Praying for Your Teen to Take a Pro-Life Stand

“The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.”  John 10:10

“’For I know the plans I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘Plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.’”  Jeremiah 29:11

I’ve sat in many a room with young women, most of them teenagers, as they weigh their “options,” and the life of their unborn baby literally swings in the balance.  There is such darkness there, as the enemy unleashes his attack with a vengeance.  “Who do you think you are?  You cannot do this.  You are disgusting.  No one will ever want you—your boyfriend doesn’t even want you now.  Your parents will hate you. You are an embarrassment.  You are a slut and a loser.  These people know it; but more importantly, you know it.”

But then something amazing happens: the Word of Life, the Giver of Life, the Breath of Life is there.  He pushes back the lies and the darkness and creates beautiful space.  Space enough for that scared young girl to breathe and to come to the end of herself.  I think that might be His favorite place to stand: where the roads of Best Effort and Human Reason intersect and we find the end of ourselves.   He’s always there.   I have watched Him remind young women and families time and time again that life begins and ends in Him.  Life is sacred and valuable, and The Lord always provides a way.  I have seen hundreds of girls—through deep, heart-wrenching, heart-cleansing sobs—choose life for themselves and their child.

What I am praying for our teens is that they would find that place at the end of themselves before there is a baby to consider.   There are the same moments for teens who are not facing an unplanned pregnancy—moments when the enemy’s attack is just as dark and full of vengeance.  Moments when he declares to our children, “You are stupid and you were a mistake.  No one wants you.  No one has ever wanted you.  You are worthless and your life does not matter.”  And again, the Word of Life Himself, the Light of the World, pushes the darkness aside, sits next to our teens and whispers, “Life is my gift to you.  I have come that you may have life to the full.”

Lord, may our teens have an understanding that all life is precious.  “We are your dream,” as my dear pastor, Jimmy Evans, would say.  Thank You that a few moments with You are all we need for clarity and understanding, and that in Your presence is fullness of joy.  Thank You, Father, for Life.  May we live ours in such a way as to bring You great glory.  We love You.

“Let us say “yes” to life and not death. Let us say “yes” to freedom and not enslavement to the many idols of our time. In a word, let us say “yes” to the God who is love, life and freedom, and who never disappoints.”  Pope Francis

Jeremiah 1:5a—“Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you….”

Ephesians 2:10—“For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.”

Psalm 139:14—“I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well.”

Galatians 1:15—”But when He had set me apart before I was born…and had called me through His grace.”

Psalm 127:3–“Lo, children are an heritage of the Lord: and the fruit of the womb is His reward.”

Ephesians 1:7—“In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace….”

Romans 3:23-26—“And are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God’s righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins. It was to show his righteousness at the present time, so that he might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.”

My love,

 

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