Wednesday Prayers: Teenagers

I've run into a lot of people this month who really love teenagers, and it's been delightful:

• An English teacher who's been doing it long enough that he could be really jaded, but instead works hard to give his students exciting opportunities. 
• A recent college graduate who champions the role of teenagers in church (RIGHT NOW, not when these teenagers are middle-aged).
• A middle-aged woman who knows and loves the teens in her church as the extraordinary people they are, and who encourages others to get to know them.

I think you've heard me say before that the adults in my life when I was in high school and college made a tremendous difference.  They might not have literally saved my life (though I wouldn't put any money at all on that), but they made the life I have today possible.  Today I'm praying for the loving and the loved.       

For those who love people at all stages of development,

Thanks be to God.

For the myriad challenges young people face,

Lord, hear our prayer.

Is there anything of yours I can hold in prayer this week, too?  Do you know teens that we can give thanks for, or who need a bit of grace?  Are you noticing any parts of your own teenage self that are still wrestling with things this week?