Teens, Let us Pray!

What is Prayer?

Prayer is said to be a communication process that allows us to talk to God. When we pray, we are communicating our thoughts, needs, and desires to Him. In the place of prayer, our pride is abandoned, hope is lifted, and supplication is made in humility and dependence upon God.  Prayer is the needful staple of the Christian as an exercise of faith and hope.  Prayer provides us the privilege of touching the heart of the Almighty God through our Lord Jesus Christ.

The Bible talks a lot about prayer but, as teenagers, too often, we ignore prayer and seek to gain or accomplish our desire in our own strength or depend on our parents, friends and others to help us.  It is important that we realize that God is sovereign and loving and He knows what is best for us.

There are many reasons to pray. We pray to God in acknowledgement and worship of His Sovereignty; to praise and thank Him for so many causes; to seek God’s forgiveness, help and direction; and to intercede for other people, amongst others. In Matthew 6:9-13, our Lord Jesus Christ taught us to pray in what is now popularly referred to as ‘the Lord’s Prayer’. It is a prayer that every teenager ought to recite effortlessly and meditate upon often.

Prayer is a good way to grow in our relationship with God because prayer takes you to the presence of God. You have no need to be self-conscious with God. You can surrender yourself to Him, completely, in confession and dependence with nothing to hide. In quiet supplication, you reach into your deepest self and admit your needs and failures to Him.  In a nutshell, you get close to God (James 4:8).

In the place of prayer, all we need to do is to talk, no action. When we empty ourselves to God in the place of prayer, especially when we are burdened and scared, we come away with His peace (Philippians 4:6-7).  That passage refers to this kind of peace as “beyond understanding”. It is a mystery but when we come to God in prayer, weak, tired, frustrated and helpless, He soothes our angst with His peace. We just come away with the knowledge that everything will be fine.

Getting to know God through prayer

As teenagers, how can we begin to build an exciting and sustainable prayer life? There are so many distractions these days that tend to take prayer out of our priorities. There’s peer pressure, fashion, entertainment, television, and topsy turvy moral suasions with so many liberties including faith-based things. Perhaps, teenagers need better understanding and more vision for prayer.

The more teens know about God, the more they will want to talk to Him. In order to pursue intimacy with God, we need to have a prayer life that is very exciting such that we are so eager, watching the clock at school or work, waiting to get home for some focused prayer time with God.

Start. Put aside about ten minutes a day to pray, then add 5-10 minutes each week and before you know it, you’ll be praying for hours. In your initial enthusiasm, just be yourself and talk to him like you would a close parent/friend. Do not attempt to lie or cover up your deeds because you’d be wasting your time – God knows Everything; He is the Omniscient God! Let every time you spend with Him leave you craving for more of God’s presence. It takes discipline and practice to start and build a prayer life.

Try Variety. There is a lot to talk about in the place of prayer. With God, it’s a no-holds barred session. You’ll find that there are times when you just want to worship and praise Him. You can sing as loud as you want and dance whichever way you like. There will be times for wry conversation, like telling Him what’s happening in your life; asking for His input about an issue; and seeking direction on some project you are embarking on. And sometimes, you will break down in tears, overwhelmed by the enormity of the pain and heart break. In those moments, you’ll criss-cross between confusion and anger, pain and hysteria. You are in His presence, feel free!

Pray with Psalms. I encourage teenagers to make the Bible their favourite book. As a teenager, I could recite so many psalms which have helped me so much today. There’s Psalm 23, 27, 91, 100, 121, 150 and many more. Start by reading each chapter and praying along that line to God. The Book of Psalms has in it verses that we can sing and praise and pray with.

Stay focused. Sometimes it may seem like your mind is drifting off into all kinds of thoughts and imaginations. You may even feel like falling asleep. At this point, begin to pray aloud. Don’t remain in one spot, pace back and forth slowly as you pray. It will help you to remain focused on the Lord and keep you awake even if you are tired.

Get your personal space. You need a private and quiet place to pray, not a busy spot with people moving about and making noise and banging things. Jesus advised us to pray in our closets (Matthew 6:5-6). There, you’ll put off the TV and the phone and anything that will distract you so you can concentrate and pay maximum attention to God.

Praying isn’t easy

It isn’t easy for many teenagers to pray. Rather than try to put together ‘the right words in the right way’, do simple things – songs that come to mind, say ‘good morning, Lord’, thank Him for what you’ve received, for family and friends, for opportunities to go to school and to work, etc. Instead of struggling alone, ask a strong Christian friend or family member to be your prayer partner. Then, you’ll be growing together spiritually, praying for each other and for others.

Prayer works!

When we pray to God, our prayer has the power to affect what happens in our today or govern the circumstances that will happen in our tomorrow. That is what happens when we exercise our faith in our prayers (Matthew 11:24-25). In Acts 16:16-40, two of the apostles, Paul and Silas, were arrested by the Jewish rulers, beaten and thrown into prison. While in the prison, they took to praising God and in prayer. At midnight, the angel of God literally tore through the prison and rescued them.

Conclusion

There’s lots of time for many teens to play, gossip, engage in silly jokes and pranks but not enough time to pray to God which is a priority activity. I think it is time we stopped talking to each other so much and start talking more to God.

The Teenager as a Leader

“Leaders aren't born, they are made. And they are made just like anything else, through hard work. And that's the price we'll have to pay to achieve that goal, or any goal” — Vince Lombardi

I knew there was something not quite right about leaders being born. One’s status at birth may prime them for leadership such as royalty, family business succession, etc, but when a child is born, I don’t think they can just jump into such a role without being groomed for the part. A leader should be about learning specific skills rather than possessing natural qualities. It requires skills that have been honed through learning and practice rather than genetics. These include listening skills, communication skills, collaborative skills, empathy and posture/charisma, etc. Desired qualities will include visionary, integrity, discernment, wisdom, character, knowledgeable, teachable, etc.

It is true that not all of us will be leaders but today’s teenagers need nurturing to be successful leaders tomorrow. There is an urgent need to create and provide the platforms for them to develop the important leadership skills they will need. Christian teenagers remain our focus and the future of the faith rests on the continuous and systematic growth of responsible young people to lead future generations towards the divine purpose for mankind.

The church has some programmes and schemes that provide leadership opportunities for our young people to become great leaders. Most churches now have their established and functional Teens Church, with teachers, mentors and with programmes that support them to bloom and grow, while building their faith. They are allowed to play a large role in the planning of their service where they, using interactive methods, teach in Sunday School, minister in song and message, conduct Bible Quiz, drama depicting life issues affecting them, vocational training, fellowship and prayer. In order to prepare them for future roles, they have leaders who take charge of their fellowship, many of whom continue in leadership roles upon their advancement to the Youth Church.

The Summer Camp is another excellent platform for teenagers to practice their leadership skills. The camps teach and develop leadership skills. At the camp, the teenagers are often encouraged to become volunteer counselors and receive training from camp professionals with years of experience teaching effective leadership skills.

Brian Dodd lists 10 Practices of Highly Effective Teenage Christian Leaders:

1.                  They Love God – They place Jesus Christ as the top priority in their life.

2.                  They Respect Authority – They listen to their parents, pastors, teachers and coaches.

3.                  They Hang Around Other Highly Effective Teenage Christian Leaders – Even for teenagers, John Maxwell’s Law of the Inner Circle applies.  Those closest to the leader determine the success of the leader.  Birds of a feather flock together.

4.                  They Are Readers – Much like adult leaders, teenage leaders are readers.

5.                  They Are Continual Learners – They are humble enough to know they do not know it all.  Furthermore, they know learning is a privilege and a joy.

6.                  They Embrace Process – They do their homework every day.  They work out every day.  They practice their craft every day.  They read their Bible every day.  They even put in extra work.  They make every day matter.

7.                  They Are Servants – Whether it is the poor and under-resourced or even-younger children, highly effective teenage Christian leaders are using their position and influence to serve others.

8.                  They are Creative – This generation of up-and-coming Christian leaders sees the world through a completely different lens than my generation.  And we are all better off because of it.

9.                  They Are Persistent – They stay with a task until they get it right.

10.             They Have Big Vision – Whether it is the internet, events like Passion, growing up in great churches, youth mission trips or any number of other items, today’s generation of teenagers have been exposed to much and have big, God-sized visions.  May they achieve them all and more.

There is the popular quote by John C. Maxwell, “Leadership is influence; nothing more, nothing less”. Other poignant quotes on leader from Mr. Maxwell include;

“True leadership cannot be awarded, appointed, or assigned. It comes only from influence, and that cannot be mandated. It must be earned. The only thing a title can buy is a little time-either to increase your level of influence with others or to undermine it. Just because someone has a title, doesn’t mean that person is a leader”.

“When it comes to identifying a real leader… The proof of leadership is found in the followers.”

As a teenage Christian leader, what kind of influence do you have on your peers? Skinny jeans influence? Sagging trousers influence? Tattoo influence? ‘Bare it all’ influence? Bully influence? Drugs and alcohol influence? Liberal sex influence?

“If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader” — John Quincy Adams

My Picture in the Scripture

Psalms 139:14, “I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
Marvelous are Your works, And that my soul knows very well”.

As a teenager, this Bible text was my life saver. When you are skinny, timid and gawky and not a great specimen in the ‘looks’ department, the word of God has the power to lift up your spirits and to give you hope. 

This Scripture is the lifeline for that teenager craving friendship and acceptance but experiencing avoidance and rejection. Getting blamed for every little wrongdoing and suffering abuse, whether physical, mental, or emotional, has a way of sending your fragile self-esteem to its lowest level. The pain, shame, confusion, self-blame, etc, begins to manifest in negative self-talk, food abuse, attention-seeking antics, depression and even suicide. What a life!

The word of God comes through so clearly… “I have cause to praise God; He made me a unique and wonderful being”. I am special. I didn’t realise this all these past years but now, I do. I am a masterpiece.

Ephesians 2:10, "For we are God's masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago."

And I am not an after-thought. Jeremiah 1:5 says, "I knew you before I formed you in your mother's womb." I was already known even before being painstakingly designed and crafted. I am the manifestation of divine inspiration.

This is pure heady stuff for the average teenager. So, I don’t need those ‘curves’ the world worships and the ‘looks’ they rave about. They are products of the defective imaginations of ungrateful men.

Robert McGee puts it thus: "In our Search for Significance, many of us continue to seek our security and purpose from worldly sources - personal success, status, beauty, wealth, and even approval from others."

Not me, I’m cool, calm and contented with my foundation and my heritage. So, I am not popular in school and in the neighbourhood, having uncountable friends but I have Jesus – He is all the friend that I need. And He’ll get me friends, just like Him. 

So, I’m not hitting the As in all subjects in school but I am proud that my scores are the product of my effort, not through exam malpractice. So I’m not working with an employer ‘to die for’ in a profession that society regards as ‘top of the range’ but I’m happy and fulfilled adding value to people’s lives and the community.

Rather than follow the ever-changing ‘fashions’ that neither I nor my parents can afford, I rest easy, with gratitude to God, that I have food to eat; a roof over my head and clothes on my back. And while my peers may desire the limelight and worldly accolades, the most significant thing I want to do with my life is to please the One who made me!

It takes a tremendous dosage of divine wisdom and spiritual understanding for a teenager to overcome peer pressure and the crave for societal recognition and to find solace, joy and peace in the word of God. In studying and meditating on the Scriptures, the teenager is set free through the revelation of life truths that provide the courage to break out of the stress to conform to worldly standards.

So, I have the word for those who keep trying to put me down – John 9:25, “I don’t know whether he is a sinner,” the man replied. “But I know this: I was blind, and now I can see!”

A Generation Living for God

Bible Text: 1 Peter 2:9, 

“But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His wonderful light” (AMP).

This Scripture tells us a lot about ourselves – the way the Almighty God regards us. You may see yourself as a regular and ordinary teenager but to God, you mean much more. In a nutshell, the Bible text above says we are;

1.      special to God

2.      chosen, royalty and holy

3.      God’s possession and purpose – to manifest His excellency

A generation refers to people of a certain age group, age band or age bracket. As teenagers, you belong to the age bracket of 13-19 years – that’s a generation. And even as the world recognizes that, God knows you, recognizes you and has plans for you.

In order to accomplish the purpose of our being, we need the complementary attitudes that govern that aspiration. Teenagers know about attitude. While many of them are well-behaved and have a good attitude, same cannot be said for others. It is said that ‘your attitude will determine your altitude’. This is so true because a bad attitude gets one nowhere – like a flat tyre. So, there are certain vital attitudes that will help you meet your obligation as a member of the ‘chosen generation’.

They include;

1. Be Proactive:

What does it mean to be ‘Proactive’? It means to act before an impending or likely incident/situation happens. There is the phrase, ‘Many let life happen to them’. This is when we let situations and circumstances overwhelm us without precaution (James 4:17). There are lots of proactive messages in the Bible. 

Let’s take Matthew 7:7-12, “Ask, and it shall be given to you; seek, and you shall find it; knock, and it shall be opened unto you. For everyone who asked, received; the one who sought, found; and the one who knocked, the door was opened”.

What is the pro-action here?

a) If you have questions or need to make enquiries, then ask them. This will provide you the opportunity to obtain the answers you need to make crucial decisions before the consequences befall you. For instance, in order to accomplish your life purpose, you have to ‘ask’ from God. Why? Because He created you and He knows why He created you. When you receive the answer from Him, you are in a better position to achieve your purpose and not spend your life in a limbo or fruitlessly.

b) ‘Seeking’ calls for a deeper search for someone or something. When you are proactive, you go searching early and diligently in order to achieve the desired outcome. The Bible advices us to do this, as much as necessary, so as not to wallow in ignorance.

c) Knocking on a door signifies a desire to enter a place. Knocking makes a loud sound, calling on the hearer to take action – open the door so I can enter. For instance, you are fleeing from danger and heading toward your neighbour’s house. On getting there, you need them to respond to your desperation, so you will bang on the door with all your strength such that they will open the door.

Prayer is the most proactive thing we can do! Mark 11:24 “Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them”. Make it a duty to communicate with God by prayer.

2. Be Positive

To be positive is to have an attitude that exudes optimism and affirmation. It calls for one to be confident and bold. Teenagers seek to be bold but seem to appear pompous. They want to exude confidence but it looks like arrogance. So, as a teenager, you need to balance your body language so your motive is not misunderstood. For instance, the congregation of the early church wanted to be bold so as to have the courage to spread the gospel. 

Acts 4:29 “And now, Lord, behold their threatenings: and grant unto thy servants, that with all boldness they may speak thy word”.

What positive action?

a)    Remain confident: Hebrews 13:6, “So that we may boldly say, the Lord is my Helper, and I will not fear what man shall do unto me”. So, we place our confidence in our God. He is the One to help us because we don’t have the ability, authority and capacity, like He has, to help ourselves.

b)  Fear God, not man: Matthew10:28, “Don’t be afraid of those who want to kill your body; they cannot touch your soul. Fear only God, who can destroy both soul and body in hell”.

c)  Make God your Helper: Psalm 46:1, “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.”

d)  Positive Self-Talk: Philippians 4:13 “I can do all things through Christ Jesus who strengtheneth me!”

3.   Be Humble

To be humble is to have or show a modest or low estimate of one's importance whether in position or value. This might be a lot to handle for teenagers who like to be noticed and acknowledged. But humility calls for meekness, not timidity, and prevents us from being over confident. The humble teenager will reach out to a lot more people, build good relationships and make tremendous impact in their generation.

What humble actions?

a) Have a child-like mind: The mind of a child is innocent and unassuming. It is also open and receptive. Luke 9:48, “Then he said to them, “Anyone who welcomes a little child like this on my behalf welcomes me, and anyone who welcomes me also welcomes my Father who sent me. Whoever is the least among you is the greatest.”

b) Lean on God’s grace: Matthew 5:3, “Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven”. The humble teenager acknowledges that their life propeller is the grace of God. And there are levels of grace but whichever one is needed, God will unfailingly provide.

c) Be sacrificial: Hebrew 11:25, “Choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season”. Human beings like the good life and teenagers are no exemption but there comes a time when we have to make the sacrifice to endure hardship, especially when sin is dangled before the offer of pleasure. In order not to backslide, the believer must possess divine strength to face persecution and hostility for the sake of the gospel.

CONCLUSION:

Are you a Christian teenager? Are you willing to join the effort of others to distinguish your generation for Christ? If your answer is ‘yes’, please be assured that millions of other believers will be praying for and with you. If you have not given your life to Christ, today provides you an opportunity to establish and build a relationship with your Heavenly Father and Maker and to join the community of the chosen generation. What do you have to do?

a. Hear the word of God: Romans 10:17, “So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God”. This message provides you with the information and knowledge you need to take the decision to join God’s chosen generation.

b. Believe with all your heart: Hebrews 11:6, “And it is impossible to please God without faith. Anyone who wants to come to him must believe that God exists and that he rewards those who sincerely seek him”. You cannot follow someone you do not trust. We call on you to trust God with everything you’ve got. He will never disappoint you.

c. Repent of your sins: Acts 17:30-31, “God overlooked people’s ignorance about these things in earlier times, but now he commands everyone everywhere to repent of their sins and turn to him. For he has set a day for judging the world with justice by the man he has appointed, and he proved to everyone who this is by raising him from the dead”. You have hurt God all these while in your thoughts, words and action. There is no justification because that is not the way God asked us to live. Nevertheless, He is ready to forgive us when we apologize and depart from our offensive way of life.

d. Confess Jesus as the Son of God: Matthew 16:15-16, “Then he asked them, “But who do you say I am?” Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God”. Accepting Jesus as your Lord and Saviour is to proclaim Him His existence and His majesty. It may be difficult at first but don’t be ashamed. The Lord will see you through.

e. Be baptized for the remission of your sins: Mark 16:15-16, “And He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned”. Baptism heralds your public confession and identification with the Lord. Join a Bible-believing church in your community today and let them disciple you into the family of the chosen generation.