I was standing over a frying pan, spatula in hand, slowly moving scrambled eggs over the heat. Two of our little boys sat on stools behind me at the kitchen counter waiting for their breakfast. Gratefully, the baby was still sleeping.
My younger son suddenly asked, “Mom, will I ever be in a war?”
I whipped my head over my shoulder just long enough to see the blank, curious stare of his brother barreling down at him.
“Babe, what do you mean?” I responded, assuming he had scenes of tanks and fighter jets in his head.
His expression was authentic . . . concerned, even. His fork was motionless, a wad of half-chewed food underneath one cheek as he carefully calculated how he should respond.
“Mom, will I ever be in a war… a battle . . . with Satan?”
I wasn’t quite sure how to respond to this four-year-old boy whose concept of reality at the time involved wielding a toy light-saber and wearing a cape to the grocery store. He was young, but I didn’t want to water down the Truth to the level of child’s play, nor did I want to elevate it beyond his level of understanding.
“Son, you are already in a battle. Both of you are.” I turned toward his brother. “Yes, you too.”
As my words settled on them I could see an eager- ness in their eyes. They wanted to know more so I continued,
“Every moment, a war is waging between us and a very real enemy. He is part of an invisible and yet extraordinarily powerful reality that is even more important than the realty we can see. This battle is waged every time we need to ask questions such as, ‘Will I cheat on this test? Will I cave to peer pressure instead of standing for truth? Will I fold to laziness or be dedicated to the task? Will I follow God’s leading or yield to my own desire?’”
As I walked over with a second plate of break- fast in my hand I continued to drive the reality home by saying, “One of our enemy’s most deadly weapons are his lies. Words such as, ‘You’re not good enough. You’re not hand some enough. You’re not capable. You can’t be forgiven for THAT.’
“These struggles reveal the battle. As the Bible says, ‘For our struggle is not against flesh and blood… but against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places.’ Ephesians 6:12 nasb
“We are contenders in a battle being fought in two worlds and for which each of us has been fully equipped to walk in victory! Listen to what the Apostle Paul tells us at the end of his letter to the Christians in Corinth, ‘Finally, be strong in the Lord and the strength of His might. Put on the full armor of God so that will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil.’” Ephesians 6:10–11 nasb
My other son, who’d mostly been quiet during this exchange, finally asked a question: “Armor? You mean we actually have weapons?” He was thrilled. “Yes, sweetie. And this armor ensures victory.” “Mommy, I want to learn to use it!” “Okay, baby. Let’s get to work.”
And, that’s exactly what we did. Starting that very day, I began helping them to memorize and understand Ephesians 6:10-20. And, inspired by our discussions, I started dreaming up and writing a fiction adventure series to read to them at bedtime; an epic story of regular kids who realize that they are warriors in an unseen battle being waged in an unseen realm.
That’s how The Prince Warriors trilogy was born. I wrote each saga for my children long before the thought of publishing them for yours ever entered my mind. My co-author Gina and I hope that these stories will give you a tool to help your tween children know that although the devil is invisible, he is certainly not fictional. Hopefully it will stir curiosity and crack open a door for you to tell them that they are warriors disguised as regular kids and that God has equipped them for victory!
TIPS to Help Your Children Understand SPIRITUAL WARFARE:
TALK ABOUT IT:
One reason that our children don’t take the war seriously is that we don’t speak of it. Show them it is a reality in your life by talking about the battle that is raging.
PRAY WITH THE BATTLE IN MIND:
When you pray, particularly with your children, pray in such a way that you recognize the spiritual battle going on behind the scenes, and let them hear you ask God to intervene in that realm.
MEMORIZE SCRIPTURE:
Jesus endured spiritual battle with his enemy staring him square in the face. He responded with the Sword of God’s Word. He fought the half-truths with the full truth. Without these weapons in our children’s hearts they are defenseless. Help your children memorize God’s Word and in doing so, equip them.
USE THE POWER OF STORIES:
Jesus told stories to make reality more real in the hearts of his hearers. Find stories that help tune your children’s hearts to the realities of spiritual warfare. Priscilla’s The Prince Warriors trilogy is a great place to start. We’ve made all three conveniently available for you in our online store: store.csbministries.org
About the author: When Priscilla is not wrangling breakfast with one hand and difficult questions from her sons with the other, she is the author of 4 books, all of which have received 5 star ratings on Amazon including Fervent: A Woman’s Battle Plan to Serious, Specific and Strategic Prayer, and her fiction The Prince Warriors trilogy the most recent of which was released in the fall of 2016. You may also have seen her as the lead role in the movie War Room.