Episode 86: Hearing God as a Family

Episode 86: Hearing God as a Family

Aug 3, 2025 | 0 comments

Episode Description:

Fun, laughter, chaos, playing together, reading the Bible together, singing and worshipping God, practising listening to God, and sharing our dreams can all describe how we experience God as a family. Join us in this episode as we explore strategies for hearing God as a family and in community with others.

Episode Notes:

We realise not everyone who listens to this podcast is married.

  • For those who are single, can I encourage you to find someone or a community to have as a safeguard when hearing God. Someone, or a couple of people, who you believe are wise and discerning, who you can bounce stuff off, especially in relation to hearing God and decision making. Someone who has your back. Someone who will pray for you and with you.
  • For young married couples, this is a fantastic time to learn to hear God both individually and together. To assess who you will listen to for wise, trusted advice. To get stuck into reading the Bible and glean principles for your future together. To pray together. To wait on God together and enjoy sharing that which you receive from God.
  • For those who are empty nesters, you’re at a new stage in life and usually have more time and freedom to explore possibilities while still sowing into your kids and possibly grandkids. You play a crucial role in this.
  • For those with young kids, or even older kids, who are juggling work, family, chaos, intense ups and downs, often with limited free time, take a breath. There is hope. You are doing a great job. Hang in there.

First Principle: Partnership is important.

  • Doing life with others helps, and the same goes for hearing God. Cultivate trusted people you can share with as you hear from God.
  • For the marrieds, practice together. Pray together and in your prayer time, allow a few minutes of silence to practice waiting on God and hearing Him.
  • Before praying about a particular topic, ask God what He wants you to pray.

Second Principle: Model hearing God

  • With your kids, talk about how you’ve heard God. What it was like, eg hear, feel, sense, see.
  • Make it a normal part of life to share the dreams you had during the night.
  • Buy your kids a dream journal and write/draw in it.
  • We used to have a ‘soaking’ time in the morning. Put on your favourite music and ask God a question. It is easier (as I mentioned in episode 82 on practical tips for hearing God) to go from the object to the abstract. Especially with kids. Ask God a specific question. Episodes 10 and 84 were on helping our kids hear from God.
  • With our financial giving, we would ask God how much we should give to various missionaries or mission projects.
  • Expect to hear God.
  • Read the Bible together.
  • Don’t feel you have to add another thing to your life. Use the time in the car, over meals, etc.
  • Help your kids see themselves as God sees them. Help them in their relationship with God and to grow their identity and intimacy with God.

Third Principle: Have fun

  • Hearing God is a relationship. It’s not meant to be hard work. There is a freedom and an ease, an excitement. Laugh with God. Inject some humour. Kids especially love having a laugh with God and telling jokes with God.
  • Play games as you practice hearing God.
  • Use opportunities like birthdays and Christmas to practice hearing God. For example, a Christmas tree decoration is a prophetic symbol.

Summary:

  1. Partnership is important.
  2. Model hearing God.
  3. Have fun.

Prophetic activation:

Turn your heart and thoughts to Father God:

  • Try to imagine Him standing next to you.
  • Imagine you are juggling a number of balls.
  • On each ball is written one of your responsibilities/tasks.
  • Ask God if there are any balls He would like you to give to Him or maybe even drop.
  • Feel free to ask God more questions about that.

Time Stamps:

[0:37] – Gary & Jane share how they have heard God this week.

[3:39] – For those single, newly married, or empty nesters.

[6:27] – First principle: Partnership is important.

[6:55] – Second Principle: Model hearing God.

[11:25] – Third Principle: Have fun.

[12:29] – Summary

[12:52] – Prophetic activation.

[14:10] – Gary & Jane both share a prophetic word for a listener.

[16:06] – Gary prays for you.

Resources / Links Mentioned:

Bible Verses Mentioned:

Connect with Gary & Jane:

Support the show:

  • Please share this podcast with someone who would value hearing from God.
  • Follow and leave a rating + review on your favourite podcast listening app.
  • If God is leading you to donate or support the show in any way, please visit https://buymeacoffee/garyandjanM Thank you so much.
Episode 84: Children hearing God

Episode 84: Children hearing God

Jul 20, 2025 | 0 comments

Episode Description:

Children have an incredible openness and ability to hear God. As parents, we can either help or hinder them in hearing God. Join us as we share principles and stories from when our children were growing up, emphasising that encouraging intimacy and a relationship with Father God, the Holy Spirit, and Jesus are vital in helping our children hear God.

Episode Notes:

In Season 1, episode 10, we did an episode on helping kids hear from God. Back then, we talked about:

  • There is no junior Holy Spirit. Matthew 18:3 And Jesus said: “Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.“
  • Biblical principle of Samuel in 1 Samuel 3 hearing God’s voice.
  • Actively build their faith. During conversation talk about hearing God. Protect your child’s innocence by carefully selecting what they are exposed to, such as TV programs or movies. We also covered dreams and nightmares.
  • Make it fun to hear God. Games, creative expressions like LEGO, cooking, decorating cakes, painting, dancing, and singing etc.

First Principle: Children can hear God, perhaps more than we realise.

  • Visions – babies can see angels.
  • Discernment – often they have incredible discernment regarding safe and unsafe people. As parents, we may want our children to kiss and hug family members or friends when they don’t want to. Never force them.
  • Trust what your child tells you.
  • Dreams
  • Nightmares – it’s important how we respond. Never say ‘there’s nothing there’.
  • We can shut down their imagination, but our imagination is important in hearing God. Not that we make things up, but God speaks and shows us things.
  • As we grow older, we have more junk, so we tend to question – “was that God or was that myself?” We tend to analyse hearing God.

Second Principle: Protect your child’s ability to hear God

  • What they watch on TV, movies, etc. Don’t let movie producers influence their image of the supernatural. Let God show them what He is doing.
  • Always bring it back to Father God, Holy Spirit and Jesus. Where are they in relation to your child, and what are they doing?
  • Don’t open the door to fear with them. Important to get our junk healed so we don’t instil fear in them. Also, deal with generational iniquity.

Third Principle: Help your child see themselves as God sees them

  • Begins with their name
  • Identity – based in being a child of God, not in what they do.
  • How we treat them, what we say, our frustrations, ‘labels’, etc
  • Get stuck into reading the Bible with them, praying, worshipping God, etc
  • Practice hearing God in everyday life. What do we do about Christmas Day? How much money to give to this project? What does God want to say to Nanny? Let’s ask God if Daddy was an animal, which one would he be and why?
  • Spirit-filled church – a spiritually rich place. As parents, you are responsible spiritually for your children – the church complements what you do and can help significantly in teaching them.

Summary:

  1. Children can hear God, perhaps more than we realise.
  2. Protect your child’s ability to hear God.
  3. Help your child see themselves as God sees them.

Prophetic activation:

Turn your heart and thoughts to Father God and ask Him:

  • “God, what children’s game would You love to play with me?”
  • “What is it about that game that is so special?”

Time Stamps:

[0:39] – Gary & Jane share how they have heard God this week.

[3:02] – Introduction to children hearing God.

[5:35] – First principle: Children can hear God, perhaps more than we realise.

[14:45] – Second Principle: Protect your child’s ability to hear God.

[16:10] – Third Principle: Help your child see themselves as God sees them.

[21:06] – Summary

[21:35] – Prophetic activation.

[22:36] – Gary & Jane both share a prophetic word for a listener.

[23:48] – Gary prays for you.

Resources / Links Mentioned:

Bible Verses Mentioned:

  • Matthew 18:3
  • 1 Samuel 3

Connect with Gary & Jane:

Support the show:

  • Please share this podcast with someone who would value hearing from God.
  • Follow and leave a rating + review on your favourite podcast listening app.
  • If God is leading you to donate or support the show in any way, please visit https://buymeacoffee/garyandjanM Thank you so much.