Alive In Me

by Maggie Tan

PenHOP's years of dreaming, longing, and praying to have children in the House were finally fulfilled on June 17, 2017. Right from the beginning when our house of prayer was established, we sensed in our spirit that the Lord’s desire was to have children in the house, praying and worshipping Him.

And so in mid-June, our doors were flung open to welcome twenty children, aged  4-10, for our first program: "Alive in Me". We believed the Lord was wanting to encounter each of them as the Living God, so they would come alive in their destinies in Christ. And He did! It was a full day’s program where there were worship sessions, teaching, games and prayer.

The Lord’s presence could be strongly felt in the room throughout the day, during worship and even in times when the children were doing fun activities. The nearness of the Father was so tangible! It was incredibly heart-stirring to watch the children soaring in their spirits in everything that they did with the Lord throughout the day. Jesus said in Matt 19:14 “Let the little children come to Me, and do not forbid them; for of such is the kingdom of heaven.” As the children drew near, His presence filled every heart in the room, including the facilitators and helpers.

Each one was taught to recognize that they were created to know their God as their heavenly Father and not just their parents’ God. During this session, there were practical activities for the children to help them experience what it means to be children of the living God. The children were also taught to walk in that identity through activities showing each of them that they were made unique and are very precious. They were even activated to pray for the nations! Before we ended the day, each child was shown how to hear God’s voice and then draw or write what God had said to them. All of us in the room were so blown away by what they heard and expressed in their drawings. 

We are certain that this will not just be a one-time event and we are already talking about doing more with the children. Our desire is that children will be raised up to walk in their identity as sons and daughters of our living God; to witness children growing up in their God-given authority. At a time such as this, when the hour is urgent and the day is getting darker than ever before, we need these children to rise up to be Daniels, Esthers, Deborahs, Samuels, or whoever God is calling them to be. “Alive in Me” was the first big step in our dream to see children growing to be oaks of righteousness that are steadfast and will not be shaken.