So you have attended your child's award ceremony and when its over you realize that you now have a junior high or high school kid. So you and your spouse now enter into a new phase of raising your children, where do you turn to? The answer to that is pretty simple..God.
What are the things you pray about for your child? Do you pray that they succeed, fit in, survive the day? I was thinking about this and did some research on things that I feel most effect Pre-Teens and Teens today.
Establishing boundaries is a mark of maturity. Remember that your goal is to foster maturity in your child. In a world filled with immature excess and self-indulgence, it is difficult to help our teenagers be different than society. Avoiding over consumption, controlling self-expression, monitoring mental and spiritual intake, and maintaining limits in dating are key areas needing boundaries in teenagers' lives.
Praying for God to guide your children in these areas is essential. Swimming against culture's tide is hard for any teenager. Use the following guide, employing the scripture listed, as a way to pray for God's will for your pre-teen or teen in these areas. Ask God to give you strength as you witness your child go through successes and difficulties as he matures.
Here are a list of topics to pray about:
Avoiding Over consumption
-To exercise self-control (1Corinthians 9:24-27)
-To strive to be like Christ (2 Peter 1:3-9)
-To walk by the Spirit instead of walking as the world does (Galatians 5:16-26)
-To store up eternal treasures instead of earthly ones (Matthew 6:19-21)
Controlling Self-Expression
-To speak with a controlled tongue (James 3:1-12)
-To speak from a loving heart (Luke 6:43-45)
-To love God and love others (Mark 12:29-31)
-To express kindness to everyone (Matthew 25:34-40)
-To mature and speak the truth in love (Proverbs 4:24; Ephesians 4:14-15)
Monitoring Mental-Spiritual Intake
-To watch out for lustful thoughts (Proverbs 6:25)
-To be filled with the Spirit instead of other things (Ephesians 5:15-21)
-To not look at another person lustfully (Job 31:1)
-To guard his heart (Proverbs 4:23)
Maintaining Limits in Dating Relationships
-To date other believers (2 Corinthians 6:15)
-To remain sexually pure before marriage (1 Thessalonians 4:3-5)
-To stay pure in thought of one another (Matthew 5:29)
-To imitate God in these relationships (Ephesians 5:1-5)
-To love one another purely as believers, as Jesus commands (John 13:35)
There is a myth that pre-teens and teens cannot practice self-control, that the teen and young adult years are the time for "sewing wild oats." Writing to the young preacher, Timothy,
Paul stated:
But have nothing to do with irreverent and silly myths. Rather, train yourself in godliness, for the training of the body has a limited benefit, but godliness is beneficial in every way, since it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come. This saying is trustworthy and deserves full acceptance. In fact, we labor and strive for this, because we have put our hope in the living God, who is the Savior of everyone, especially of those who believe (1 Timothy 4:7-10).
Mom and Dad, have faith, pray, and keep the lines of communication open between your pre-teen/teen and you. You can help him establish boundaries as he trains in godliness! You can help him learn to serve the living God! Gain strength from the Lord as you depend on Him!
Take the time to share the above topics with not only your spouse but with your children as well. This is a bible study that I have created for you.
Hang in there and remember we are not alone, God is always here.
With Love,
"B"
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