The teenage years are an emotional roller coaster and can bring with them many opportunities for sin, negative friendship experiences, and challenges to our efforts to help our sons choose to follow God and see the world through the lens of His Word.
Things change about the way we parent in the teenage years—in good ways and in challenging ways. Gone are the days when we can control every little thing that comes into their lives. Gone are the days of being able to hold them close or even being the most important person in their lives. Boys face temptations today that their parents never had to face, at least not in the same way, and this can cause some parents to shut down and take a hands-off approach, feeling a sense of loss and lack of purpose.
But while our role might change, our purpose has not. Not if we know what our real in-Christ purpose is as a mom.
What if there was a way to fight for our sons instead of against them?
What if there was a way to partner with God for the hearts of our sons that has nothing to do with managing them, correcting them, or trying to force them into a mold of our making, but instead releases them to the good plans of their sovereign God, all the while helping Mom learn to walk in her constantly changing role with peace?
What if we could take joy in knowing our God-given role, releasing the rest to the God who holds it all together?
What if we could feel empowered by our ability to go to God’s Word, because it has the power to change our son’s heart and we trust it to do exactly what God purposes for him?
What if we could release our need to control and choose to protect with our prayers instead?
What if we could find the wisdom we need each day to help our sons through the challenging teenage years and feel purposeful instead of powerless in our motherhood plan? What if we could have peace, knowing there will always be limits to what we can do, but there will never be limits to what we can pray?
This is the power of fighting for our sons in prayer.
How to Fight in Prayer
The simplest, most basic definition of prayer is conversation with God. Tim Keller calls it a conversation with God that He started through His Word.1 In other words, God has invited each of us into a holy and divine partnership where we share our hearts, fears, worries, confusion, and requests, and He gives us His wisdom, comfort, truth, love, and guidance in return. It isn’t necessarily a fair partnership. He is still God and therefore has the right to tell us yes, no, or wait (and will say each of these things at some point), but we get the most out of it by far. To think that we have the God of the Universe, who created the hearts of our sons, opening His arms in invitation to us is powerful, and I don’t want us to miss it.
When I first came to prayer, it was because I was in desperate need for God to move in my home. I started praying because I wanted Him to change my children. I don’t know if I would’ve admitted it then, but I think I believed that because prayer was a holy work, God would be obligated to answer mine the way I wanted Him to. Many Christians believe prayer should work like a vending machine where they put a request in and God spits the “right” answer out. But this is not so. God invites us to pray but retains the right to be God.
The very best way I have found to be in alignment with God’s call for my children is to pray His Word. It isn’t the only right way to pray, but it is a powerful way to pray. It keeps our hearts aligned with God’s truth, and that will give us great peace. It serves as a source of wisdom and helps us shepherd our boys on the right path, but prayer isn’t just something that reminds us of God’s truth, who He is, and what He can do. It is those things, but it is so much more. Prayer moves God. I believe prayer is proactive. I believe it is action. A verb. It is doing something. Maybe the most important something we can do. If prayer were not action, it would mean nothing. It would accomplish nothing. Do nothing. Mean nothing. And be worth nothing. Prayer is not passive. It is not a last resort. It is not a cop-out, an excuse, or a way to keep our hands from getting dirty. Prayer is the first and best response of the Christian mother to the challenges, depravity, and difficulties her children will face in this world because she serves the God who can, does, and reigns.
Prayer is battle.
Prayer is war.
Prayer is action.
Prayer is fighting FOR our sons.
Let’s do it together now.
Scriptures to Pray for Your Son
Father, teach (your son’s name) to guard his heart against things that could send him on the wrong path.
Lord, give (your son’s name) a new heart and put a new spirit within him. Remove his heart of stone and give him a heart of flesh.
Father, teach (your son’s name) to dwell on things that are true, honorable, just, pure, lovely, commendable, morally excellent, and praiseworthy.
May (your son’s name) trust in the Lord with all his heart, and not rely on his own understanding. In all his ways cause him to know God, and make his paths straight.
Lord, help (your son’s name) to be a wise man, fearing you. Keep him from being a foolish man who despises wisdom.
Father, open (your son’s name)’s ears to hear Your wisdom calling. Tune his ears to recognize You when You make Yourself known.
Father, make (your son’s name) value Your words and commands more than the most precious of treasures. May he seek You for the wisdom he needs, and may You be a shield for him causing him to walk with integrity, knowledge, and understanding.
In Jesus’s Name,
Amen
If you want to dive deeper into how you can pray for teen boys, check out the book Praying for Teen Boys: Partner with God for the Heart of Your Son by Brooke McGlothlin. Praying for Teen Girls: Partner with God for the Heart of Your Daughter by Stacey Thacker is also available. Both books help you navigate the teen years and provide over 90 Scripture based prayers.
Read from Stacey Thacker on how you can pray for your teen girls.
About Brooke McGlothlin
Brooke McGlothlin is the original founder and former leader of Million Praying Moms and author of 8 books including her latest, Praying for Teen Boys: Partner with God for the Heart of Your Son. She serves as Client Services Director at Blue Ridge Women’s Center, a nonprofit ministry assisting women in crisis pregnancy. A wife of 23 years, and mom to two young men ages 18 and 20, Brooke makes her home in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Appalachia. Learn more about Brooke at brookemcglothlin.net.
