Love and Faithfulness - Proverbs 3:3-4

Let love and faithfulness never leave you;
bind them around your neck,
write them on the tablet of your heart.
Then you will win favor and a good name
in the sight of God and man. (Proverbs 3:3-4)

Dear Father,

I pray that these children understand that the true worth of a life lived is the degree to which we have loved those you have given us to love and the degree to which we have been faithful to you and to those who have counted on us to be there for them. I pray that they love and are fully faithful to their spouses while they are tempted to think of themselves and their own interests and gratification. But I also pray that they come to understand that love and faithfulness is not limited to the marriage bond, but is also essential in being a parent and role model. A failure to love and be faithful to a spouse is also failing to love and be faithful to their children as the children bear much of the consequence of a parent's failure in this regard. Love and faithfulness is also essential in being a leader and a role model outside the family - in the church and in the community. And even in their vocations, help them to see that love and faithfulness is what makes one an effective leader in the workplace. By that, truly they will win favor and a good name both in your eyes and in the sight of man.

Amen

Peer Pressure - Proverbs 1:10

My son, if sinful men entice you,
do not give in to them. (Prov 1:10)

Dear Father,

I pray that you give these young people eyes to see the end effect of evil and such vision gives them the wisdom not to give in to unhealthy peer pressure. Make their hearts indignant toward those who recruit to bully because they see the hurt and wounds that will be caused by that behavior. Make their minds repulsed by those who seek to get them to try drugs and alchohol because they see the lives that are destroyed by both and see how easy it is to fall into addiction. Make their souls resistant to those who would entice them to steal, shoplift or rip off music and software because they see how honest businesses and artists are harmed by the loss of revenues.

Give them an attentive ear to their parents who warn them of these things, and grow within them a desire to please you more than to please peers.

Amen

Listen to your Parents - Proverbs 1:8-9

Listen, my son, to your father’s instruction
and do not forsake your mother’s teaching.
They are a garland to grace your head
and a chain to adorn your neck (Proverbs 1:8-9)

Dear Father,

I know that teenagers often resist, rebuff and ignore their parent's teachings and instruction. I pray for these little ones that you will give them wisdom beyond their years such that they can see through all of the normal childhood attitudes and recognize the value to listening to their parents. Give also their parents abundant wisdom as to how best to give instruction in a manner that resonates with their children and it becomes something that the children internalize as guiding principles.

Amen

God Will Not Be Silent - Psalm 50:1-3

The Mighty One, God, the Lord,
speaks and summons the earth
from the rising of the sun to where it sets.
From Zion, perfect in beauty,
God shines forth.
Our God comes
and will not be silent (Psalm 50:1-3)

Mighty God, Creator of all things,

By your power what was nothing became something. The universe was nothing, merely contained within your power and it came forth as a seemingly infinite span. The earth was nothing, formless from the bursting forth of your creation, but by your power and guidance it formed into a perfect habitat for us. Man was only a concept contained within your mind and by your breath we came into being. Your voice has spoken all that is from nothing, your Word bringing forth creation and order, your Spirit giving life. Your Word also becoming flesh so that by His sacrifice, our lives that are otherwise nothing, become your vessels of redemption in this creation, as you breath life into the spiritually dead.

Do not now be silent as these little ones grow up. Speak your power around them to shield them. Speak you Word into their hearts. Speak your Spirit of power into their being. Shout the command to your protective angels. Shout your rebuke against the evil one. Whisper your care and compassion into their souls. Sing your love over them.

Oh God come and do not be silent.

Amen

The Refuge of The Lord - Psalm 34:22

The  Lord  will rescue his servants; no one who takes refuge in him will be condemned. (Psalm 34:22)

Lord,

I pray that these little ones, as they give their lives to you, never live in fear of condemnation. May they learn and understand grace and realize that it is not their accomplishments that will save them not even the degree of their avoidance of sin. Rather it will be that they never stop taking refuge in you. That they never stop looking to you for their salvation. That they never abandon life within your protection for life in the sinful nature.

Amen

The Lord is Close to the Brokenhearted - Psalm 34:17-20

¹⁷ The righteous cry out, and the Lord hears them;
    he delivers them from all their troubles.
¹⁸ The Lord is close to the brokenhearted
    and saves those who are crushed in spirit.

¹⁹ The righteous person may have many troubles,
    but the Lord delivers him from them all;
²⁰ he protects all his bones,
    not one of them will be broken.

Dear Father,

With the perspective of the cross, I know that these promises must be viewed in light of the eternal. Certainly the martyrs were not delivered in the current age. But indeed they were delivered in three ways:  their delivery to your presence on their death, their resurrection unbroken on the day you make all things new and by the fact that their cause prevailed, even in their apparent defeat. The most important part of this promise is that you a near to human suffering. You do not observe from a safe distance, unconcerned by the human misery that exists in your creation. Because of the brokenness of your creation and the rebellious sin that  caused and continues to cause that brokenness, the majority of human kind is brokenhearted and suffering at any point in time. 

I pray that in their times of brokenheartedness, these children feel your closeness. That they sense that you are hurting with them with a plan for their redemption from their troubles. I pray that you work in those times to do things that will strengthen, not break their faith. In all things Lord work all things for their good and their ultimate benefit as the plans of the evil one are thwarted. 

Amen

Pursue Peace - Psalm 34:14-15

Turn from evil and do good;
    seek peace and pursue it.

The eyes of the Lord are on the righteous

     and his ears are attentive to their cry; Psalm 34:14-15

Dear Father,

I do pray that these children turn from evil. But they can't live effectively by simply avoiding a negative. That does not lead to the abundant life of promise. It is not sustainable. I pray that they also seek peace, the betterment of man, not only seeking peace for its own sake, but peace that leads to the dignity of all mankind and the breaking of the bonds of oppression and injustice. 

And as they set their shoulder to the wheel of promoting justice, hear their cries when they grow weary, frustrated and discouraged. Give them more of your Spirit's power to sustain them and give them the courage to go on. 

Amen