When I was eight years old, my family was almost ripped apart. My dad was going through major health issues and my mother had to face many things on her own with two small children. I was very close to my dad and I remember having a really hard time. My mom was hungry for the Lord and she met a friend who gave her a “This Week,” one of John Robert Stevens’ publications. My mother had a tremendous meeting with God out of that little pamphlet. She came home one day and said “I don’t want you guys sad anymore. I am going to teach how to pray and have faith.”
I remember feeling so empowered out of that because I had a lot of faith and love for my dad. I felt that if I didn’t pray everyday, God would not know what was happening. I remember going to a prayer meetings in a home two blocks from my house and praying like crazy! It took about three years, but the turn of events was truly a miracle. God healed my father.
It is clear to me how we know only what we have been taught, and how we have only what has been imparted. That is why I have an urge in my spirit to impart and teach our children. I really try not to water down situations that require their faith, because they sure have a hotline to our Heavenly Father!
Here is something John Stevens—the founder of my church—said, and I really believe in it: “If we only knew how closely identified our Lord is with every little child, our efforts to teach them the Word and minister to them would be the most important ventures we undertake.”†
† Excerpt from the This Week “Deliverance from a Harsh and Unforgiving Spirit” Vol. XIII No. 4 by John Robert Stevens, Copyright © 1982 by The Living Word, a California non profit Corporation. Used by permission.