Let the Little Children Come: Embracing Childlike Faith

Childlike prayer begins with the simple faith of a child who talks to God like God is actually a friend. A child can pray through the whole day, from the mean kid in class to the lollipop that made peace, and that innocent openness exposes how often grown folks tell dreams to everybody but God. Jesus’ warning in Matthew 6 says that prayer is not a way to manipulate God with many words, and adding “in Jesus’ name” at the end does not seal the deal.

Praying in Jesus’ name means praying with the character, will, glory, and work of Jesus shaping the prayer itself. The name of Jesus is not a formula to wield, but the life of Jesus becoming known well enough that it changes what gets asked for. Hebrews 1:3 then makes the point even stronger, because Jesus is the exact imprint of God’s being. What shows up in Jesus is what shows up in God.

Matthew 19 shows Jesus receiving little children when others tried to keep them away. The disciples act like bodyguards or bouncers, asking whether the need is important enough, but Jesus rebukes the obstacle. “Let the little children come to me. Don’t stop them.” The kingdom belongs to people like these children, and Jesus makes the children his grand finale with the crowd by placing his hands on them and blessing them.

Matthew 18 sharpens the matter with a heavy warning. Jesus does not only want children to come to him, he wants nothing to exist that would pull them away. The millstone warning means justice is coming for those who steal innocence, and it also forces every person to ask when innocence was first traded away. The question becomes painfully personal: at what point did a person sell the birthright?

Mark 9 turns the warning into a blessing. Whoever welcomes a child in Jesus’ name welcomes Jesus, and whoever welcomes Jesus welcomes the Father who sent him. Welcoming children in Jesus’ name is not merely saying the right words to a kid. It is carrying the character of Christ into the way children, newcomers, and younger believers are treated.

First John calls believers “dear children,” and Galatians 3 says those baptized into Christ are clothed with Christ and made children of God. The rebirth is a start over, a chance to become a child again. The lost sheep reminds the wandering child that Jesus does not just find the lost, he rejoices when the lost comes home.

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Key Takeaways

• 1. Prayer is not a magic phrase. [29:36] Prayer in Jesus’ name is not a verbal button that forces heaven to act. The name of Jesus carries his character, his will, his glory, and his purposes. A prayer can say the right ending and still be asking for something that does not belong to his name. Real prayer learns Jesus deeply enough that desire itself starts getting reshaped. [29:36]
• 2. Jesus welcomes children without bouncers. [33:42] Matthew 19 shows the disciples guarding access to Jesus, as if children were a distraction from more serious needs. Jesus overturns that instinct and makes the children the picture of kingdom belonging. The kingdom is not built around impressive need, adult importance, or polished maturity. The kingdom belongs to the kind of person who can come small, needy, and unashamed. [33:42]
• 3. Stolen innocence matters to Jesus. [36:13] The millstone warning is not mild language, because Jesus is fiercely protective of the little ones who believe in him. Sin against the vulnerable is not brushed off as damage from a hard world. Justice is coming for those who place stumbling blocks in front of God’s children. That same warning also calls every person to reckon with the moments when innocence was surrendered, stolen, or traded away. [36:13]
• 4. Welcoming children welcomes Christ himself. [41:29] Mark 9 ties the treatment of children directly to the reception of Jesus and the Father. Love for children is not side work, babysitting, or a lesser ministry while more important things happen. The way a child, a newcomer, or a younger believer is received tells the truth about how Christ is being received. To make room for the small is to make room for God. [41:29]
• 5. Baptism clothes sinners as children. [48:28] Galatians 3 names baptism as being clothed with Christ, covered up and enveloped by him. The gospel does not merely improve a grown-up life, but grants a rebirth into childship. A wandering sheep can come home not to cold paperwork, but to rejoicing. Jesus finds what is lost and celebrates the return.
  
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Youtube Chapters

• [00:00] - Welcome
• [24:26] - A Kitten Falls From the Sky
• [27:31] - Children Pray With Innocent Faith
• [28:45] - Prayer Is More Than Hoping Out Loud
• [29:36] - “In Jesus’ Name” Is Not a Formula
• [31:30] - Jesus Shows the Exact Heart of God
• [33:02] - Let the Little Children Come
• [34:20] - Jesus Rebukes the Gatekeepers
• [36:13] - The Millstone Warning
• [37:47] - When Innocence Was Traded Away
• [40:18] - Welcoming Children Welcomes Jesus
• [43:22] - Camp, VBS, and Loving Kids Well
• [45:25] - Children Also Means New Believers
• [48:07] - Clothed With Christ as Children
• [49:05] - The Lost Sheep Comes Home

Bible Reading

Matthew 19:13-15
“Then children were brought to him that he might lay his hands on them and pray. The disciples rebuked the people, but Jesus said, ‘Let the little children come to me and do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of heaven.’ And he laid his hands on them and went away.” [33:10]

Matthew 18:6-7
“But whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to have a great millstone fastened around his neck and to be drowned in the depth of the sea. Woe to the world for temptations to sin! For it is necessary that temptations come, but woe to the one by whom the temptation comes!” [36:13]

Mark 9:35-37
“And he sat down and called the twelve. And he said to them, ‘If anyone would be first, he must be last of all and servant of all.’ And he took a child and put him in the midst of them, and taking him in his arms, he said to them, ‘Whoever receives one such child in my name receives me, and whoever receives me, receives not me but him who sent me.’” [41:29]

Galatians 3:27
“For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ.” [48:23]

Matthew 6:7
“And when you pray, do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do, for they think that they will be heard for their many words.” [29:36]

Hebrews 1:3
“He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high,” [32:03]

Observation questions

1. In Matthew 19:13-15, what were the disciples doing when people brought children to Jesus, and how did Jesus respond to that? [33:42]
2. According to Matthew 6:7, what kind of praying does Jesus warn against, and what common misunderstanding about prayer does that expose? [29:36]
3. In Mark 9:35-37, what does Jesus do with the child in front of the disciples, and what does he say welcoming that child means? [41:29]
4. What pictures or phrases are used to describe Jesus’ relationship to God in Hebrews 1:3, and how do those words help show what God is like? [32:03]

Interpretation questions

1. If praying in Jesus’ name is not a formula, what does it mean for a prayer to actually match the character, will, and glory of Jesus? [31:07]
2. Jesus says, “Let the little children come to me and do not hinder them.” What kinds of barriers can exist that are not physical barriers at all, but still keep people from coming freely to Christ? [34:50]
3. Jesus’ warning about causing little ones to stumble is extremely severe. What does that strong language reveal about how seriously Jesus takes sin against the vulnerable? [39:51]
4. Galatians 3:27 says those baptized into Christ have put on Christ. What does it mean to think of salvation not only as forgiveness, but also as becoming a child again through rebirth? [48:41]

Application questions

1. Children often speak to God with simple trust and honesty. What would it look like this week to talk to God more like that—less polished, less guarded, and more open about the actual details of daily life? [27:49]
2. It is easy to tell hopes, fears, and dreams to other people before ever bringing them to God. What is something important that has been discussed a lot with friends or family but not much with the Lord? [28:45]
3. Jesus rebukes gatekeeping around his presence. In what setting might there be a tendency to act like a bouncer instead of a welcome—at home, in church, around children, or around newer believers? [34:01]
4. Jesus says that welcoming a child in his name is really welcoming him. Who are the “children” nearby right now—actual kids, newcomers, younger Christians, or someone unsure and needy—and what might making room for them look like in a real, practical way? [46:48]
5. The question “At what point did you sell your birthright?” is painful but important. Is there a moment, season, relationship, or choice that stands out as a turning point away from childlike trust in God? [38:04]
6. Jesus is fiercely protective of the little ones, and he also rejoices when the lost come home. Where is there a need right now to return to him rather than keep wandering? [49:33]
7. Being clothed with Christ means being covered by him and given a new start. What would it mean, personally and concretely, to live this week as someone who is not trying to impress God as a grown-up, but coming to him as his child? [49:05]