The following prayer is a youth focused edit of a prayer written by John Piper many years ago. We included it in the student devotional booklet for RiverRanch this past year and I thought it would be worth sharing again here today. You can read the original at Desiring God. Check out our RiverRanch ‘09 site sometime as well.
Lord Make us Young Men and Young Women… Who don’t love the world more than God Who don’t care if their parents are rich Who don’t care about fancy phones Who don’t care if they have a car Who don’t need trendy fashions Who don’t emulate teen idols Who don’t whine to get attention Who don’t expect that life should be easy Who don’t feed their minds on TV everyday Who don’t look to culture for truth Who don’t get hurt by others disapproval Who don’t seek their own revenge Who don’t hold grudges Who don’t gossip Who don’t twist the truth Who don’t pridefully brag or boast Who don’t compromise modesty for attention Who don’t criticize more than they praise Who don’t choose “popular” friends over brothers & sisters in Christ Who don’t exclude others to build up self Who don’t sit lazily on their rears Who don’t waste their teenage years
But… Who are ablaze for God Who are freaks for the glory of God Who are filled with the Holy Spirit Who seek to know how deep the love of God is Who are crucified to the world and dead to sin Who are hungry for the holy Word of God Who fight sin like an intruder in your home Who are mighty in memorizing & using Scripture Who keep the Lord’s Day holy & refreshing Who are convicted to repentance of sin in their life Who are over joyed at God’s grace in forgiveness Who live that God would be glorified Who are praying throughout the day Who find joy & freedom in self-denial Who are public examples of Christ’s Lordship over all Who live by true theology Who reach out to the hurting and oppressed Who are passionate about sharing the gospel Who will defend those who cannot defend themselves Who will keep their promises Who will guard their hearts and purity for Jesus and their future spouse Who are content with what God has given them. Who are satisfied in Christ Alone
