How to Pray for Today’s Teenagers
The teenage years are a strange time full of growth, change, excitement, hardship, awkwardness, and many new challenges. As I walk with students, I see the drastically varying experiences that teenagers go through in today’s world. One of the greatest things we can do for our teens is pray for them and with them. I want to share with you six ways we can all be praying. May we not neglect to seek the help, guidance, and power of our God and Savior.
First and foremost, pray for salvation. Many teens today simply participate in the Christian culture without any clue as to what a true relationship with Christ looks like. Many teens attend church weekly but have no understanding of the Gospel or desire for the Lord. Pray that the Holy Spirit would open their eyes to the Gospel and plant in them the desire to learn about the Lord.
Second, pray for sanctification. Pray that they would take next steps and continue growing in their relationship with the Lord. Many teens place their faith in Jesus as their Savior but then fall back into their sin. Confused by their failure, they return to their folly rather than running to the Lord in repentance and obedience. May we pray that the Spirit would open their eyes to the freedom they now live in and that He would lead them further along, sanctifying them for the glory of God.
Third, pray for discipline and diligence. Apathy and laziness seem to be two of the greatest struggles for teens. When I ask how I can pray for students, I often receive a request to pray that they would stop being apathetic and lazy. Teens today are plagued with so many temptations leading them to simply do nothing but sit and be entertained. Comfort has become the god of the day. Pray that the Lord would work in their hearts to build a lifestyle of discipline wherein they put to death the desires of the flesh and work to glorify God.
Fourth, pray for relationships. The teenage years are shaped by influential relationships. Pray that those around them would point them to the Lord and be a positive influence rather than a detrimental one. 1 Corinthians 15:33 reminds us that “Bad company ruins good morals.” Let’s pray that they find and build relationships where they are sharpened and sharpen others as seen in Proverbs 27:17.
Fifth, pray for our boldness. Fear, anxiety, and worry run rampant through the minds of today’s teens. This leads teens to timidity in many areas, especially their faith. I am blessed to get to walk with teens battling against the pressures of this world and pursuing boldness, but they cannot battle alone. Pray that the Lord would equip them with boldness like the boldness of Peter and John in Acts 4.
Sixth, pray for steadfastness and endurance. This is the prayer request that I most often receive from students. They ask for endurance and steadfastness in every area of their lives and faith. It is a joyful thing to hear these requests. Would we hear the cry of today's teens as they seek to remain steadfast in the Lord and endure the testing and temptations of this world? Would we let that cry lead us to our knees before the Lord? Pray that today’s teens would not be tossed to and fro by the trials of this world but that they would hold fast to their faith and endure their trials with their hope set upon Christ.
Recently, as I studied to teach about Ephesians 3:14-21, I was convicted by the prayer of Paul. He called upon the Lord to do mighty things in the lives of the Ephesians. Paul made these requests confidently to the Lord - the One “who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think.” I often fail to pray mighty prayers to the Lord and fully trust His power. However, Paul’s prayers convicted me of the need to trust in the Lord and to bring mighty requests to Him because He is the one who can do far more than we can even imagine.
Would we bring these requests to the Lord praying that He would bring salvation to today’s teens and sanctify them by the Holy Spirit? Would we plead for today's teens to be equipped with diligence and discipline so that they endure to the end? May today’s teens be the Lord’s no matter the cost, and may we, alongside them, endure to the end receiving the crown of life which God has promised to those who love Him.
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