When I was in high school, few things at youth group frightened me more than praying with my fellow students, or worse, adults. I felt comfortable praying on my own, but in a group I was always worried that I would mess up or make a fool of myself. It’s funny to think about when you consider the fool I made of myself during every youth group game we played! But because of this fear, I didn’t realize until I was an adult that prayer is one of my spiritual gifts.
Students need to know that in all things their first action should be prayer. Suffering and hardship? Pray about it. Celebration and praise? Pray about it. But students sometimes worry that people might judge their prayers or that they need to say the perfect words to get God to answer.
I’m now blessed to serve in a student ministry where prayer is a key value, and where students as young as 11 years old regularly pray for our high school seniors and vice versa. Many of these kids pray in the Spirit more powerfully than I do in my late 20s. It’s awesome! If you want prayer to be something that your students seek out instead of shy away from, here are three ways you can help build a culture of prayer with your students:
1. Encourage prayers of gratitude, not just petition.
Often, students default to treating prayer as simply making requests. “God, help me ace this test.” “God, help me win the track meet.” “God, make my cute friend like me back.”
Even as an adult, I can find myself fixated on a desired result, so much so that asking for things feels like the only way to pray. But in the epistles, Paul encourages Christians to regularly offer prayers of thanksgiving:
Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18
One practical idea to get students started: During a youth group meeting, encourage them to thank God aloud (or in writing) for what He’s done. If they need more direction, give them a Psalm to pray aloud (try Psalm 138). To set the mood, have instrumental worship music playing in the background.
A heart of gratitude develops spiritual maturity in a way that few other things can, so prayers of thankfulness are a great place to start when teaching your students how to talk to God.
2. Create opportunities for students to pray for one another.
Praying with your peers is a powerful thing. Take a moment to consider which prayers have impacted your life most powerfully. Most likely, they’re ones your friends and family prayed with you.
Usually if students don’t pray with their friends, it’s because they don’t want to impose. Yet James commands us to pray for one another:
Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective. James 5:16
What they don’t realize is that so often their peers are yearning to be seen and prayed for. Instead of defaulting to an adult leader praying for a student, consider asking another student to go and pray over their peer. My favorite thing to do with this practice is to encourage siblings to pray over one another.
The best part is that most students need direction only for a season. As we’ve applied these steps in my church, students now pray for each other spontaneously, guided by the Spirit.
3. Introduce them to simultaneous prayer.
The third prayer practice I recommend is praying together, out loud, at the same time. Often these prayers can be for a single individual, theme, or cause, but they could also be more open-ended.
This practice was especially helpful for me as a teen because it forced me to pray out loud in front of others, yet the low hum of others’ voices took away the fear that everyone was listening to what I was saying. If your students are intimidated to pray out loud, this is a great way to get them comfortable.
Remind your students to pray audibly, but not so loudly that it draws attention to themselves. In Matthew 6:5-6, Jesus teaches us not to make a display of our prayers:
‘And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.’
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Jesus modeled what a healthy prayer life looks and sounds like to the youth who followed Him. These practices will inspire you to creatively model prayer for your youth, just as Christ did for His.
