I’m going to share the story of a mother with you that has a spiritual lesson in it. The Lord spoke to me about sacrifice, because of the sacrifice that mother’s make on behalf of all of us. In Matthew 20:17-22, Jesus was talking to his disciples about what was going to take place when they went to Jerusalem. He told them that they would sentence him to death. The disciples were stunned at what he was saying and couldn’t comprehend it. In verse 20, it says that the mother of James and John, who was with the crowd, came to Jesus and knelt down and asked a favor of him. He asked her, “What do you wish?” Jesus knows the thoughts of everyone! He understands and knows the mysteries and the purposes of God. But, He asked what she wished, and she answered him, “Give orders, that these two sons of mine may sit, one on your right hand and one on your left, in your Kingdom.” This mother comes to Jesus and asks a favor. The other ten disciples are becoming irritated when they hear what she said. Jesus knew what she wanted, but he wanted her to speak it out loud.

Sometimes, Jesus wants you to say something in prayer that he knows already. He wants you to hear yourself say it. You have whatsoever you say! He wanted her to speak out loud to teach a spiritual lesson. He was giving a very prophetic moment to this, and he didn’t want to pass it up. This woman had tremendous insight, because nobody else was saying that he had a kingdom. And, you can’t have a kingdom unless you’re a king. This mother has been around this whole thing, and her boys have been serving Jesus this whole time. She’s seen the miracles. She has some kind of prophetic insight, and says, “I want my boys to sit, one on the right and one on the left, when you come into your Kingdom.” He could have asked her who revealed that to her. She had a revelation, that this guy, Jesus, was a king. In that culture, that was a part of the real persecution process in Rome, with all that was going on. That was a heavy statement for her to say, “You’re a king!” Why? “Because you have a Kingdom. So, I want my boys placed in the right places in that Kingdom.” She asked him to command that this happen. She knew he had authority. She knew that if he spoke into that thing, that it would come to pass.

There’s nothing any greater than a mother who knows she has authority with God. When it comes to ordering her children, she knows when she’ got relationship with God, that she’s got a voice that they know, and a voice that God listens to.