Whether you’re a mom, a small group leader, or a girls minister, praying for the girls in your life daily and diligently is an important part of loving them well. No matter your role or title, if God has entrusted her to you, then you’re called to pray for her! However, if you’re like me, it can be challenging to pray faithfully without a plan. In my own life, in order to pray intentionally and consistently I’ve found it helpful to create a strategy.
Essentially my prayer strategy consists of a basic list of ways I can pray for the teenage girls in my life each day based on specific passages of Scripture. As I pray through the list, I can pray collectively for the girls I’m ministering to and I can pray individually for girls that the Lord brings to mind. When your prayer list is saturated in Scripture, it’s easy to pray God’s Word even on days when your own words are hard to come by.
While you might want to create your own personal prayer strategy for the teenage girls in your life, I’m going to share mine with you! Here are five things to pray for your girls daily:
Pray for her to be hungry for the Word of God. (Matt. 4:4, John 6:35, Ps. 63:1)
This one is first because when she spends time in God’s Word, all of the other things fall into place. As you pray for this, remember that your discipleship must be centered on God’s Word! Challenge her to spend time in God’s Word, even if she’s not hungry for it yet. Help her learn how to truly study Scripture and pray for God to develop a deep hunger for His Word in her heart.
Pray for her to be obedient to the Lord (Ps. 119:105, John 14:23, Jas. 4:7)
Even before praying for her to obey parents or leaders, pray for her to be obedient to the Lord. Teach her to search for God’s will in His Word and to follow it first and foremost, no matter what. This lesson is so important because obedience to the will of God isn’t always easy, but it’s always worth it.
Pray for her to be be bold in her faith (Josh. 1:9, 2 Tim. 1:7, Eph. 6:19-20)
Boldness is required when it comes to following Christ, especially as a teenager in today’s cultural climate. Pray for boldness to fill her heart in abundance as she learns what it means to live set apart for the sake of the gospel.
Pray for her protection against the lies of the enemy. ( John 10:10, 2 Thess. 3:3, Ps. 5:11)
The enemy has been full of crafty lies targeted at women since the very beginning. Pray for the girls in your life to be protected by the discernment and wisdom of the Holy Spirit from the lies of the enemy that are saturated into everyday culture. Ask God to guard her against the lies of the enemy and to open your eyes to any misunderstandings of Scripture she may be holding onto.
Pray for her to love others well. (Phil. 2:3, John 13:34, 1 Pet. 4:8)
God’s Word makes it clear that loving others well is an important part of our lives as believers, so we should see it as an important part of discipleship as well. Set an example for her by the way you love the people around you, including her. Take it a step further by encouraging her to love those who are not always easy to love either.
While this is by no means an exhaustive list of ways to pray for the teenage girls in your life, it’s a great place to start if you’re looking to be more consistent about praying for them daily. The longer you love and lead the girls that the Lord has entrusted to you, the easier it will be to pray for them intentionally and specifically.
Finally, as you are praying remember this: prayer changes your heart too. The power of prayer enables us to love others with the love of Christ even when things are difficult. Prayer is able to orient our hearts when we are distracted or weary from Kingdom work and it softens our hearts toward those we are praying for. Perhaps most importantly, prayer reminds us Who is truly in control. Ultimately, we cannot be the leaders or the disciple-makers that we’re meant to be without praying for those whom we’re leading and discipling.
Taylor Cage is a Nashville native, currently living in Oklahoma City with her husband, Baron, who serves as a student pastor at Trinity Baptist Church. After college, she spent three years as a Girls Minister and she’s passionate about building gospel-centered community among women of all ages. Taylor is the Social Media Coordinator for Well-Watered Women and a regular contributor for the Lifeway Girls blog. Most days you can find her writing about God’s Word with a cup of coffee in hand or chasing around her Goldendoodle, Posie. Connect with Taylor: Instagram