Prayer Eleven

Generation Z

For many people reading this page, who have been a Christian for a long time, they will each have a story to tell about how their faith was tested, or of a time when they were drawn away from God as their focus was turned onto the things of this world. Even Jesus experienced temptation by Satan to follow a different path from the one God the Father had in mind for him (Matthew 4 : 1 – 11), so we are in good company. But unlike Jesus, perhaps there were times when Satan had some success in your life. Perhaps there were moments in your life when you chose to ignore God’s warning signs and made decisions to do things you have since regretted. Life is like a minefield, if we try to get through it without God we will step on mines, and it is inevitable that we will all step on at least a few mines in our lives. No one gets through this life unaffected by the spiritual war that is going on around us between God and Satan for the hearts and minds of people.

Hopefully, as we mature as Christians, we grow in wisdom and insight, and develop the holy habit of choosing God’s way over our own. This does not mean we are immune to temptation, or that we get everything right. There are always more mines that we can step on wherever we are in our spiritual journey. But it seems to me that we eventually reach a point where Satan re-prioritizes what he is doing and turns to focus more of his attention onto the next and more vulnerable generation – our children, and the children of our brothers, sisters, cousins and friends. I find it deeply troubling that so many Christian people I know are watching their sons and daughters, those that are known today as Generation Z (defined roughly as those between the ages of 15 and 25 years old – but we don’t need to be too strict about age), turning their backs on God and walking out into the minefield of life without having God to hold onto and guide them.

To find God, there must first be a desire to find him (those who seek will find – Matthew 7 : 7). The problem for our young people is that the world has so much more to offer them, so that it us not difficult for Satan to take any desire they may have for God and divert it to something else. These young people are in desperate need of the prayers of the older generation. I’m not talking about a one-off prayer for someone (though these are necessary at times), but rather, a long term commitment to pray for those we know who are in a younger generation to ourselves and are experiencing the full focus of Satan’s attention. But it is not enough just to pray for these young people. We also need to ask ourselves if we live our life in such a way that it is obvious our own desire is really for God. Or does it look like God is just one of many things we desire? Last year’s prayer campaign was called ‘Pray and Do’ because it is important that everyone both prays and does all they can to tackle climate change. This year’s prayer campaign is called ‘Pray and Do 2’ because without us living an authentic Christian life, our prayers will be ineffective in bringing others into their own walk with God.