5 Powerful Prayers for Children Who Don’t Want to Know God

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Probably in every church there are believing parents who grieve that their children want nothing to do with God.

Some parents have taught their children from the very beginning to know, love and serve the Lord, but instead see them only drift away from the faith and seem to forget everything they have been taught. And some parents have only recently become Christians themselves and desperately want their children to become Christians and join them in this most important relationship in life.

However, more and more young people are deciding that they will find their own path, do their own thing and believe what they want - without listening to God. Of course, it’s hard to experience this, but all is not lost!

There are several specific topics you can pray about for your children in the hope that they will understand their need for a Savior and for constant fellowship with Him. Here are five prayers for children who do not want a relationship with God:

Pray for other people to speak into their lives

Sometimes parents feel as if their words are bouncing off a brick wall and have no effect on anything at all. You still need to continue to lovingly speak to your children about the truth. But it is also important for them to hear God’s truth from other people whom they respect and consider as an example.

Pray that other people will come and tell them the same things that you have been telling yourself all this time. This could be a believing teacher, coach, friend, or youth leader in the church. Whoever God uses for this purpose, pray that He will bring it into your children's lives and influence their hearts.

If you find it necessary, you can contact some good mentors about your child and ask them to influence your son or daughter. If your kids don't want to listen to you, maybe (just maybe) they'll listen to someone else.

Dear God,
please speak into my children's lives through other people who also know and love You. Introduce your children to friends and mentors who will plant in them the seeds of faith that You will cultivate. I pray for a godly influence in the lives of my children so that they will want to know Your Son Jesus Christ more and more. Thank You, Lord, for surrounding them with people who bear Your name. I ask You to open their ears to hear and their eyes to see. I rely on You to convey the truth to my children through those who are in fellowship with You.
I pray in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.

A teenager refused to go to church - what to do?

I never thought that this misfortune would happen to me, or rather, to my child. I did not force my children to go to church with me. After all, as they say, “a slave is not a pilgrim.” She simply suggested, gently persuaded and watched the reaction. Lately, my teenage son has been constantly making excuses for not going to the Liturgy. I was upset, agreed with his decision, but next time I invited him with me again. And one day he called me aside and, after hesitating a little, admitted that he doubted the existence of God. And, it turns out, it’s been six months already. But he was silent, he didn’t want my mother to worry.

A feeling of bewilderment, disappointment, confusion and even panic overwhelmed me. But outwardly I tried to be calm. I told my son: “You know, I was ready for something like this. Many teenagers at your age are moving away from God and starting to doubt the Creator. This is fine. If we doubt, it means we are developing, moving forward. If you have any questions, feel free to ask. Let’s look for answers to them together.”

At that moment, the most important thing for me was to remain friends with my son. Adolescence is a time when parents cease to be an authority for children, when the words of mom and dad are subject to merciless criticism and unconditional denial. But this is all a natural process. The Lord Himself says: “A man will leave his father...” (Eph. 5:31). However, during this period it is very difficult to maintain mutual understanding and trusting relationships with an older child. And parents need to make every effort, stock up on angelic patience, so as not to push away the prickly teenager, like a frightened hedgehog.

Thank God, my son and I remained friends. It was clear that he had been preparing for this conversation for a long time and was very worried. After the initial confusion subsided, I began to think about what to do next. Firstly, I stopped inviting my son to church with me. Secondly, I began to analyze the reasons why teenagers leave the church.

So why are teenagers leaving church?

It happens that parents do not see (or do not want to see) that their grown-up child has changed not only physically, but his worldview, the perception of others, and his circle of interests have changed. The teenager strives for independence, but his mother and father do not want to let him go, they consider him still small and do not take him seriously. Then a riot occurs. The teenager denies the values and attitudes that his parents want to impose on him.

At the age of 13-15, children are drawn to the youth environment. It is there that they find new authorities. And it is during this period that non-believers or friends who hold non-Orthodox views appear. Banning communication with individuals who are unsuitable in the opinion of mom or dad only leads to even greater mutual misunderstanding and rejection. Therefore, it is very important to accept the choice of your son or daughter. The child has become an individual with his own opinions and beliefs. This must be realized and accepted. We must allow the teenager to “go out into the world” without trying to limit his existence only to the boundaries of the church and church community. Movies, music, video games are not always bad. It is impossible to isolate a teenager from the modern world.

How impossible it is to protect him from issues of sexual life. On the Internet, on TV, in glossy publications, hypersexuality is promoted, and chastity is considered a relic of the past. In such a cultural environment there are a lot of temptations and it is difficult to maintain purity, as required by the church. This can also push a teenager away from God.

An important role in the perception of faith and God is the behavior of parents and surrounding believers. If a teenager sees that they say one thing, but act in a completely non-Christian way, then such hypocrisy very quickly brings disappointment in God. Pharisaism, unfortunately, still flourishes in our time.

When a child is small, he unconditionally accepts on faith everything that his parents tell him: about the creation of the world by God, about the miracles of the saints and the providence of God. But the older a teenager gets, the more he learns while studying science, the more questions and doubts he has. Now he finds contradictions between the idea of the creation of the world and evolution, sees the “backwardness” of the church from scientific progress, or even its “anti-science.” Secular education in modern schools plays a significant role in the development of such views. Often, non-believing teachers “reasonably” impose their vision of the world on their students. Most teenagers fall under the influence of such teachers and begin to doubt God.

The teenager wants independence, he tries with all his might and means to break the “umbilical cord” that he is connected with his parents. No matter how painful and scary it may be for your own child, it is during this period that you need to give him freedom of choice. The faith he had from the beginning was the faith of his parents. Now comes the stage of searching for your own faith. Even if through her denial.

Recently I came across a very instructive parable. Every summer the boy was taken by train to his grandmother. He grew up and declared that he could go to his grandmother on his own, without adults. His parents allowed him. The father, saying goodbye to his son on the platform, put some piece of paper in his pocket and said that if he was completely lonely and scared, then let him look in his pocket. The satisfied boy sat down in the carriage. At first he looked around cheerfully, proud of his independence. But gradually, many strangers and unfamiliar faces began to cause him anxiety. He fidgeted restlessly on the bench, looked around warily, but fear and tension only increased. Then he remembered his father’s piece of paper and quickly pulled it out of his pocket. One phrase was written on the piece of paper: “Son, I’m in the next carriage.”

What to do about it?

After studying on the Internet the opinions of experts in the field of psychology and the advice of various priests, I finally decided to seek help myself. The psychologist did not persuade me, did not calm me down, but simply said one phrase. And this phrase instantly cleared my mind: “God has no grandchildren. God only has children." Indeed, we introduce children not only to our faith, but also lead them to our God, adults, along the path along which we ourselves have walked many times, making mistakes and being disappointed. But everyone has their own path to God.

Then there was confession. And there another important phrase was heard from the priest: “Perhaps the Lord allows this to happen to us so that we humble ourselves. So that we pray more for our children.”

The words of St. Porfiry Kavsokalivit came to mind at just the right time: “Don’t tell your children too much about God. Better talk to God more about children .

After studying the opinions of various priests and specialists in the field of psychology, unfortunately, I was not able to find a universal recipe for how to prevent children from leaving the Church. But now I know how I should behave.

You yourself left God, which means you must return yourself. I'm letting you go. But I'll always be there. I will pray for you and trust in God’s Providence. I'll be in the next carriage, son...

AUTHOR: Glafira Znamenskaya @glafira_znamenskaya

Photo: www.tatmitropolia.ru

Pray for the voice of the Holy Spirit to be heard

Because the noise of the world around us constantly competes for our children's attention, it is important to pray for the voice of the Holy Spirit to be heard.

His gentle voice is described as a quiet wind in 1 Kings 19:11-12. “And behold, the Lord will pass by, and a great and strong wind will rend the mountains and break in pieces the rocks before the Lord, but the Lord will not be in the wind; after the wind there is an earthquake, but the Lord is not in the earthquake; after the earthquake there is fire, but the Lord is not in the fire; after the fire there is a breath of quiet wind.”

Pray for God's quiet call to break through the strong winds of modern culture. Pray that your children will look to their Heavenly Father for guidance during these changing and challenging times. And pray that the constant bombardment of media and pop culture will subside as God's voice grows louder.

Lord and God
I thank You for never abandoning my children. Thank you for loving them with an everlasting love. I pray open their ears to hear the sound of Your still, gentle voice calling to You. I pray that they will hear You loud and clear, louder than this worldly noise. Most of all, I pray that they will respond to Your call and come to repentance and salvation through Your Son Jesus Christ.
And in His name I pray about all this. Amen.

Path with children

Now that I have children myself, it is very difficult for me to determine the line on how to be not too strict and oppressive with them, but at the same time give knowledge about God, about faith, about the Church. I understand that they must have their own Meeting, and that it is impossible to give what I myself cannot do - real prayer, joy. But I really, really want them to learn to love God.

While we are building the rhythm of life with them, preschoolers. Not ideal, not regular, but with a temple, a children's Bible, and a ritual kitchen. With Lent, during which they are more expecting that “later” there will be sausage with dough and ice cream, and not the Resurrection of Christ. But every journey begins small. If we, parents, try to become better Christians, maybe even if we don’t bring our children, then at least we won’t turn them away from Christ and the Church.

Illustrations by Catherine Vatel

Pray that their hearts will soften and become receptive

In Ezekiel 36:26, the Lord spoke to Israel with these words: “And I will give you a new heart, and I will put a new spirit within you; And I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.”

What powerful words! This appeal to Israel is great news for us too. Let this passage from the Book of Ezekiel serve as a basis for your prayers. Pray that God will give your children a new heart and a new spirit. Pray for their hearts to be softened so that they can accept the Lord Jesus as their Savior.

Believe that God can do what you think is impossible. And remember that there is no one whom the Lord cannot reach. There is no heart so hard that it cannot be turned into a vessel ready to receive Him. Parents should hold on to this hope and continue to pray for hearts to be softened.

Holy God,
I come to You asking for Your mighty work in the hearts of my children. I pray that You will transform their hearts of stone into hearts of flesh—soft and pliable in Your hands. Please, Lord, do not let my children grow cold towards You. Rekindle the flame of truth in their hearts. Remove all doubts and fears, draw them closer to You. Help me to continue to pray for them without losing faith, and may my heart soften too. Thank You for being a loving Father. I trust that You will work in the hearts of my children for Your glory and their good.
I pray in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.

At a friend’s funeral, I realized: we will all die and we will all meet

Apocalypse became my favorite book in the fifth grade, I took it with me to camp. When I was 10 years old, I was given a psalter with Church Slavonic font. I went to school with her, read avidly along the way, discovered the poetry of the Psalter, it was so beautiful. And there was also a memorial service, which I loved and knew by heart. Death was very beautiful for me. But I didn’t want to die at all.

I remember such a moment. Teenage insomnia, in the kitchen my parents are discussing topics: World War III, famine, buckwheat, the Antichrist... And I lie there and cry, because I want to grow up and have children.

Then, later, I learned to see joy in life. When the girls played Pollyanna at school, I could make a long list of things to be happy about. But I couldn’t be happy, I was always a gloomy girl.

I first learned what joy is in a youth organization, where I met a man who converted to Orthodoxy from Protestantism. He enjoyed his whole life. And while communicating with him, I realized that Christianity, including Orthodoxy, is truly a religion of joy.

Then it happened that at about the same time my confessor died and a friend from school died. These two deaths opened up a new world.

I remember how almost no one came to my friend’s funeral in black; his death greatly shocked us and united us.

And I realized that this is the meaning of life in death: we will all die and we will all meet.

And if you try, you can be together with those wonderful people who are very important to me. And this became my basis; nothing else has changed me globally.

Pray for Opportunities to Share Your Personal Testimony

Many parents forget that their own example can have a great influence on their children. The key is to find the right time and the right way to tell your story.

Pray for opportunities to share how God came into your life and subsequently led you to know the Savior. Be honest about your sinful past and how Jesus nailed your sins to the cross.

Keep your story simple enough for children to listen to, but don't keep silent about how your relationship with God has changed everything in your life. Sometimes, as children paint a picture of your life path in their heads, they begin to think about their life with God.

Here are some ways to start a conversation so you can move on to sharing your personal testimony:

“I know that it’s difficult for you to understand your faith now, and I understand you. Everyone comes to God in their own way. Did I tell you how it happened to me?”
“It probably seems to you that I have been a sincere Christian all my life, but this was not always the case. It was difficult for me to decide on my beliefs. Did you know that? And that’s how the Lord finally reached my heart...”

Heavenly Father,
Please show me when and how to share my personal testimony with children. Help me find the right words so I don't lose their attention. I pray that children's ears will be open to hear what I say and that they may consider my journey and then consider their own. My hope is that they will see how You have worked in my life and how You want to work in their lives. Thank You, Lord, that You saved me. I also pray for the salvation of my children. Guide me in how to tell them my story so that I can point them to You.
In the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

This is home, nothing else matters

Despite all the shortcomings of my “Orthodox upbringing,” I never had any complaints against God. I was angry at my parents, but not at God.

At about 13 years old, during a period of self-awareness and separation from my parents, I saw meaning in the Church. More precisely, I felt it. Just leaving the church after one Lenten service, I realized that here I am at home, here I feel good.

No matter how tired I am, no matter how hard it is. But the main thing was this feeling from Lenten services in my native church: this is home. And everything else doesn't matter.

Regular services were not that meaningful to me. Especially the Sunday all-night vigils, I really didn’t like them and tried to skip them. And in 7th grade, I remember going to all the Holy Week services, and it was absolute happiness.

Then, in high school, an Orthodox gymnasium appeared in my life, whose confessor explained the meaning of faith and Christianity. Before this, no one had explained it the way he did, although I had already studied in several Orthodox schools and knew a lot, my parents consulted me on some issues of the service and the charter.

But in general, as I look at my classmates from the Orthodox school, it is impossible to derive any specific rules, “if parents do this, then the child will end up like this,” no, everyone’s life turns out completely differently.