Today is the last installment of Next Gen Thursdays – each Thursday during this series, we have been focusing on praying for and with the Next Generation. 

As a youth pastor, I want to turn your attention to a generation of teenagers and ask you to lift them up in prayer today. We cannot ignore the unique challenges and opportunities that the teenagers of today face. This generation of young people absolutely needs a generation of adults who will faithfully go to God on their behalf.

So, for your time of prayer today, here are three things you can be praying for on behalf of the students in our church and their friends:

1. Mental health

70% of teenagers say that anxiety and depression are significant problems among their peers. 1 in 6 teenagers under 18 contemplate suicide and 1 in 9 attempt suicide.

2. Wise technology choices

Teenagers today have never known a world without internet or smart devices. On top of everything else teenagers from previous generations have had to face, this generation must also navigate the problems and pressures of the internet, social media, and pornography being available to them 24/7.

3. Openness to Jesus

In 2021, Barna conducted a research study to advance the understanding of teenagers globally—specifically around their thoughts about Jesus, the Bible, justice, and the church. They concluded that there is a lightness of being among today’s teens that is less common among even the young adults a few years older than them. Barna is calling them the “open generation.”

Will you spend time praying for our teenagers today? If you need help with the words, use these Bible verse as a guide:

1. Romans 12:2

2. Psalm 119:9-11

3. Revelation 3:20