Daniel 10:12 Then said he unto me, Fear not, Daniel: for from the first day that thou didst set thine heart to understand, and to chasten thyself before thy God, thy words were heard, and I am come for thy words.

What mother hasn’t tried to make a baby’s first word daddy? Or perhaps momma. The effort is to associate the word to the person and not just parrot words without understanding. A child who calls everything daddy has no understanding.

When that child comes running, hugs my leg and calls me daddy with joy now that is a different matter. It is much the same way in teaching a babe in Christ the meaning of our words. Here is one example.

A teacher was giving the sermon on Sunday. His style in the class room was to ask for the definition of grace. My heartfelt answer was, “The love of God being poured out into my life.” Hands went up all around me by others willing to give the mimic answer, “Unmerited favor.”

Which is better, to be a parrot or to pour out your heart? We all learn words, have them taught to us according to a lesson plan. When God touches your heart, they become real and more than just words.

It is when “Abba Father” is transformed by a heart filled with love into “Daddy”! You will know who He is and how to show Him the love you have for Him. “Thy words were heard, and I am come for thy words.”

We can teach anyone the text book meaning of words we use in church. Only God by the power of the Holy Spirit can make them heart felt and real.

Isaiah 57:19 I create the fruit of the lips; Peace, peace to him that is far off, and to him that is near, saith the Lord; and I will heal him.

“He is such a happy baby.”

While that thought brings joy to my ears, I also know this; “You are not around him twenty-four hours a day.” Perhaps our weakest comparison between a natural baby and a babe in Christ is in the arena of subjection. A baby is subject to parenting. Who is the forty year old babe in Christ in subjection to in his spiritual life? Even if you are wise enough to come under subjection, they are not with you all the time.

Babies get cranky for a number of reasons. Some whine, some cry, and some scream. Parenting is easier with experience. So is mentoring or discipleship. The larger problem with the babes in Christ is a tendency to not fuss or cry. We hide things which should be attended to in our spiritual growth manly because we care about what people think about us.

Spiritual training will only show you how this all works in Kingdom living, it does nothing to heal us of any personal growth issues. Confession of condition, or at least allowing yourself to be real and be fussy if you feel that way is needed to get the healing required.

Exposing the real you to others is not easy. We worried that they might not like us, understand us, and worst of all judge us. It is better to be diagnosed than to remain sick.

One of the better parts of having an accountability partner is putting enough trust into the relationship to be real. Then when things are going badly they can see something is wrong. “You aren’t being yourself today. What’s wrong?” Only someone who truly loves you can say that. We all need others in our lives to know us well enough to be able to say that.