Praying for a Mentor for Your Teen

 

 

 “When they had crossed, Elijah said to Elisha, ‘Tell me what I can do for you before I am taken from you?’ ‘Let me inherit a double portion of your spirit,’ Elisha replied.

‘You have asked a difficult thing,’ Elijah said, ‘yet if you see me when I am taken from you, it will be yours—otherwise not.’”  2 Kings 2:9-10

“Then I will give you shepherds after my own heart, who will lead you with knowledge and understanding.”  Jeremiah 3:15

I pray frequently for adults who have any level of influence over my teenagers.  Teenagers need adults other than their parents to look up to, to talk with, and to confide in.  It is so important for us as parents to pray that the Lord will bring the right adults, and then to pray for those adults as they minister to our teens.

Your family may not be like mine, but have you ever had the experience of having shared wisdom and deep conversation with your teen over something they were struggling with and been met with rolling eyes and a shrug—only to have your teen  burst through the front door just days later and proclaim that their youth pastor had solved everything and said exactly the same wise words you had shared days before that fell on deaf ears?!   Sometimes our teens need to hear the same advice we’ve given them coming from other adults as well.  Somehow it seems to go down more easily when they hear it from others.

In all seriousness, I encourage you to pray diligently about any person who may act as a mentor to your teen in any capacity.  That person will carry influence with your teen, and you must be sure that each mentor shares your values and understands what you as parents are saying regarding specific issues.  You do not want your teen to play the two of you against one another. Also, it is important to be clear that the relationship between your teen and any mentor is not a “friendship.”  The two are not peers and the mentor must understand that he or she is adult and is being looked to by the teen for guidance.

In the lives of my own teens, coaches have played a huge role as far as filling the need for mentors.  Madi has a sweet young woman who coaches her in volleyball but also was our baby sitter all of Madi’s younger years and the two are very close.  I love that Madi has a beautiful Christian woman to look up to and learn from.  Jake is an athlete and loves many sports.  He has been so blessed with several coaches who challenge him, not only physically, but emotionally and spiritually.  We are all playing a role in training them in the way they should go.

I love teenagers.  They are truly the joy of my soul, but insuring they have godly adults around them to help keep them on track and moving forward is key.

“Lord, we thank you for mentor relationships.  Thank you for those just a little further down the road from us who can encourage us to keep moving as well as warn us about pot holes along the way.  This journey of life that you created and the fellowship with other believers was a beautiful plan.  But you knew that all along.  I love you.”

Mark 10:45 For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.

Ruth 1:6 When Naomi heard in Moab that the Lord had come to the aid of his people by providing food for them, she and her daughters-in-law prepared to return home from there.

Matthew 28:19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.

Titus 2:3-4  Likewise, teach the older women to be reverent in the way they live, not to be slanderers or addicted to much wine, but to teach what is good. Then they can urge the younger women to love their husbands and children.

I Samuel 18:1-4 After David had finished talking with Saul, Jonathan became one in spirit with David, and he loved him as himself. From that day Saul kept David with him and did not let him return home to his family.  And Jonathan made a covenant with David because he loved him as himself.⁴ Jonathan took off the robe he was wearing and gave it to David, along with his tunic, and even his sword, his bow and his belt.

1 Samuel 20:42 Jonathan said to David, “Go in peace, for we have sworn friendship with each other in the name of the Lord, saying, ‘The Lord is witness between you and me, and between your descendants and my descendants forever.’” Then David left, and Jonathan went back to the town.

My love,

 

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