Powerful and Effective Prayers

I recently read a quote from an unknown source that said, “Behind every great child is a parent pretty sure that they are screwing it up." I don’t know about you, but I certainly can relate to this because, as hard as I try to be the best parent I can, I know I am far from perfect.  I think we all could use a little help, whether it’s through a community, parenting resources, or even a parenting blog like this one, but I believe that by far the most powerful tool we have at our disposal when it comes to parenting is prayer.

James 5:16b says, “The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective.” At times, I have been intimidated by this verse.  I quickly think I need to get my act together so that my prayers can be powerful and effective. However, the Bible clearly states that as a follower of Christ, I have been declared righteous by my faith in what God did for me through Jesus, not through any acts of my own. (See Romans 3:22 and Romans 5:1) Our prayers are powerful and effective. Prayer is a means to access God’s power to work in us and through us and in the lives of others. It should be the first tool we grab to help us have influence in our kids’ lives as they become more and more independent in their teen years.

When it comes to our teens, it is helpful to employ prayers of intercession.  These are simply prayers on their behalf. One example of intercessory prayer we see in the Bible is when Moses intercedes for the Israelites. While Moses was on Mount Sinai talking with God, the Israelites rebelled against God by creating an idol in the form of a golden calf.  God threatens to destroy them for their sin, but Moses pleads on their behalf, and God relents (Exodus 32).  In the same way, we can pray on behalf of our teens. Nothing is too big or too small to take to God in prayer. We can pray for their mental health, physical health, and spiritual health.  We can pray for their relationships. We can pray for the decisions they are making. We can pray for their present and their future.  We can pray for the godly traits we desire God to develop in them.

In addition, we should be praying for ourselves. James 1:5 tells us, “If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously without finding fault, and it will be given to him.” God desires to give us everything we need to parent our teens well. He knows even better than we do what our teens’ struggles are, what their needs are, and how He will use these to shape who they become. Prayer is also an opportunity for us to entrust our kids into our Father’s hands and receive His peace and promise to always be with us.

I wonder if some of us need to be reminded that prayer is literally just a two-way conversation with God.  It doesn’t require fancy words or an understanding of theology. Instead, what it requires is a willingness to be authentic and a sacrifice of time and stillness to listen.  While God is to be revered, He still desires us to pour out our hearts to him with a genuineness that is true to who we are and how we are feeling with both honesty and humility.

Sometimes our prayers can be as simple as a sentence prayer. Whatever your heart is breaking over for your teen, whatever breakthrough you desire to see, whatever need has gone unmet, put it in a sentence and repeat it to God throughout the day. God listens. God hears. God is faithful.