“Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.”

— Matthew 19:14

“This is what the LORD says: “A voice is heard in Ramah, mourning and great weeping, Rachel weeping for her children, and refusing to be comforted, because they are no more. This is what the LORD says: “Keep your voice from weeping and your eyes from tears, for the reward for your work will come, declares the LORD. Then your children will return from the land of the enemy. So there is hope for your future, declares the LORD, and your children will return to their own land.”

— Jeremiah 31:15-17

“And when the days of feasting were over, Job would send for his children to purify them, rising early in the morning to offer burnt offerings for all of them. For Job thought, “Perhaps my children have sinned and cursed God in their hearts.” This was Job’s regular practice.”

— Job 1:5

Why is there mourning? Why is there weeping? (Jeremiah 31:15). If you have been vigilant, you would know that all around the nations of the earth, satan has been working so hard to focus on our children. There have been lots of untimely deaths, children becoming prodigal sons and daughters, living like in the days of Sodom and Gomorrah. There have been those who have been sacrificed to demonic altars. Many are not listening to their parents anymore. They are getting involved in drugs, sex, alcohol, etc. The enemy has increased his attacks on our children because he knows they are our future five-fold ministers. Every child is formed in the womb of the mother by God irrespective of whether or not the timing was correct (1 Samuel 2:21). Every child is on the earth for a purpose and God has a plan. As parents, we must bring them early to the Lord (Mathew 19:14). Every child is a gift from God graciously given to us by God. “Then Esau looked up and saw the women and children. “Who are these with you?” he asked. Jacob answered, “They are the children God has graciously given your servant.” Genesis 33:5. “Behold, children are a gift of the Lord, The fruit of the womb is a reward.” Psalm 127:3. It is the responsibility of parents to arise as Job (Job 1:5) as a regular practice and bring our children before the Lord as a sacrifice. If they have sinned, the blood of Jesus at the altars is there to wash them clean. We must arise and cry unto the one who hears the prayers for our children. If we are are waiting for a disaster before we pray, it is already too late. Now is the time to pray even for unborn children. We must pray for the righteousness in their generation.

Prayer Points

Pray for those who are still waiting for their own biological children; that Hannah’s God will pay attention to their cry and break through every wall of hindrance in the name of Jesus: “So the LORD attended to Hannah, and she conceived and gave birth to three sons and two daughters. Meanwhile, the boy Samuel grew up in the presence of the LORD.” 1 Samuel 2:21.
Pray that God will direct the path of our children in choosing wise and not foolish friends; friends that fear the Lord: Whoever walks with the wise becomes wise, but the companion of fools will suffer harm.” Proverbs 13:20
Most of the children have been taught the way of the Lord. Pray that they will continue in what they have learned and have been convicted of: “ But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have become convinced of, because you know those from whom you learned it, and how from infancy you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.” 2 Timothy 3:14-15
Pray for the mercy of God over parents who have failed to carry out this command. Ask for the grace for parents to do that which the Lord has commanded. Pray that our children will be open to the Word of God: “These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.” Deuteronomy 6:6-7
Pray that God will arise and bring comfort to the heart of every mourning parents whose children have wandered away: Jeremiah 31: 15
Pray that ONLY the plan of God for our children shall stand: Jeremiah 29:11 “ For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”
Our children don’t bother to listen sometimes. Pray that the Lord will have compassion upon our children: Psalm 102:13 “You will arise and have compassion on Zion, for it is time to show favor to her; the appointed time has come.”
Pray that our children will grow in wisdom and favor of God and man: “And Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man.” Luke 2:52 “And the child Samuel grew on, and was in favour both with the LORD, and also with men.” 1 Samuel 2:26
Call on the Lord to arise and bring this word to pass: “All your sons will be taught of the Lord; And the well-being of your sons will be great.” Isaiah 54:13
Ask the Lord to water our children with his word so their hearts can be ready for the Holy Spirit’s outpour: “For I will pour out water on the thirsty land And streams on the dry ground; I will pour out My Spirit on your offspring And My blessing on your descendants.” Isaiah 44:3
Declare this word over our children. God’s word cannot fail and will not return to him void: “Behold, I and the children whom the Lord has given me are for signs and wonders in Israel from the Lord of hosts, who dwells on Mount Zion.” Isaiah 8:18
The Lord has chosen parents so that they will teach their children the ways of the Lord. Pray that parents will not fail at their duty post: Genesis 18:19 “For I have chosen him, so that he will command his children and his household after him to keep the way of the LORD by doing what is right and just, in order that the LORD may bring upon Abraham what He has promised.”
We must pray because we have no idea what our children will become in the future. There is a blessing to the nations that will spring out from our children. Pray that this prophetic word must come to pass: “And through your offspring all nations of the earth will be blessed, because you have obeyed My voice." Genesis 22:18
Pray for Godly relationships: “ As soon as he had finished speaking to Saul, the soul of Jonathan was knit to the soul of David, and Jonathan loved him as his own soul.” 1 Samuel 18:1
Pray that at the appointed time our children will leave home according to God’s word and get married according to God’s word: ”For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and they will become one flesh.” Genesis 2:24
Our children will not be sacrificed on demonic altars. Pray against this kind of wickedness: Psalm 106:37-38 “They sacrificed their sons and their daughters to the demons; they poured out innocent blood, the blood of their sons and daughters, whom they sacrificed to the idols of Canaan, and the land was polluted with blood” Jeremiah 32:35 “They built the high places of Baal in the Valley of the Son of Hinnom, to offer up their sons and daughters to Molech, though I did not command them, nor did it enter into my mind, that they should do this abomination, to cause Judah to sin.

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“Paul and his companions traveled throughout the region of Phrygia and Galatia, having been kept by the Holy Spirit from preaching the word in the province of Asia. When they came to the border of Mysia, they tried to enter Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus would not allow them to. So they passed by Mysia and went down to Troas. During the night Paul had a vision of a man of Macedonia standing and begging him, “Come over to Macedonia and help us.” After Paul had seen the vision, we got ready at once to leave for Macedonia, concluding that God had called us to preach the gospel to them.”

— Acts 16:6-10

“And Samuel said, “Has the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to listen than the fat of rams.”

— 1 Samuel 15:22

Discernment is a very important grace every believer must have. As we do the work of God it is very important that we pray for the grace of discernment over our lives. Our inability to discern can hinder our ability to perceive the leading of the Holy Spirit which can really cause serious problems as we do the work of God. Apostle Paul was already on a missionary journey with his team when the Holy Spirit stopped him from preaching the word of God in the province of Asia. We have been called to preach the Gospel and make disciples of all nations (Matthew 28:16-20). What went wrong? Why did the Holy Spirit stop Apostle Paul? When this Apostle became a believer in Christ, he was so zealous in his mission to convict many to Christ with the gospel of Jesus Christ, to the point where it meant everything including death as stated in Philippians 1:20-21 “I eagerly expect and hope that I will in no way be ashamed, but will have sufficient courage so that now as always Christ will be exalted in my body, whether by life or by death. For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.” However, in the passage in Acts 16: 6-12, something happened. Paul was stopped by the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is not a police officer standing by his police car with all his flashing lights redirecting the traffic, and as a driver is approaching from afar he can easily tell what the situation is. Preaching the Gospel is a good thing. Imagine if Apostle Paul did not have the grace to discern, he would have thought the devil was trying to block the work of God. God, who knows it all, had a different plan at that time and thus communicated that plan to Paul via the Holy Spirit. God needed Apostle Paul in Macedonian. The mission to Macedonia was confirmed with a vision in the night (Acts 16:9). The harvest there was ripe and ready to be harvested at that time. This was a fertile ground for the word of God and there was no time to waste. Genesis 8:22 "As long as the earth endures, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night will never cease.”

Another point of importance here is the obedience of Paul in following the leading of the Holy Spirit. 1 Samuel 15:22 makes us understand that obedience is more important than sacrifice. It takes a mind of humility to walk in obedience. We see this in the great Apostle, and this is the expectation of every believer. “Observe what the Lord your God requires: Walk in obedience to him, and keep his decrees and commands, his laws and regulations, as written in the Law of Moses. Do this so that you may prosper in all you do and wherever you go.” 1 Kings 2:3

What was the Macedonia Call? This was a call to minister the word of God and to evangelize the Gospel, encouraging and strengthening the church. Apostle Paul and his team did a lot of work in the cities of Macedonia. The whole of Acts 16 covers the array of miracles that happened in Macedonia due to Apostle Paul’s obedience: How can I answer such a call? Have you been avoiding the call?

Share Christ at Work or with unbelieving friends
Participate in a mission trip
Encourage and strengthen weaker Christians around you
Visit the Homeless/ unreached in your community and share the Gospel
Visit the Jails or Streets and share the Word of God
Above all pray for discernment and the leading of the Holy Spirit
Intercede for souls/establishment of the church out of your comfort zone
Ask God to burden your heart with souls
Learn about church growth in other communities and be a part of that by sowing seeds.