By Gloria Copeland

Adapted from the August 2002 edition of the BVOV Magazine.

Did you know your children are in your heart? It is true. You carry your children in your heart the same way God carries you in His heart.

You can feel what is going on with them even when they are on the other side of the world. If they are hurt, if they are lonely, if they are toying with sin and getting off track — when things are wrong or things are right, you can feel it.

I remember once when Ken and I were in Australia. We were flying from one city to another and suddenly thoughts of our son, John, flooded my heart. John was a teenager at the time and he was all boy. He rode everything with wheels — cars, trucks, motorcycles, dune buggies. And it seemed he was always turning something over.

That day on the plane, I was concerned about him. I knew how much the devil would like to sneak in and steal his life, and I was concerned that John’s misadventures could give the devil the opportunity to do it.

But the Holy Spirit broke in on my thoughts. He spoke to Ken and said, “My mercy hovers over John”. When Ken relayed those words to me, all my fears vanished.

“My mercy hovers over John”. I woll never forget that promise. As I have prayed for John throughout the years, that wonderful word from God would often rise up and remind me that John’s life was secure. It would assure me that God would keep him and hold him steady until the day he got things straight in his life.

My mercy hovers over your child. That is a wonderful word from God. If God will do that for my child, He will do it for yours. The covenant God has made with you in the blood of Jesus extends to your children and your children’s children. Psalm 103:17 says, “But the mercy of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting upon them that fear him, and his righteousness unto children’s children.”

Our grandchildren are covered in our covenant with God. Everything God gives to me, He will give to them. All the protection that I have, He passes on to my family.
If you are a believer and you are willing to trust God for the deliverance and salvation of your children, you will not be disappointed.

Study Zechariah 10:7-9. There God tells us about the outpouring of the Spirit of God in the last days — the days we are living in. He says:

“And they of Ephraim shall be like a mighty man, and their heart shall rejoice as through wine: yea, their children shall see it, and be glad; their heart shall rejoice in the Lord. I will hiss for them [your children], and gather them; for I have redeemed them….And I will sow them among the people: and they shall remember me in far countries; and they shall live with their children, and turn again.”

You may not even know where your children are right now. They may be in another city or another country. It does not matter. This scripture says when you rejoice in the Lord — not when you’re depressed or worried or afraid, but when you trust God so totally that you are filled up with joy — then your children will see it and turn.

“I will hiss for them.” What does that mean? It means God will signal for them. He will say, “Pssst! Come here!” And they will come running.

Let me tell you something. God knows how to get somebody’s attention. He knows how to signal for the ones His people are praying for. Kenneth’s mother prayed for me and then one day God said, “Pssst, Gloria!” I heard Him and was born again. I did not know much about God before that time. I knew there was a God, but had no real knowledge about Him. Yet He still knew how to get my attention. He called and here I am today preaching His Word!

He will do the same thing for your child. It does not matter what kind of wickedness that child has fallen into, God can still reach him. I know a man who pastors a great church in Sacramento, California. His name is Phil Goudeaux. He used to be part of the militant black power movement. In fact, he was in charge of security for the Black Panthers. He did not know God and he did not want to know God. But one day when he was in college, a young white fellow came over to his lunch table and started telling him about Jesus. This Black Panther leader could not believe it. The nerve of this guy! He tried to get rid of him. He threatened him and even tried to hit him…but he could not. For weeks this little white fellow followed this big “bad” black guy around talking to him about Jesus. Finally, the Black Panther prayed with the fellow just to get him off his back. After that he tried to forget about it…but he could not. Two weeks later, all by himself, he made Jesus Christ the Lord of his life.

God knows how to get somebody’s attention! He will knock them over and speak to them right out loud if He needs to. He proved that in the life of a man named Saul. Years after that man was saved, he wrote, “…I follow after, if that I may apprehend that for which also I am apprehended of Christ Jesus” (Philippians 3:12). God apprehended Paul one day on the road to Damascus. According to the dictionary, “to apprehend” means “to capture or arrest”. God captured Paul’s attention. The last thing he wanted to be was a follower of Jesus. He was a declared enemy of Jesus. But God was able to apprehend him anyway.

Don’t you worry. God knows exactly how to apprehend your children. And when the time comes, He will do it. After all, you were not in your prayer closet when He found you! But until then, you must stand fast in faith for them. No matter what they get into, no matter how far off the track they seem to be, just keep saying what the Bible says about them. Keep your eyes focused on the covenant mercy of God and not on the symptoms of ungodliness that you see in their lives.

Do not ever give up on your child. If you have grown weak and discouraged lately, it is time for you to get that fire back in your bones. Dig into the Word of God and dig out the promises He has given you for your children. Lay hold of those promises and do not let go. Learn to call things that are not as though they were (Romans 4:17). When you hear bad news about your children or you see them do something that hurts your heart, just say:

“God, I thank You that Your tender mercy hovers over my child. I thank You Lord that he is born again, filled with the Holy Ghost and obedient to You. I thank You that Your Word is in his mouth (Isaiah 59:21), that he is taught by Your Spirit and great is his peace (Isaiah 54:13). I am not moved by what I feel or what I see. I am moved by Your Word and I call it done in Jesus’ Name!”

I am going to say it one more time: You have a covenant with God that covers your children. So rejoice! God will be faithful to you. One day your boy or your girl will be going about their business doing their own thing when suddenly — Pssst! — they will hear the voice of God. When that happens, they will come running. You can count on it.