Seth Dahl – Can Children Prophesy
Seth Dahl • August 29, 2018
Is the prophetic exclusively for adults? Listen to our friend, Seth Dahl, share stories of how God is speaking to children, and explain how you can encourage yours to do the same.
Interested in teaching your children the prophetic from home? Seth’s video class, Arrows, is a 13-week parenting video class designed to equip parents in raising their children to live a kingdom lifestyle.
– TRANSCRIPT
Hey, guys. My name is Seth Dahl, and I’m author of a book called “Win + Win Parenting” as well as some curriculums for training children in the things of God. And today, I’m guest blogging here for Frequentsee. I’m excited to join you. And I’m gonna answer the question, “Can children prophesy?” And my simple answer is yes, they can.
When we want kids to learn to prophesy, though, we need to teach them how God speaks. So He doesn’t just use English, He doesn’t use whatever language that you speak or that we speak, the different languages, He does speak in those, but He uses so many else as well. So one of the most common languages God uses is pictures and visions. Now, I would say videos for children because it just helps them kind of understand what they’re gonna be seeing in their imagination.
But the quick story about this, my daughter just the other week, we were speaking at a conference, she was helping me, and at the end, during ministry time, she’s like, “Dad, I’ve got prophetic words, can I go give them?” So I said, “Of course.” And she’s running around giving prophetic words. But after, I asked her, “How were you getting the prophetic words?” She said, “I was seeing pictures, I was seeing videos, and I remembered something in my life while I was looking at this boy and I gave him a prophetic word from that thing I remembered.” So there’s three ways when you’re wanting your kids to prophesy that you can help them understand how God speaks.
But another thing that’s really important is why God speaks. You know, 1 Corinthians 14:3
says, “He who prophesies speaks edification, exhortation, and comfort to people.” Now, those are big words for kids so I’ve redefined them to be this: build up, cheer up, and draw near. And if kids always do that, then you have the ABCDs of prophecy: always build up, cheer up, and draw near. You know, one thing I tell kids is that any word from God will lead back to God. Some people have got this wrong over the years. You know, they give prophetic words that push people away from God instead of bringing them near. And so it’s just really important when we’re teaching kids to prophesy, we want our kids to prophesy that when they learn why He speaks, one reason is to bring people back to Him, to reconcile them to Him.
So I was gonna say and I forgot it earlier is 1 Corinthians 14:31
says that you may all prophesy one by one, all may learn, and all may be encouraged. And so with kids, they’re definitely included in the all, but it’s really important you just give them a place to practice and to learn and to develop and to give them feedback. And that way, they’re learning and they’re getting encouraged that they are hearing God and that they are interacting with Him and that people are getting blessed by what they’re saying to them.
So one more fun story and then I’ll go. I had a girl one day in kids church grab my shirt and say, “Pastor Seth, God showed me a dream that He gave to a bunch of kids last night, can I share it?” So I gave her the mic, she took it and said, “Last night, God gave some of you a dream that you were driving a school bus but it had no wheels so the angels were taking it around from country to country to country. Who had that dream?” Like, seven kids stand up. And I was already surprised. But then she said, “That was a dream from God. I’m gonna interpret it for you now, tell you what it means.” And she just unloads this prophetic word. She said, “You guys are leaders, that’s why you’re driving the bus. And you were going from country to country, but the bus is like a bumblebee. And when you go to countries, it’s gonna be like you’re pollinating those countries just like a bumblebee pollinates flowers so that the flowers turn into the fruit that is supposed to be growing.” And she’s like, “You’re gonna pollinate countries so they grow what God wants them to grow.”
And I’m sitting there looking at her like, “Wow, the only person who did this in the Bible was Daniel giving the dream to the King and the interpretation, the prophetic word from the dream.” And I became very aware, yes, children can prophesy, but not just prophesy simple, they can get very detailed, very accurate, very clear, very profound, very strong prophetic words for people, words of knowledge, all of it. You know, children do not have all the filters. You tell them God wants to talk to them, they’re ready for God to speak and they’re not complicating it at all. So to wrap it up and to answer the question, obviously, I’ve already said it, but yes, children can prophesy. Just tell them how He talks, why He talks, and give them a place to try to learn and watch what happens.
Bless you guys, here on Frequentsee. So glad to join you. Maybe one day I’ll see you again soon. Bye.
If you want to grow in the prophetic, it doesn’t begin with what you say. It begins with what you see. The prophetic is rooted in perception. Not just natural insight, but spiritual awareness—what Scripture calls “the eyes of your heart.” Paul prayed that the church in Ephesus would have their hearts enlightened so they could truly see what God was doing. “I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which He has called you…” (Ephesians 1:18) God isn’t distant or withholding. But if we’re going to hear Him clearly, we have to see differently. We need Heaven’s perspective. And that means learning to quiet the noise, tune into His voice, and let Him train our inner vision. You don’t need to wait for a dramatic vision or audible voice. Often, God speaks through a nudge. A mental picture. A scripture that lingers. A sense of burden or joy that feels holy. These are the first signs that your spiritual eyesight is awakening. But it takes time. It takes attention. It takes trust. Just like physical muscles grow with use, your spiritual senses grow as you spend time with Him—not just talking, but listening. Not just asking for answers, but asking for His perspective. You were never meant to live according to what the world says is true. You were meant to live by every word that flows from the mouth of God. A Prayer for This Week: “Lord, open the eyes of my heart. Teach me to see what You see—not just in others, but in myself, in my circumstances, in the world around me. Give me clarity and confidence to trust Your perspective more than my own. Amen.” This week, pay attention to what you notice. The way you see is often the way He speaks.
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