Your Greatest Gift

This Kids Korner article is from GenMin National Coordinator Jeffrey Broadnax.

By now the tree has been taken down, the boxes and wrappings placed at the curb for garbage day, and the glow of Christmas is fading. What if I told you there is still more for you to give, especially to the young people in your family, congregation and community? In fact, I believe your greatest and most lasting gift has yet to be given. That gift? PRAYER!

Those around you

I have spent the last month praying for a young teenage girl who is in the fight of her life with an eating disorder. I have also spent the last two weeks praying specifically for twelve high school students who recently joined me at our Home Office in Charlotte for a weekend leadership retreat. There is also the teen in my local church performing in the Nutcracker and several boys and girls whose parents are unfortunately going through a divorce. I’ve also been praying for a college athlete who recently lost a friend in a tragic motor vehicle accident and the young person caring for his father’s horse as a way of honoring his memory. There are young people all around me. Not only has God blessed me to be able to see them, but He has challenged me to regularly pray for them. Let me share what I have done and suggest that you do something similar.

Create a prayer calendar

Why not grab a blank calendar or create one on your phone, tablet or computer. Write the name of a young person on each day of the week (see the example below). Some of us will be able to fill two weeks or even a month, while others may only be able fill a week. Then pray for that young person on that day of the month.

What to pray about?

In your prayers for these young people, pray that they be blessed and directed spiritually, pray about their school activities, pray their relationships with their parents, or even their friends. You can even ask the Lord to show you what to pray about for them. One of the best ways to figure out how to pray is to reach out to them and say, “Hey, I spend time praying for you and other young people God has placed on my heart—is there anything you’d like me to specifically pray about for you this month?”

Oh yeah, don’t forget to pray for the kids’ parents and all the others who will be influencing them.

Commitment?

Will you commit to taking a year and praying at least once per month for the young people in your sphere of influence—everyone from your own child, to the kid who helps the ushers collect the offering, to the kid who serves you at Starbucks? Give them a great gift—talk to Jesus about them!

To Timothy, my beloved child: Grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord. I thank God whom I serve, as did my ancestors, with a clear conscience, as I remember you constantly in my prayers night and day. (2 Tim. 1:2-3, ESV)