10 Prayers for Teens This School Year and Beyond
The teenage years can be exciting as well as challenging. As we begin a new school year, our teens need our prayers. We can pray for them by focusing on their mental health, relationships with others, and relationship with God. Today, we’ll explore a list of prayers for teens at the start of this school year and beyond.
Prayers for Teens
Years ago, I was a high school teacher and youth leader for the teens at our church before having my own family. I’ll never forget a conversation with a mom who declared, “I know my son isn’t walking with God right now, but I believe my relentless prayers for him will yield fruit. I believe he will one day turn to God and live for him.”
That conversation took place close to 20 years ago, and the boy who was not following God has grown into a man who seeks God in all he does.
My husband and I now have three children, and one of those children is well into her teen years.
I want to be as faithful as the mom who prayed relentlessly for her son, trusting that my prayers will yield fruit in the lives of my kids.
Let’s approach God with this expectant posture as we pray for the teens we care about today.
10 Prayers for Teens
A Prayer for Wisdom in Decision-Making
The teen years are riddled with decisions to make. These decisions range from how to spend Saturday evenings to which career paths to follow.
Decision fatigue is real, and our teens face this often. Impacted by peer pressure and cultural expectations, it can be hard for teens to find their way and walk with God.
Here is a prayer for wisdom in decision-making.
“Lord, please give my teen wisdom in making decisions. You are the God of all wisdom, and you promise wisdom to those who seek it. I pray that my teen will seek your wisdom rather than turning to worldly wisdom. Please guide the everyday decisions as well as the larger life decisions.”
A Prayer for Vision for the Future
“The cultural idea that we’re supposed to know what we want to do with the next 30 years of our lives when we’re 17 is ridiculous,” a teenager once said as we sorted through her options after high school.
I’ve never forgotten that conversation because I couldn’t agree more.
Expecting our teens to have vision for the next 30 to 40 years of their lives puts a heavy burden on them. They feel like they have to have their entire lives mapped out by the end of their junior year of high school.
In addition to supporting them and encouraging them, we can pray for them.
Here is a prayer for teens who are seeking vision for the future.
“Father, thank you that your plans for my teen are good and filled with hope. Please show him what he needs to know for the next step of his journey and help him trust that you will continue to illuminate the path in front of him one step at a time. Give him your vision for his life, showing him his God-given gifts and talents and guiding him in how he can use these gifts to help others.”
A Prayer for Salvation
Above all else, pray that your teen will come to saving faith in Christ.
If you’re not sure where your teen stands with Jesus, ask God to show you a good time to talk about it.
Here is a prayer for salvation.
“Father, thank you for your love for my teen. I pray she will surrender her entire life to you, receiving Jesus as her Lord and Savior and walking with him all her life. When we truly encounter you, your presence is irresistible. Draw her heart to you and reveal your love to her so that she is compelled to surrender to you.”
A Prayer for Strong, Godly Friendships
The Bible reminds us that bad company corrupts good character. We become like the people with whom we spend time.
Ask God to establish strong, godly friendships in your teen’s life. These friendships can have an eternal impact on their lives.
Here is a prayer for friendships.
“God, thank you for creating us to live in relationships with others. Please bring godly friends into my teen’s life. Surround her with like-minded friends who will point her to Christ and help her continue walking with you. Enable her to be a light in the darkness, and please lead her to other believers who can walk with her, lift her up, and hold her accountable in her faith.”
A Prayer to Resist Temptation
We all face temptation.
As our teens develop, they are figuring out where they stand with moral issues involving honesty and integrity. They face many temptations.
We can support them in these issues by openly talking about these topics. We can also pray for them.
Here is a prayer to resist temptation.
“Father, thank you for caring for my teen even more than I ever could. Thank you for your promise to provide a way out when temptation arises. Please help my teen stand firm in the face of temptation, looking ahead to the consequences rather than giving in. Show him the way out when he is tempted and deliver him from any sinful behaviors that could become a snare in his life.”
More Prayers for Teens
A Prayer for Mental Health
Many teens deal with mental health struggles. These include everyday stress as well as deeper battles including anxiety, depression, and other mental health disorders.
We can support our teens by talking about these issues, being safe places where they can be honest about sadness, anxiety, and stress.
We can also pray for them. Here is a prayer for mental health.
“Lord, thank you for the way you knit together my teen. Thank you that you intend to use this unique design for your glory. Please help my teen learn to turn to you in stressful times. Open my eyes to needs that might be hidden beneath the surface so that I can help her find professional support if there is a deeper issue. Guide her on your path and lead her on level ground, learning to find her peace and stability in you.”
A Prayer for Identity
All teens are searching for identity. They are trying to figure out what they believe and who they are.
During this crucial time, we can speak into their lives by reminding them of the one part of their identities that can never change: They will always be deeply loved by God. Nothing can ever take his love from them.
We can speak this over our teens and also pray it over them. Here is a prayer for identity.
“Father God, thank you that your love can never be taken away from us. I pray my teen will grasp his unchanging identity as your deeply loved child. I know how tempting it is for teens to find their identities through what they do, the sports they play, the hobbies they enjoy, and the academics in which they excel. Instead of finding his identity in these changing parts of his life, help him learn to be anchored in your love. Free him from the need to live for the approval of others as he follows you.”
A Prayer for a Strong Relationship With God
God’s greatest command is that we love him with our whole hearts, souls, minds, and strength (Luke 10:27).
Pray that your teen will develop a strong, thriving relationship with God.
Here is a prayer.
“God, thank you for your desire for a relationship with each of us. I pray that my teen will develop a strong relationship with you, a relationship that carries throughout her entire life. Give her a hunger to seek your face, read your Word, worship you, and live for you. I pray that her relationship with you will be the foundation of her life.”
A Prayer for Commitment to God’s Word
God’s Word is our spiritual food. He wants to nourish us with his Word and guide our lives.
We can help our teens grow in faith by teaching them how to read God’s Word. We can also pray for them to find spiritual nourishment through the Bible.
Here is a prayer.
“Lord, thank you for your Word. Our teens are faced with many options for filling their inner hunger. I pray that my teen will learn to read, study, memorize, and meditate on your Word in a way that nourishes his soul more than any worldly comfort. Give my teen a passion for your Word, to know you through it and go deeper with you in it. Speak to him through your Word and help him encounter you.”
A Prayer for Bold Confidence
In an increasingly secular culture, our kids can feel intimidated when it comes to sharing their faith.
Pray for your teen to have bold confidence in who she is and what she believes.
Here is a prayer.
“God, thank you for calling my teen to join you in your work. Thank you for giving all your followers a spirit of boldness and power in Christ. Please help my teen embrace this power and go into the world as your ambassador, sharing your love with boldness.”
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If these prayers for teens blessed you, I invite you to explore our family devotional books below. Heart to Heart is a girls’ devotional book just for teen girls. Be blessed as you continue investing in your teen’s life.
Read here for 10 prayers for teens at the start of the school year and beyond. #prayer #parentingprayer Share on XCalling All Parents (and Grandparents)!
As the parent of two sons and a daughter, I have a heart for helping parents develop deeper relationships with their children and with God. Our kids, ages 6, 11, and 15, share this vision. They have helped me write three family devotionals for parents or older relatives to read with the children and teens they love. You can find all three books here or read more below.
Attention All Boy Moms (and Dads)!
God’s Warrior: Devotions for Boys Who Want to Grow in Courage and Strength helps young boys, ages 5-13, learn what it means to trust God and become strong warriors for his kingdom. Now, more than ever, our world needs men who are willing to boldly carry God’s love into the world. I wrote this boys’ devotional book with our two young sons, Aiden and Caleb, ages six and eleven! You’ll enjoy their honesty as we teach boys how to be strong warriors for the Lord. Find this life-changing devotional book here.
Mother-Daughter Devotionals by a Mom and Daughter
Girl to Girl: 60 Mother-Daughter Devotions for a Closer Relationship and Deeper Faith is written for girls ages 7-12. It includes 60 devotions with Scripture, conversation starters, and a shared journaling section for moms and daughters after each devotion. I wrote this book with the help of our daughter, Bekah, when she was eleven. Find this one-of-a-kind shared devotional here.
Heart to Heart: A Mother-Daughter Devotional With 50 Devotions for Teen Girls is for teenage girls ages 13-20. It includes 50 devotions, each with a shared journaling section to help moms and daughters connect through writing. This is a great book for moms who want to communicate about awkward topics—like dating, sexuality, peer pressure, and more—but don’t know where to start. Bekah and I will help you right here.
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God wants to work in your life to accomplish what you’ve been unable to do through willpower alone. He also wants to help you establish a rhythm of meeting with him daily as you trust him with the hard parts of your life. Click here to explore two books that will guide you: Be Still and Trust and Lean Into Grace. They are free on the Kindle Unlimited program and for sale in print.
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Set Free: Let God Do What You Cannot explores ten realms in which most of us need God to work in our lives and bring deliverance. We’ll talk about finding freedom from fear, worry, insecurity, bad habits, emotional pain, and more. This short online devotional will bless you as you let God accomplish what you’ve been unable to achieve through willpower. Get your download for free with promo code GRACE or for a donation of 3.99 right here.
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