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Parenting
Praying With Your Teen
by Rachel Paxton -
rachel@creativehomemaking.com
I don't remember my parents ever praying with me. It
wasn't until I was a parent myself, and a born again believer, that I realized
one of the outward signs of a committed Christian is their active prayer
life.
Looking back I can now see what I didn't know then--that my parents had never
truly given their lives to the Lord.
Does your teen see you pray? If they don't, how do they know about your
relationship with the Lord so they can model it in their own life?
Praying together makes us vulnerable to each other. We are encouraged to
share genuine emotions not easily otherwise expressed. I know especially
with my teen daughter, many deep discussions evolve into anger and frustration,
often tears, getting to the point where my daughter is so involved in her
emotions that she can't hear me any longer.
I've found that in these situations of intense emotion, prayer is often a
very effective way to bring perspective to the situation and peace to all
concerned. We just sit down and pray.
Family prayer has shown me a depth of character in my husband and daughter
I never knew existed. My husband prays for the safety and well being of our
family with emotion he normally finds hard to express. My daughter prays
for the salvation of friends and family members with such fervency that you
wonder how the Lord could possibly ignore such faithful prayer.
You don't have to pray together every day to have an impact on your teen.
We often pray together at dinner, taking turns offering our prayers of
thanksgiving for all the Lord has done in our lives.
My daughter and I often pray together when she's going through a particularly
emotional struggle, often the result of spiritual battles she faces as she
matures into a young Christian woman.
Being a teen in today's world isn't easy. One of the biggest blessings you
can give your teen is to pray with them. It shows them you love them and
that you care about their spiritual well being (as well as practicing what
you preach).
Rachel Paxton is a freelance writer and mom who is the author of the
Creative Homemaking Recipe of the Week Club Cookbook, a cookbook containing
more than 250 quick easy dinner ideas. For recipes, tips to organize your
home, home decorating, crafts, frugal living, and family fun, visit Creative
Homemaking at
http://www.creativehomemaking.com.
MORE PARENTING
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