For all those people who aren't perfect, and specifically those teens, here are some prayers that I pray every day. Perhaps you'll find some encouragement or some areas that you, too, pray or need to pray in.
-Lord, I confess that I worry. I worry a lot. What is in my future: who will I marry? What will my career be? How many kids will I have? Will I be called to missions? Forgive me for being anxious, Lord. Help me to trust Your plans and simply work hard here and now where You have placed me. Yet I also pray that I would not neglect the future and wander aimlessly about in life. Help me to set goals and work towards them, but trust You with the results.
-Lord, I have a lot of free time (relatively) on my hands. I ask for Your grace and help not to make relaxation my idol, but to make use of the time You have so graciously gifted me. Yet I also pray that I would not become obsessed with work. Give me grace to take an appropriate amount of time to rest from work and relax in the beautiful creation You have made.
-Lord, I confess that I am a proud person. Sometimes even unconsciously so. I pray for Your grace to recognize when I am being selfish, and to step aside in those moments to intentionally serve and bless others. Yet I pray that I would not fall into the trap of self-deprecation: You have gifted me in many ways, Lord, and I pray that I would develop them to their fullest, and that I would allocate all praise and glory for them to You.
-Lord, You have placed me in a good family. I pray that You would give me grace to be a blessing to my siblings and obedient to my parents. May the way in which I act adorn them with honor, and may my family glorify You through Your influence in me.
-Lord, I pray for grace to get up early every day to spend time in Your Word and in prayer, meditation, and memorization over it. May I have such a thirst for Your truth and for an intimacy with You that when I sinfully neglect my devotions, I feel as though I am drying up spiritually. Drive me back to You, Lord, when I drift away.
-Lord, I confess that I am sometimes cowardly in the profession of my faith. Forgive me, I pray, and give me the grace to be bold in sharing the amazing news of Your salvation with my friends and family who don't know You and Your greatness.
-Lord, I pray that You would give me the spiritual energy to fight temptation when it arises. May my drinking from Your spiritual fountain every morning in my devotions vitalize me for each and every day, and may I fall to my knees when confronted with sin, that in prayer You would lift me up and give me the grace to endure it.
-Lord, I confess that I sometimes doubt Your promises, especially when I am in other sin already. I pray that my depravity would drive me closer to You, not further away. I pray for Your forgiveness for my unfaithfulness, and I ask for grace to trust You. May I immediately repent when I sin, and not wallow in my own self-condemnation. Yet I also pray that I would not take Your forgiveness as license to sin. May I grieve with Your Holy Spirit, and weep when I transgress Your perfect law.
-Lord, in all that I do, in all that I say, and in all that I think, may I glorify You. May my life reflect Your glory. May the people that I meet and the ones that I love see You in me. I thank You for Your forgiveness. I thank You for Your grace and mercy that You have so abundantly poured out upon me. I pray that my life would be Yours, Oh God that I love, serve, and follow.
Amen.
