Lesson #3 my daughter taught me.

Listen with your heart

When my daughter was about 9 she was getting ready for school one morning. I was reading in the living room and she yelled out to me, "Mom is there a book in the bible called Ephesians?” I told her there was and she said, "What does Ephesians 12:6 mean?"  I said, "What, are you sure you have that right?"  (I was very new in my walk and was not familiar with the Bible but I didn’t think Ephesians had that many chapters). It was silent for a moment and than she said, "Wait, I think I mean Ephesians 6, can you find it mom?"

I grabbed my bible to look up chapter 6 and I asked her what verse to look up. She said, "I thought 12 but now I think it is 10-12, can you read it?"  I was not sure what was going on and why she was yelling down the hall for me to all of a sudden look up a scripture. I began to read, Ephesians 6 starting at verse 10, Finally, be strong in the lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of the dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.

My daughter said thanks and I said, "Should I read on" and she yells back "Yes, keep reading.”  I went on to read: Therefore, put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground and after you have done everything to stand. Stand firm then with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the spirit, which is the word of God.  I asked if I should keep reading and she said, "no" it made sense to her now. Curious as to where this had come from I went into her room to find out where she got this scripture.

To my surprise she told me that she was standing in her closet trying to choose what to wear and she couldn't make up her mind. In a very adamant voice she told me that God told her that scripture so she would know what to always wear. My mouth about hit the ground. Now it wasn't like God had said in a audible voice "Hanna the Lord saith put on the full armor of God", I was a new believer and I had heard people say that God had told them things in their hearts or spirits, I just hadn't experienced it in such a wonderful way as my daughter just did.

Hanna was so a matter of fact about it like it was something that happened all the time. As I look back on it I see that she never put God in a box, she knew who he was and she was open to all of Him. There were no limits to the extent of her belief in what He could do. I was so happy to know she was hearing from God and I knew God was using her to teach me that I too could hear from Him in my heart also. I just had to choose to really listen.

That day she taught me to always listen with my heart so that I wouldn't miss a special moment to hear from God. She taught me that He could teach us so much if we are willing to listen. My daughter bounced out the door that day excited to know what God wanted her to wear. I sat down after she left and thanked God for speaking to her and I asked Him to show himself to me in that way. I prayed that I would have an open heart to hear Him. As the years have gone by and my walk with Him has grown, I have learned that He really does speak to our hearts because He loves us so much.

She is one wise young lady and I am lucky to call her my daughter. I look forward to the many lessons I know God will show me through her in the years to come. Remember to always listen with your heart because God wants to show some very special things. I hope that you will want to be like my daughter singing with joy as you run into Abba Father's arms. He longs to love you and give you eternal life in heaven and to fill the desires of your heart.

Remember to always listen with your heart because God wants to show you some very special also.