandmother who will bring her infant grandson and check him into our ministry. Our infant room writes prophetic words for each child and hands them to the parents at the door when they pick them up at the end of their time with us.

After several weeks, this grandmother said her son, the father of her grandson, was with her on one morning when she asked to make sure we wrote one of those papers for her. She said the only reason her son, the father of the baby, was there on that particular morning was because he started reading what was written on the papers. What our team was doing was releasing hope to this family. Their family was experiencing the third generation of homelessness. The father of the child was open to coming into a church building for the first time just because of what God had to say about his son. He was attracted to the hope of what God wanted for his infant boy.

One of the most incredible moments in my walk with God was when I was able to take an infant and speak identity right over the baby while I would stare deeply into the baby’s eyes. Have you ever had a baby stare at you? The kind of stare where they are fixated on every part of your face? These little people are being held right in front of me all the time, and I get to tell them all about who they are and who God says they are. Not only that, I get to tell them all about Jesus and what He did on the cross for them and for us all. Then I get to tell them about the Holy Spirit and how He is here to guide and help us. If you have never done anything like this before, I recommend you try it, and you will see how it will change you. We want to show these little lives how valuable they are, and it is all because of their Creator—the One who designed them in their mother’s womb.

There are many ways to attain ultimate health and wellness like exercising regularly, eating a healthy and well-balanced diet, getting enough rest, setting goals and action plans to achieve these goals, having healthy boundaries in relationships and life responsibilities, and the list can go on and on. God’s Word is such a beautiful guide to lead us in the direction of health and wellness. The Bible is designed to breathe life and wholeness into us. Also, it is designed to help us remember what to do, who we are, who others are, why we do what we do, and who God is. This ultimate guide in life is always available to us. I will admit that at times it is very difficult to apply or even understand, but the goal is to always pursue and grow spiritually with God’s Word and His Holy Spirit.

Just like adults, children also have spirits. That concept right there can be very obvious to some but also as complex as it is simple. We may know that we all have spirits because God’s Word states that a body apart from the spirit is dead (see James 2:26). The flesh and spirit are two different parts of us. One is eternal, and one is carnal. Additionally, they cannot function apart from each other. We have a responsibility to keep our spirits healthy just as much as our bodies and minds. Just as you would put energy and time into making your body and mind healthy, you need to do the same for your spirit. The good news is you can minister to your spirit at any time. This means a mother can even minister to a baby’s spirit in the womb. Developmentally, a baby hears the voices of people as early as eighteen weeks of gestational development. Arthur Burk has created some great tools for this specific time for babies in the womb.

In our classes and in our homes, we have used many great tools to minister to our children and even ourselves. The easiest way to minister to your spirit is to speak sound, identity Scriptures over yourself. You can do the same over your children to minister to their spirits. So many times, we will start our day holding babies and speaking Scriptures to them and over them. God made us spirit, soul, and body. Our spirits are most aware of the Spirit of God. God made us uniquely in His image, and His image or likeness is a trinity. It is amazing to think that we, as humans, have three parts to us as well. We are not God but designed by God to reflect Him. So like our souls and bodies, our spirits need attention and focus. Romans 8:16 states, “The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God.” This part of us that is spirit enables us to identify that we are children of God. So, this is an important development or focus of development for all humankind.

What I think is beautiful is that it is actually very simple to speak Scripture over children and yourself. I am going to walk you through an example of how this can work. Let us look at Ephesians 2:10—“For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.” What I would do is look at this verse and make this a declaration or a prayer, saying it aloud over a child, adult, baby, or even myself. It is a reminder of identity, helping to solidify who we are in Christ Jesus. Here is what my prayer would look like for a child named Julia:

Julia, did you know that you are a workmanship of God? God created you, Julia, to work with Jesus Christ who is your personal Savior. He created you to work with Him for good works. That means God wants to use your life, your words, your hands, and your relationships for good things. God knew who you were before you even existed, and His thoughts about you were with the intent to prepare you to do mighty and amazing things with your life. I pray, Julia, you will always know for every day you are alive that God created you to do some amazing things on this earth. Not only did He create you for amazing things, but He wanted you to be a part of the process to do amazing things with Jesus Christ as your personal Savior. Julia, may you never forget that God chose you and will always choose you because He loves you and will always love you. I pray that you will watch God use your life to show the love and power and grace of God to others. Amen.

This is such a powerful way to sow into the lives of others, especially if you are an intercessor. If speaking Scripture or praying aloud over people is hard for you to do, the Bible is full of great truths that talk about why you were made and created. The Bible is full of stories of how God can use the youngest, the smallest, the overlooked, the outcast, the most hated, and so forth. God wants us to know why we were made and for what reason. This is the simplest and easiest way to minister to each other. If you do this, you will also most likely set a standard of what others can do for themselves and those around them. How powerful this could be to a whole generation if we could give this one simple tool to our children.

Have you ever seen the videos of children speaking powerful statements to themselves in the mirror? I believe that this one approach is very effective because the children are looking at themselves in the eye in the mirror and are saying some incredible things to themselves. If you have not seen this, please do yourself a favor and google it. You will smile the whole time and may even shed some tears. I cried when I saw this because I wish someone would have done this to me or shown me how to do this for myself when I was younger. The confidence in the children who do this will skyrocket because they eventually will believe what they say about themselves. We are seeing and will see our children thrive in confidence in their God-ordained identities as we practice this simple act.

I recommend that you make sure to look at the children in their eyes as you say things over them. Eye contact is a vital part of communication. It shows that you are interested, intentionally focused on them. You are saying they are important to you. Eye contact in and of itself shows value and confidence. You are imparting something valuable to each person as you make eye contact with them. I encourage you to start by ministering to your own spirit or to a child’s spirit. This is an easy place to begin in making an impact on your life or that of a child’s. My husband and I do this from time to time for ourselves. My husband has also done this to his students whom he teaches in a private Christian junior high school. This is so valuable to anyone, at any age, at any stage of their lives. You could even do this over the elderly in convalescent homes. That would be an incredibly powerful ministry as well. I can see children now, ministering to the older generations in convalescent homes. Wow! What a gift we can be to each other.

I encourage you to find some great scriptural truths and implement this in your life. In the activation section, I have some powerful declarations you can use as a place to start. I also encourage you to look into Arthur Burk’s resources as he has done a lot of the leg work for you. Many times, we have used his books and resources for our children’s ministry, for ourselves, and for others. You can also create your own since the Bible is full of great truths meant to feed your spirit and soul.

Activation:

Here are some prayers or declarations for you.

But now, thus says the Lord, who created you, O Jacob, and He who formed you, O Israel: “Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by your name; You are Mine” (Isaiah 43:1).

______________ (insert name here), the Lord created you! He formed you in your mother’s womb. You are not a mistake. you were made and created for a purpose. ______________ (insert name here), may you always know that God has redeemed every part of your life. Nothing will ever be wasted because God is good and He is working all things in your life for good. Even if it does not feel good now, it will be good in the end. ______________ (insert name here), may you never partner with fear. Fear was paid for on the cross, and it is no longer yours to carry. God is calling your name. Pause and be silent, wait until you hear God call your name. He wants to speak to you and know everything about your life. ______________ (insert name here), may you fully know and never forget that you are always His! Forever, He is yours, and you are His. Amen.

“I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing” (John 15:5).

______________ (insert name here), I am God, and I am deeply rooted in you. Your identity comes from Me. I am the vine, and you are a part of Me, the branches. If you, ______________ (insert name here), are the branches, then you are with Me. You are abiding in Me, and I am abiding in you. Your life, every part of you—your voice, your mind, your hands, your heart—was made to bear a whole lot of fruit. The great thing is I am a part of you, and so with Me you will do some incredible things that will influence the world around you. Remember, ______________ (insert name here), I am always here with you. Without Me, you can do nothing, but with Me you can do so many amazing and wonderful things. Amen.