Susan Alexander Yates - 31 Days of Prayer for My Teen: A Parents Guide

2004 by Susan Alexander Yates

Published by Baker Books

a division of Baker Publishing Group

P.O. Box 6287, Grand Rapids, MI 49516-6287

www.bakerbooks.com

Ebook edition created 2013

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any meansfor example, electronic, photocopy, recordingwithout the prior written permission of the publisher. The only exception is brief quotations in printed reviews.

ISBN 978-1-4412-4424-6

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is on file at the Library of Congress, Washington, DC.

Unless otherwise indicated, Scripture is taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION. NIV . Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved.

Scripture marked ESV is taken from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version, copyright 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

To our Father God, who loves to hear our prayers
no matter what!

And with special thanksgiving to him
for the five spouses he has given our five children:

Will Gaskins, Christy Borgman, Alysia Ponzi,
Scott Anderson, and McLean Wilson

Ive prayed for each of you since you were infants.
I didnt know you then, but God did,
and he has answered my prayers above and beyond
anything I ever dreamed in bringing you
into our lives.

To him be the glory!
Ephesians 3:2021

A big thank-you to my husband and best friend forever, John. A special thank-you to our five children: Allison, John, Chris, Susy, and Libby, who taught me to love the teen years. And heartfelt thanks to my editor, Vicki Crumpton, and the great team at Baker Books.

A s parents of teens we know we need to pray, but we are often so overwhelmed with all our childs needs (and our own!) that we dont know where or how to begin.

This book will help you!

Youll find two ways to use this book. First, you can use it as a daily prayer for your teen by matching each day to the days date. With this method youll be able to cultivate the habit of regular daily prayer for your teen, and in the process youll experience the joy of a regular time to let God himself love and encourage you. By praying in this way, you will receive the benefit of exploring prayers and issues that might not have occurred to you.

Second, youll note that each prayer has a particular topic so you can go directly to the topic that expresses your concern and pray that specific prayer. Prayers are listed by topics in the table of contents.

The inspiration for this book came from a book I wrote several years ago called And Then I Had Teenagers: Encouragement for Parents of Teens and Preteens . That book deals with the challenges we face as we raise our teens. In it you will find practical guidance in handling many of the issues that you will be praying about in this book. I hope you will use this book of prayers as a companion to the larger book. Additional help is also available in the book my husband and I wrote, Character Matters! Raising Kids with Values That Last . Further information about these two books and other helpful resources can be found in in the back of this book.

In the prayers I have tried to balance my use of he or she and son or daughter . I felt that using he/she repeatedly would be distracting, so I have chosen one or the other to use in each prayer. Please adjust the gender to suit your needs.

At the end of each prayer you will find activities that can personalize and deepen your prayer time. First there is a relevant Scripture verse. Second, a list of additional Bible verses, which are referenced in the prayer, will expand your study. Let the printed prayer be a basis for creating your own prayer for your child each day, and then write it in the space provided. You will be encouraged when you use the book next month to see how God has answered your prayer! Next, thank God for one of his character traits that has been brought to your mind by the prayer or by the verses. (For example, Thank you, God, that you are always faithful .) Throughout the day, take time to think about what his faithfulness means to you. Space is also provided to write out a promise from God encountered in your Scripture study. Use these tools to enhance your time with God.

Perhaps praying for your child is a new experience for you, and you may be thinking, Im not even sure I ought to be talking to God. I dont feel that I know him in the same way others do . If this is a question in your heart, I invite you to turn to in the back of the book for some personal encouragement before you begin to pray for your teen.

One of our greatest desires is that our teens come to know Christ personally. In you will find a prayer that you can use to pray for your childs faith.

contains a driving contract that may be helpful to you when your teen begins to drive.

In you will find a list of other encouraging resources for this season of parenting teens. Each resource is accompanied by a brief description.

However you choose to use this book, I pray that you will find yourself not simply going to God with the latest issue about your teen but also falling in love with a God who cares about every detail in your teens life and in yours.

M y children have been the most instrumental growth factor in my walk with Christ. When five kids arrived within seven years, I was overwhelmed and exhausted. When they reached the teen years, I was scared silly. And I was driven to my knees in a more intense and frightened way.

I was forced to ask honest, hard questions. Could I really trust Christ with my children? Would he hear my prayers, even if they were wrong, even if I felt unworthy to pray, even if the problem was me? Did he care? Would he help?

I truly believe that God hasnt given us the kids we have merely so that we might raise them. Hes given us the exact kids he has in the exact birth order with the exact personalities so that they might also be used as his tools in our lives to mold us into the men and women he has created us to be. Hes given us that strong-willed son, that daughter with disabilities, that child who is so much like us that we are constantly at each others throats, that child who is so different that we cant understand him, and yes, even that stillborn child. Not one is a mistake. Each child is a precious gift from God. And each child will be used by him to grow us up into the men and women he longs for us to become.

We may or may not feel adequate in our profession. We can succeed, quit, or get fired. Marriage, with its challenges and blessings, is still between two equal adults who, with Christ at the center, can build a strong union. But raising kids is oh so different .

We have the burden of responsibility from the beginning. We can shape fragile souls or damage tender hearts. Even the most successful person in the worlds eyes will come to his knees in the arena of parenting. Parenting is the most humbling calling in the world, for here we cannot deny our own failings.

In those times of agony and tears on my knees crying out on behalf of a child, I have sensed Gods presence as I have at no other time. Yes, I have come face-to-face with my own brokenness. No, I havent always seen quick solutions or easy answers. Guidance hasnt often come instantly. More often Ive had to wait and wait on him. Often silence has been my companion. Sometimes I havent even felt that God hears.