Loaves & Fishes 27

other inside the being of Fanny
Crosby, thousands of hymns
rolled out. Hallelujah! What a
hymn-making machine she was
for the glory of God!
I’m not saying that if we do
all these things our children will
not need to be converted. They
will be self-centered instead of
God-centered until the Lord
Jesus comes to sit on the throne
of their hearts by His Spirit. But
there is much we can give them
in preparation for that day.
When the Word of God and the
Spirit of God meet in the being
of our children, beautiful things
will start flowing out.
The Will
Let us go on to the will. The
will of the child must be in
subjection to the parents from
an early age. I have given much
instruction on this subject already;
however, I want to pick it
up again to make a point.
The mind-set of parents
toward their children’s wills
should be, “Not your will, but
my will be done.” Why? Because
someday God will require them
to say, “Not my will but Yours
be done.” Someday our children
will need to yield their wills to
God, and this will be much easier
if all their life they are taught to
yield to their parents. I believe
that is why God tells children
only one thing in Scripture:
“Obey your parents.” If they do
this with all their heart, then
when God knocks and says, “My
son, give Me your heart,” it will
be much easier.
Remember our discussion of
Susanna Wesley in an earlier
chapter? This yielding of her
children’s wills to God is what
she was after. The will of the
child was of utmost importance.
I mention this again here so you
can see how it connects with
the child’s conversion. We must
ensure that our child’s will is
yielded to our will.
Many everyday activities can
be used to bring the child’s will
into subjection and hold it there.
Children have foods they don’t
like, toys they want to play with,
and chores they don’t feel like
doing. There are naps they don’t
want to take and mornings when
they don’t want to get up. There
are many opportunities to train
the child’s will. We should be
asking ourselves the question,
“Is my child’s will yielded to me?”
The Emotions
The affections and feelings of
children, like the other parts of
their being, come to us totally
blank. We have the blessed opportunity
to train the palate of
38 | Loaves & Fishes • Issue 27