My teenage son is having trouble understanding why GOD hasn't saved him. He goes to church, is a really great kid--gives me no trouble at all and I thank GOD for this. I am a Christian, but I cannot explain to him why GOD doesn't hear his prayers, etc., I have tried and I just don't seem to be qualified to do so.
The youth director that my son was so close to left the church about a year ago and although my son still goes, he does not go as often. Can someone reccommend a DVD that addresses this for teenagers? He is going to a youth rally this New Year Eve weekend.
Please pray for him..his name is Caleb. Asked by Scotlassi 49 months ago Similar questions: teenage son trouble understanding GOD saved Society > Religion & Spirituality.
Similar questions: teenage son trouble understanding GOD saved.
Here's some information that might be helpful. First and foremost, I’m very glad for you that you have raised a son that has turned out to be a good and Godly young man, especially in these days and times. He is to be commended for being a good son and you are to be commended for being such a good mother to him and setting a good example for him to follow.
I know that it is hard for anyone of any age to feel as if their prayers are not being answered but God mself has said in the Bible that He answers ALL prayers. We just have to realize and understand that He may not answer our prayers the way we want and sometimes sometimes no, and often times s answer is to tell us to wait and that’s the hardest one of all because we tend to feel as if He is not responding or hearing our prayers. Here’s a book at Amazon.com that might offer some thought-provoking answers and/or discussions for your son.
I hope some of this information will be helpful to you and your son and Caleb will most definitely be in my prayers as will you. Editorial Reviews From the Inside Flap Does God ignore certain prayer requests? We know that He hears the prayers of but how many times have you brought certain petitions before the Lord and then, when the results you hoped for-even expected-did not occur, you became angry and assumed that God was disregarding you?
How can you know whether your prayers align with God’s will? What role does unconfessed sin play in communicating with God and These are some of the many thought-provoking questions we will explore throughout this book. Prayer is one of the most important aspects of our Christian life, yet many of us become discouraged, disappointed and disheartened regarding the quality of our prayer lives.
We may become angry when a prayer is not answered according to what we think we need. We have no difficulty in proclaiming God’s sovereignty to others, while personally finding it tough to accept that God knows what is best. Often we may even find ourselves desperate and depressed, crying out to the Lord for deliverance...yet He seems to send none.
What must we do? Rather than become upset or angry, we should evaluate the circumstances regarding our communion with God and meditate on First Corinthians 10:13 promises that God will not give us more than we can bear: "There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way of escape, that ye may be able to bear it! ."
Unfortunately, when we feel like we are coming apart at the seams, and it appears that there is no way out, we find it much easier to focus on our surroundings than to saturate our minds with the many expressions of love and concern such as this that God reveals in As we view this subject of unanswered prayer, we must look at two issues: first, whether our request is Bible-based, aligning with God’s perfect plan for us; and second, whether we have prayed diligently enough. Too often we pray only once regarding certain situations and give up after a short time because we regard the lack of an immediate response as a signal that God is ignoring our request. Our prayers must graduate to a level of urgency!
Prayer should illustrate an "I-can-do-nothing-without-You" attitude to the Lord. We show our complete reliance on In essence, our prayers demonstrate that we believe without a shadow of a doubt that He is "...able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us" (Ephesians 3:20). If we give up after bringing our request before the Lord only a handful of times, then we must ask ourselves how important this request was in the first place.
While we should pray without ceasing (1st Thessalonians 5:17) and pray diligently and fervently, we must never forget that God is not a vending machine, nor is He a genie. He is Almighty God! For example, contrary to the teaching from certain pulpits, we cannot demand that God take away our debt in the name of Jesus; however, we can pray that the Lord would help us become better stewards of all that He has given to us.
We cannot command the Lord to change our financial status; however, we can ask the Lord to "give us this day our daily bread" (Luke 11:3). See the difference? Which prayer do you think brings God the most glory?
You are about to enter into the lives of many great men of God who made requests of the Lord, requests that He chose to deny for and ultimately, You may identify with some of these circumstances, but what is more important, we pray that these character studies will help you better understand why some prayers are answered and others are not. You will also learn that it is more important to look at the big picture and see that the way things turn out is usually better than we expect! The content of Dear God, Thank You For Not Answering My Prayer will remind you that God’s plans are perfect, while our idea of what we feel we need is imperfect.
The Lord knows what is best for us, we need only trust It is our prayer that you will be encouraged, edified and exhorted as you continue to press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call! About the Author Arno Froese is the Executive Director of Midnight Call Ministry and Editor of the critically-acclaimed prophetic magazine, Midnight Call. He has authored a number of well-received books including, The Great Mystery of the Rapture; How Democracy Will Elect the Antichrist; Saddam’s Mystery Babylon; When Y2K Dies; and Letters to the Editor, among others, which have enjoyed a wide readership and are internationally distributed in several languages.
Froese has sponsored over 50 prophecy conferences in the United States, Canada and Israel. S extensive travels have contributed to his keen insight into Bible prophecy as he sees it from an international perspective. Dieter Steiger graduated from Beatenberg Bible College in Switzerland in 1964.In 1965 he and his wife Helga left Europe as missionaries to Brazil.
Since that time, Brazil has become their home. He has served as a Director and teacher at the Midnight Call Bible school in Mondidideo (Uruguay). Today, Dieter is President of Midnight Call Ministries in Brazil.
Product Details Paperback: 222 pages Publisher: Olive Press (December 8, 2000) ISBN-10: 0937422517 ISBN-13: 978-0937422519 Dear God, Thank You For Not Answering My Prayer (Paperback) by Arno Froese (Author) Sources: Amazon.com, personal experience .
Please don't worry Here is something I am sure now the Bible is saying which a lot of people seem to have missed. Remember when Moses was leading the Israelites out of Egypt, and they rebelled and rebelled and rebelled? God finally told them they would die in the wilderness and their children would be allowed into the Promised Land.Do you remember the age limit?
It was 20 years old. Now take a look at Romans 7. Paul says he was alive until the law came.
When the law came into his life, he sinned intentionally and willfully and died spiritually. He was separated from God -- that is spiritual death. He then goes on, describing that state of spritual death in the rest of Romans 7, talking about the very war which unsaved people go through until they decide one way or another.
"The good I want to do is not what I do...." Now go to Matthew 18:10, where Jesus says clearly that the angels of the little ones always see the face of the Father in heaven. When you put it all together, you might reach a conclusion I came to. But first, remember what you were like as a child.
And your son, when he was little. Why do children do things? To please Mom and Dad, to escape punishment, to get rewards, to please playmates, etc. It is always for what I would call ’horizontal’ reasons -- because of the world around us.
Now look at young teens. They do things for the same reasons, actually. Peer pressure, grades, allowances, avoid punishment, etc. It is still horizontal reasons.It is not until the mid to late teens that the brain itself is finishing its maturing process.
In addition, during puberty, the neural connections in the brain itself are switching around. Some are disconnecting and others connecting at such a rate that the average teenage is not even sure who he or she is from one week to another! But then as the change is about complete, the young man or woman starts to re-focus his or her life.
Right for the sake of right, the meaning of justice, mercy, forgiveness, who God is, what is my purpose in life....these thoughts begin to intrude on what used to be just a normal teen life of semi-confusion. And just like Jacob wrestled with God, so must we all. And that is the age at which it starts.
To check my beginning ideas, I started asking around about when friends that I knew were born again Christians felt they had been born again. I was getting answers that ranged from 18-27, almost consistently.Interesting. My own oldest son used to come to me when he was sixteen and seventeen and ask me to pray for him.
I would say "Your relationship with God is not what it should be, is it?" And he would admit it was not, and please pray for him. He was 22 years old when he came into my study one day and told me he wanted to say something to me.
There was a tone in his voice that made me stop what I was doing immediately. What he said, almost exactly (this was 12 years ago...) was "Mom, in the shower this morning I realized I hadn’t really given all of myself to God. I want you to know I did this morning.
" And that was that. S faith has been strong and clear and steady since then, despite some very hard moments I would not have wished on anyone. He is 34 now, happily married to a wonderful Christian girl, and a Bible study leader.
With all that said, here is the conclusion I have come to which I think is completely from the Bible: Children are not lost. They are not born condemned by virtue of having a sin nature (which we all have). It is sin which condemns, not just having a sin nature.
They are not separated from Christ for some time. Their sins for about fifteen years are unknown. They may be disobedient to parents and teachers and such, but, like the children of the Israelites (some of whom may well have joined in the rebellions), they but if you recall, there was a sacrifice in the Old Testament for unknown and unintentional sins.
In the New Testament, in Hebrews, we learn that Christ died for all sin for all time as the one sacrifice (this is why we learn in John 3:16-21 that it is belief or lack of belief which saves or condemns a person, not their sins). That means that all unintentional and unknown sins are covered. From birth all children are covered by Christ’s death until they intentionally rebel against God Yes we have to discipline them and train them, but that is different.
It is not until they have mentally matured and disobeyed intentionally, willfully, against God mself and HIS law that they die spiritually -- becoming separated from God. And then, shortly after, that wrestling with God starts. Please tell your son not to be afraid of that wrestling.
He MUST walk through his doubts. He MUST establish his own relationship with God as a young adult that was impossible as a child. The reason for what he does has to change from horizontal to vertical.
Some people remain ’horizontal’ their whole lives, concentrating on themselves and their own worlds and such. But some seek God. Please do not pressure him now.
It is him and God. Tell him this. Tell him that this time must happen in his life and yes you will pray for him (and I will, too), but you have done what you can do now.
He knows the reality of God. He knows the truth of the Bible -- at least I hope he does. And now you have to back off.
It’s one of the hardest things you can do as a mom or dad. I do know that! House rules remain.
Your discipline while he lives under your roof remains. But spiritually he is going to be starting on his own journey now. The example of your life far more than your words is what will influence him.
Trust God. And never forget to pray. Sources: many years raising my own children, and teaching and studying Bible .
A few thoughts..... YOU are a awesome Dad! Many parents don't worry about the spiritual condition of their children. Continue to be an encouragement and role model to him.
Continue to pray for him. Your probably more qualified than you think, don't stop talking. Invite your pastor over for coffee and desert with you and your son.
I'm sure he'll be happy to answer questions. Does your son understand that Christ is our Lord and Savior. Has he accepted Christ as his Savior.
Yes? Then he is SAVED! Some days we all feel more saved than others.
Thats the nature of humans, feelings rise and fall, but God is unchanging. God ALWAYS hears his prayers. ALWAYS!
Answers may not come the way your son wants or expects. Answers arrive in Gods time not your sons time. Gods timing is perfect.
DVD's? I have the NOOMA series for my kids. They love it.
Any Christian book store will have it or can get it for you. Search NOOMA online and you'll find a bunch of places to order it. Scrat's Recommendations Nooma 18-DVD Set / Rob Bell / Vol.
1-18 .
Start by making sure that he knows that God does hear his prayers. Every single one and that not one thing has gone by unnoticed or ignored. I don’t know what you mean by "God hasn’t saved him" and it worries me.
This time of year especially, he should know that God loved him so much that He sent He was named Jesus because He would save Mattew 1:21 What makes him think that he isn’t saved? He is praying to God, so he obviously trusts NRS Mark 16:16 The one who believes and is baptized will be saved; but the one who does not believe will be condemned. Notice in the second line here that it says the one who does not believe, not the one who is not baptized.
Baptism is an outward sign of the covenant but not the covenant itself. I don’t know about a DVD as much as you sitting with your son and praying with him that God will show s presence and allow Caleb to walk closely with God who sees the beginning, the middle and the end simultaneously will at times not give us what we think that we want because He knows how it will turn out if we do and since all things are working to God will pick the thing that best reflects not necessarily the thing that we want most. Please remind your son that his beloved youth minister was a gift to him at one point in time and for that to be thankful but that the church isn’t about one minister but about God.
Going is to be near God and that maybe this new person is hear to learn something from your son or the people at this church and that in not being there, God’s perfect will is not working to its fullest. Please give your son our assurances that: 1. He is saved by the grace of God alone, apart from the law.
Just as Paul said. 2. That God hears him and loves him with an everlasting love that out shines all that he can understand 3.
That all things will work for the good of those who serve the Lord. Psalm 86:5 For you O Lord are good and forgiving, abounding in steadfast love for all who call on you. My prayer for your son: Gracious God, Caleb needs to feel your presence.
You promised us that when we knock, it will be opened for you, when we seek we will find. Hear his cries to you Lord, God. Help him to see your face in this world and to trust completely in your everlasting love and mercy.
Grant that he would feel your presence and open his eyes to your glorious love, that in all that he does and says and all of the relationships that he has, he gives glory and honor to your Holy and precious name. Lord, your angels called out to the people and said, "Do not fear," take away the fear that holds him and replace it with blessed assurance. We ask this in the name that saves, that of Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen God’s blessings to you, your son, and all of your family.
The youth director is not the Preacher of your church. I don't know what religion is yours normally the preacher There are many that work for the church and may have answers, They who seek the answers should always go to the leader of the church,preacher,father,rabbi,cardinal,Pope. These individuals are more qualified to give answers!
Your son has not been baptised yet and he's worried about being saved. I was always taught in the Southern Baptist belief, and waited for the sign that brought me forward proclaiming Jesus as my savior, I recall clearly it was at church camp that I was moved and gave my life to Jesus. It truely was a sign of conviction that brought me down that isle at 15 I was urged and I went!
Prayers are not always answered directly or in a timely manner and may not come the way we pray for, God does hear all prayer, God does answer all prayer! Your son has to believe with all his heart never doubting Gods Will, he must be patient and wait for the sign God sends to his heart there will be no mistaking of the sign for it will touch the very heart of his soul! The sign he is looking for may come in a dream day or night, his answers may come thru friends,family or the Preacher himself during the sermon he must believe with all honesty of his heart and at the right moment God will reveal his answer to your son.
There will be no mistaking of the answer from God he will feel the release of all fears in his heart as his soul knows that God has answered his prayer. The answers cannot be found on cd,dvd,LP's! The one and only true place to find answers is through the word of God, The Bible!
Have you related your answer from God,the details that brought you forward on the day that you were saved? Have related your worries to your Pastor, he is a great source for helping your son to stay strong and patient? Is there no way for your son to remain in contact with the Youth Director?
God Loves every human bad or good he showed his Love through his son Jesus, all we have to do is ask for and believe in his love. One needs ask only once, God knows of your sons request now your son must never doubt, lose faith or to question God! You are the biggest influence in your sons life, guide him, pray with him, tell him you know that God will send his answer.
WoolyBadBooger's Recommendations How God Answers Your 911 Call: Salvation Explained Through Story and Scripture -Revised Amazon List Price: $12.99 Used from: $8.33 Average Customer Rating: 5.0 out of 5 (based on 1 reviews) This might help find answers quicker,with references to Bible verse! .
Do you think that God particularly cares about what religion one follows as long as they believe in " (17 answers) "Both of my teenage kids are having trouble with thier jaws. Anyone know anything I can do to help them? " "What involvement are parents entitled to in the psychotherapy of their teenage son?" "Religion & Spirituality" "What can we learn about God giving " "I am search for an picture symbol bible for my Down syndrome teenage son.
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Do you think that God particularly cares about what religion one follows as long as they believe in " (17 answers).
Both of my teenage kids are having trouble with thier jaws. Anyone know anything I can do to help them?
I am search for an picture symbol bible for my Down syndrome teenage son.
I believe God is real and religion is not helping God.
Why is it that the name of God and his son Jesus cause.
I cant really gove you an answer,but what I can give you is a way to a solution, that is you have to find the anglde that you relate to or peaks your interest. A good paper is one that people get drawn into because it reaches them ln some way.As for me WW11 to me, I think of the holocaust and the effect it had on the survivors, their families and those who stood by and did nothing until it was too late.