Inspiring prayer

Maybe this has happened to you. You receive a group text that says, “I just received a bad diagnosis.” Immediately, the 🙏 begin to flood the group. In a world that’s focused on social media thumbs ups, hearts and lol’s, these prayer emojis remind us that our concern has been heard by others and brought to the Father on our behalf.

But is this the style of prayer that I want to inspire young people to follow? No—this prayer style creates an understanding of prayer that is focused on me rather than God; I want prayer for me, I want others to know that I pray for them, and I want God to answer only the way that I think God should answer.

The kind of prayer that I want to inspire in our next generation is an ongoing, two-way conversation with God about everything—prayer that invites transformation by Jesus, comfort, correction and insight from the Holy Spirit and communion with the Holy Father as well as our immediate concerns for ourselves and others. So how do we inspire this prayer relationship?

1.     Develop this type of prayer in your own life.

Here are some simple changes that have helped me develop this kind of prayer in my life. I began praying in a conversational manner, like how I talk to others. This reminds me that prayer isn’t a magical incantation and helps me maintain authenticity. Praying aloud like this in the presence of others, especially the next generation, models prayer that is attainable and genuine rather than “correct.”

When someone asks for prayer, whether in person or in a group chat, I do my best to pray with them right there rather than promising to pray later. And I often say, “When the Holy Spirit brings you to mind, I will pray for you.” This helps me remember that the Holy Spirit continually nudges me, and when someone is brought to mind, it’s for a purpose.

This approach has helped me shift my perception of prayer from a transactional relationship with God to a genuine and authentic connection.

2.     Adjust the focus of our youth ministry.

Keithan Schwahn, in his chapter in The Praying Youth Ministry by Mike Higgs, writes, “In the Hebrew Scriptures, the role of the priests was to ‘minister to God’ (Deut. 10:8). Yet most of our responsibilities as youth pastors is to ‘minister to students.’ … What if our primary focus was on Him, and then on creating a family of young people similarly obsessed with hosting the living presence of God?” Schwahn continues, “We found focusing on meeting with God, instead of simply talking about Him and about our issues, created an environment where students were being transformed.”

This perspective invites students to participate in the adventure of following God’s leading and living with the question, “What is God going to do next?”

Let prayer be an ongoing conversation with God, invite the next generation into that conversation with you, and give them the opportunity to see God transforming lives around them.