Sons of God's Generals: Unlocking the Power of Godly Inheritance by Joshua Frost Read Free Book Online Page A

about relating to my dad, my mom, and through it all, my God, who gave the gift of my parents to me in the first place. First, Dad.

Part I: My Dad, the Prophet
    My dad is the warmest, most generous, and most complex man I know. He is a giver—I can think of no better way to describe him. He gives what he has, whether that is little or that is lots. With dad, there are always gifts being given, prayers being declared, and advice being offered—whether you want to hear it or not! There is always a relative he is thinking of, a young leader he is encouraging, a conflict between friends he is mediating. And he is a man of contradictions. He is extremely loud; he is sensitive. He loves proper etiquette; he loves to break proper etiquette. He’s a goofy Holy Spirit drunk; he loves structure and theology.
    He is ever involved in the messy lives of people, always helping someone navigate the relational mire. My dad and I, both being strong-willed persons, often clashed as I grew up, but in adulthood I have grown to appreciate the man and the values that forged him. More than his spiritual gifts, I will always be marked by his love and servanthood of others and his commitment to his family.
    Prophetic Parenting
    As you might have guessed, my first experience of prophecy was not in church. It was at home. I could never tell you the first day I heard it, but as far back as I can recall, I knew that my dad had seen visions of what would happen to me in my lifetime. Everything from career to gifting—not to mention a few prophecies about the end times—was already clearly laid out for me before I even gave 30 days’ notice in the womb. Like Zechariah naming John the Baptist, dad had received my name from the mouth of an angel. And the Lord specifically told him that I would “love the arts and history” but that one day I would choose history over the arts.
    Now, may I make a request, dear readers? Some of you have perhaps started to think, “That’s too much information for a child to absorb.” Right you are! But please let’s bear in mind that when I was growing up there was no rule book called
How Prophets Should Deal with Their Vivid Dreams and Visions Concerning Their Children
. In fact, the prophetic movement was, in many respects, in the same stage of life I was in—infancy. I was a guinea pig in an experiment called “prophetic parenting.”
    The Family Dream Conference
    Every morning my family would wake up and have the Family Dream Conference in the living room. “Did anyone have a dream last night?” Dad would ask.
    My sister GraceAnn, about three at this time, would sometimes throw in something fun, like, “I had a dream about the circus!”
    And then Mom would speak up. She would start describing a dream, and it would be a long one. My dad would get out the tape recorder, shake his head, and mutter to himself, “Amazing.” By the time mom finished, his blue eyes were lit up with excitement.
    Then I would say, “I had a dream too!” And what would follow would be maybe a dream from God, maybe a drawing I’d made, maybe an image from my imagination. These things were hard to distinguish as a kiddo, but because having dreams was what was rewarded in my family, I felt I had done something good. After all, I saw those sparkling blue eyes turn my way.
    Such was life at that age. At five years old I “invited Jesus into my heart” at our church’s fall festival. But even after that, I still knew very little about who this God was other than that He was the giver of dreams and that He gave His dreams to
special people.
This half-true idea about God’s character would soon be eclipsed by another idea: God can knock you over.
    God Can Knock You Over
    Churchgoing had always been a gauntlet. Adults I didn’t know would approach me so they could get a word with my prophetic dad, and the air of ulterior motive was unnerving. Then, trying to leave church at a decent hour was a joke. After service, clumps of