Many prophetic children struggle with a stronghold of fear. Clearly, Satan wants to intimidate prophetic kids so they won’t rise to their calling in full spiritual authority.
When Daniel was about 4 years old, he started waking up in fear night after night. So I began working with him, teaching him 2 Timothy 1:7: “For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind” (NKJV).
One night there was tremendous spiritual oppression around us. It was so thick you could cut it with a knife.
In the wee hours of the morning, we heard loud shouting coming from Daniel’s bedroom. It was Daniel, and he was yelling at the top of his lungs.
“Devil,” he proclaimed, “God hasn’t given me a spirit of fear. I command you to leave my room right now. You have no authority or right in this room because I’m a child of the living God!”
Mike woke up, rolled over and murmured sleepily, “Cindy, can’t you teach him to do that quietly?”
I just laughed. I was thrilled at what I’d heard Daniel do!
Mary was also fiercely attacked in the night, particularly when I was ministering overseas. She used to say, “Mother, I can tell the minute you get up to teach on spiritual warfare!”
One night I was in a city in southern Argentina and Mary was back home in Texas. As I lay down to sleep, a dark presence filled the room. Both my roommate, Doris Cabrerra, and I felt it.
At the same time, a dark presence appeared in Mary’s room back home. After I got home and Mary told me about what happened, I asked her, “Why didn’t you wake your daddy to help you pray?”
“Oh, Mother, it was just a demon, and I knew what to do,” she said. “Why bother Daddy and wake him up in the middle of the night?”
PRACTICAL PARENTING IDEAS Raising prophetic children can be an adventure, that’s for sure. Here are a number of practical tips I’ve learned during the years:
1. Teach your kids about the spirit realm. I talked to my children about demonic powers and angels from an early age because they were seeing both.
2. Encourage them to intercede. Pray with your children and listen to their prayers. If they begin to pray prophetically, talk to them about it.
For instance, they may pray for their sick grandmother without knowing in advance that she is ill. Find out if indeed Grandma hasn’t been feeling well and then give a report to the children. Build them up in their most holy faith.
3. Teach them the Word and their authority and security in Jesus Christ. Read Bible stories to them as well as stories of heroes and heroines of the Christian faith.
4. Pray with your prayer partners for them.
5. Watch and see if they have any major personality changes. Sometimes prophetic children will be attacked by demonic spirits or demonic spirit guides. These can take the form of imaginary friends.
Although it is possible the children are simply pretending, I would quiz them to see what the “friends” are telling them. It may be that demons are trying to control them by masquerading as “friends.”
Demons may also manifest themselves as cartoon characters. Many prophetic children have reported that cartoon personalities appeared to them and told them such things as, “Don’t obey your parents” or “Why don’t you run away?”
I remember Daniel getting up for breakfast one morning when he was 3 years old and announcing to me, “Mommy, a Spiderman was on my bed last night.” Immediately I knew that a demon had taken the form of a spider-type man to try to trick him.
“Daniel,” I asked, “is he here now?”
“Oh, yes, Mom, he’s always here.”
“Daniel,” I countered, “he is not your friend. He is a demon. Rebuke him and tell him to go.”
At this, Daniel spouted out in a clear voice, “In Jesus’ name, go!”
“Did he leave?” I asked.
“Yes, Mama,” he said, “he left.”
