Spiritual Mantles and Generational Blessings

One of the main things that God impressed upon me while I was writing It’s Your Time for a Comeback is that our generation carries something precious, powerful, and necessary for the generations that follow. This is especially true for those of us who have children, grandchildren, and even great-grandchildren. You see, we carry spiritual mantles that give us authority to not just pray but to call our children into their God-given destinies and impart blessings that will impact our entire bloodline.

I’m sharing here an excerpt from the chapter in my book that talks about mantles. For the full context of this topic, I encourage you to read the entire chapter. I pray that you will gain a better sense not only of who you are but why God is calling out to our generation to make a comeback.

~ Susan “Honey” Williams

A Lesson from Cokeville

Surprisingly, God used the movie The Cokeville Miracle to teach me more about the concept of spiritual authority and spiritual covering — and the power of our prayers. The movie is based on real-life events that happened in 1986 involving a deranged man and his equally deranged wife. They designed a homemade bomb and entered a small-town elementary school in Cokeville, Wyoming. There, they held dozens of children as hostages in one of the classrooms.

After many grueling hours with both students and teachers being trapped in a room with the man, the bomb accidentally detonated. It released shrapnel in every direction. Because the room was small and the bomb was powerful, everyone in that room should have been killed or seriously injured. However, something miraculous happened. The students’ and teachers’ lives were spared, and only the bomber and his wife were killed. Had their plans succeeded, an entire generation — the town’s future and destiny — would have been wiped out. God intervened miraculously, and the movie tells how this occurred through the children’s accounts of that day.

Generational Prayer Covering

One of the things the children recounted is that angels appeared and protected them when the bomb was detonated. In addition to the angels, many children reported seeing people who resembled their deceased grandmothers, grandfathers, or other deceased relatives. Most impactful was that each of these relatives who appeared had been known for their faith in God.

The Bible tells us about the cloud of witnesses who surround us. It would not be hard to envision some of our faith-filled ancestors as part of that cloud. This could explain why these children saw the visages of their relatives appear at their rescue. However, I also believe these appearances represented the spiritual covering placed upon these children through the prayers and blessings of previous generations.

Many Bible verses confirm that blessings or curses are released in one generation and carried into successive generations. So, when the day of evil came to Cokeville, and the bomb went off, those children were protected by a covering of their ancestors’ prayers. Their lives were spared, and the lineage of dozens of families was preserved. Praying with the spiritual authority we have been given releases a powerful covering of spiritual blessing and protection. This includes present and future generations.

This post is an excerpt from Chapter 12 of It’s Your Time for a Comeback: A Call to Women Over Fifty to Return, Rebuild and Rise by Susan “Honey” Williams. Used with permission.

Questions for Personal Reflection

Read the story of Elijah and Elisha found in 2 Kings 2:8-14 as it relates to spiritual mantles. Also, read the story of Joseph in Genesis 37-50. Then reflect on the following questions:

What did Elijah’s mantle represent?
How might Joseph’s coat of many colors have symbolized a mantle?
What spiritual authority did Elijah and Joseph carry, and for what purpose?
What was the significance of Elijah placing his mantle upon Elisha when they first met?
How does a mantle relate to spiritual authority, responsibility, gifts, and anointings?