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.