We had a season of in our family where our 3 ½ year old son was struggling with nightmares every night. After many, many nights of coming into his room, praying and worshipping with him, and taking authority over the situation—only to be back the next night—we all became exhausted and needed help.

One night while praying about the situation, I felt the Holy Spirit tell me to teach him about his authority in Christ, as ultimately his security came from his relationship with Jesus. So, we put together and taught our son a 3 step plan for how to handle these situations. He was able to quickly memorize the plan as the steps were simple. They are:

Just like our son, your children too have authority in Christ! This is because our authority in Christ is not based on age, experience, information, or titles. Our authority comes from being a child of God—under authority—with the power of the precious name of Jesus! Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not stop them; for it is to such as these that the kingdom of heaven belongs” (Matthew 19:14 NRSV). It is our connection to, relationship with, and dependence on Jesus, just as little children, that establishes our authority from the Kingdom of Heaven.

The importance of knowing our identity and authority in Christ cannot be understated—both for the big and small, knowledgeable and unknowledgeable, experienced and unexperienced. In her book, Let Our Children Go: Steps to Free your Child from Evil Influences and Demonic Harrassment, author and cofounder of Christian Harvest International and Strategic Prayer Action Network, Rebecca Greenwood says, “…we can see the authority in our young released, empowering them to be great lovers of God, kingdom influencers, history makers, leaders, and role models.”[1] This is so true! Have you ever seen a child or new believer (or even older believer) questioning how to pray God’s will? They’re sometimes unsure of not only God’s intervention, but also their authority to bring heaven to earth and spread the Kingdom of Heaven. Not having their authority as a son or daughter of God settled in their heart can lead to unbelief of God’s will, Who God really is, and their own identity as a child of God. “Children and youth love to get on the streets and impact a neighborhood, witness to the lost, and see firsthand people being healed. They have authority and anointing flowing through them…Now is the time to bring freedom and instruct our young in their kingdom identity and authority.”[2]