Unlocked: Daily Devotions for Teens

Sometimes, I don’t know how to pray for people. And that’s a bummer, because Jesus calls us to pray for othersfor our friends, our leaders, and even our enemies (Matthew 5:44; Luke 6:28; 1 Timothy 2:1-4). But how do you pray when you have no idea what to pray? One thing I’ve started doing is using some of the prayers in the Bible as a guide. After all, they are in the Bible. One of my favorite pra...

In our day-to-day lives, we meet different people who affect us in different ways. Some say and do things that break our hearts and cause us tears. Some of the people who hurt our feelings are those closest to usour friends, schoolmates, and even our parents. There are other things that break our heartsbroken relationships, sickness and disease, and the loss of loved ones. When these things happen...

When I talk about my mom, it’s easy to become emotional. After losing my mom in 2020, I wondered at the ways she mirrored God’s grace. In moments when I stood guilty, I knew I was still loved by Mom. Growing up in my house, we saw this grace in actionand to be honest, sometimes it got a little personal. For example, when arguments broke out between me and my brothers, she was on it. First, she sep...

We can serve God in many different waysin our families, at church, at school, and beyond. But sometimes, we can get discouraged when we feel like our service is not appreciated. We might feel like the prophet Isaiah when he said, But my work seems so useless! I have spent my strength for nothing and to no purpose (Isaiah 49:4). For instance, we might help someone in need and never hear a thank you...

By day, the town of Goshen was like any other. People went to work, children went to school, and families gathered to share a meal at suppertime. But after dark, everything changed. Doors were locked and drapes were pulled tight over windows. Because here, the dead ruled the night. They came from the ground and from the sea, their howls and moans and screams filling the darkness. They wanted one t...

How quickly the grass changes. From green to brown to covered in white snow How quickly the trees shift First orange, then bare and gray How quickly the air cools From warm and balmy to cold and crisp How quickly our appetites change Craving something warm and hearty Summer goes away Seasons change Our God remains the same His love never leaves His love never fails He sees what is going on and has...

We all have times in our lives when we mess up and things are not right. We all have times when we feel guilty and dirty. We want to make things better, but we aren’t sure what steps we need to take. God is there in those times. He is all about second chances and new beginnings. You don’t have to live with the weight of what you’ve done. He can take away your guilt and shame and make things new. W...

The science of astronomy studies the heavensplanets, moons, stars, and more. In 1571 a boy was born in Württemberg, Germany who became one of the most famous and influential scientists and astronomers of all time. His name was Johannes Kepler. Like many of us, Johannes was awed by the beauty and mystery of a clear starry night. As a young boy, he was fascinated with the sky and saw two things tha...

In and out, I remind myself There’s no air in this room My lungs collapsing Pathogens attacking Brain on fire Keep it in, I remind myself This will have to end But, great tears rolling Body trembling Petrified with fear A voice, a call Whisper of hope Look up child says my Lord His golden sunbeam A ray of hope This sparkle of faith The ember spreading warmth In Him, I’ll be healed My future’s brig...

In reading the narrative of David and Goliath, I noticed a small detail, and it got me thinking. The first seven verses of 1 Samuel 17 detail Goliath’s very impressive appearance. Verse 5 mentions his bronze scale armor, which weighed more than one hundred pounds. Notice the word scale? That caught my attention. It reminded me of the serpent in the book of Genesis and the dragon that appears throu...

READ: PROVERBS 19:21; ROMANS 8:28; 2 PETER 3:8-9; PSALM 31:15 I’m fourteen, and something I need to be constantly reminded of is that I don’t need to rush life. I always want my way—I want what’s next. I want to drive a car, have a boyfriend, be married, and have kids. I think I’m ready for a real job and college, but the truth is, I’m not. I’ve only just finished middle school, and I still have f...

We live by a lake in the northwEsther If we awoke from a twenty-year-long nap, like in the story of Rip Van Winkle, and we didn’t know what month it was, we could guess by looking at the lake. Different seasons bring us different wildlife, mostly waterfowl. Canada geese drop in to rest each spring and fall as they head north or south. They fill the skies, obeying God’s call to go where He has prep...

In most crime shows there is at least one episode involving something counterfeit: currency, artwork, even identities. While many of these shows depict the criminals using state-of-the-art technology to create their fakes, they are really just using the newest toys to commit the oldest crimes. People have needed a way to spot forgeries for ages. But how do they do it? I once heard a story about an...

Are you a morning person? I am an early bird, and I love to start most days with a brisk walk. I greet the people I meet with a Good morning! Not everyone answers, and some look downright grumpy. I used to feel offended when people would look the other direction when I smiled at them, but then I realized it may not be a good morning for everyone. My cheery greeting could be taken negatively by som...

When I was in fifth grade, I made a unique request of my mom. For my birthday, I wanted a homemade cake with homemade icing. Specifically, I asked for frosting made of peanut butter and jelly. Once in a while, my mother would whip up a cake for dessert and, if she didn’t have a can of store-bought frosting, she would mix some of her homemade jelly with peanut butter from the kitchen cabinet to ice...

Humans are flawed, but God is not. Humans mess up, hurt us, or abandon us, but God never will. Humans pretend to love, run out of love, and turn love into hate, but God isn’t like that. You are precious to God. He is a perfect Father. He loves you like no other. When humans disappoint or hurt you, you can remember that there is someone who cares about you so much more than they ever could. Even wh...

Years back, my nephew told what he had experienced. His mother, who at the time was not a Christian (she has since been saved), was trying to take him and his sister to a witchcraft-worker supposedly to get protection. The girl refused, but the boy went. When asked later why he had agreed to go, the boy responded, but God says to obey your father and mother. While God commands us to obey our paren...

Thick and impenetrable silence hung over the village. For as long as the villagers could remember, no one had spoken a word, not even a whisper. A command from an enemy kingdom forbade anyone in the village from uttering a sound. While many villagers had grown accustomed to the forced silence, one girl increasingly found the muteness of the village unsettling. Fadiya could not understand how sound...

One of the first missionaries, Paul, left Titus on the island of Crete to oversee the new churches there and appoint elders in every town. Titus may have been young, or at least younger than Paul since Paul refers to him as my true son in our common faith (Titus 1:4). In the book of Titus, which is really a letter, Paul advises Titus on how to handle false teachings and immorality in the church. M...

Put on is a phrase we use every day. Because on a daily basis, we do the physical act of putting on clothes and shoes in order to be clothed. Just as we get clothed physically, we also need to get clothed spiritually. In Ephesians 4:24, we learn that, in Christ, we put on a new nature. In Colossians 3, we see that our new nature is being formed into Jesus’s image, giving us a nature that is after...

“Wouldn’t these magnets make great souvenirs from my trip?” I thought, browsing the little shop high above the ground. My summer of serving with inner city ministries in New York was drawing to a close, and my friends and I had wanted to visit the Empire State Building one final time. We stopped by the gift shop before leaving, where I spotted magnets depicting classic New York City landmarks. I s...

There was a point in my life when I was so ashamed that I didn’t want to associate or talk with people. I had messed up so badly that I didn’t see myself as fit to be with others. I was so down that I didn’t have the confidence to face people. I thought I was so wrong and a great sinner, even though I was already a Christian at the time. When we mess up, in big ways or small ways, we often feel as...

I confess the things I did. And the things I didn’t do but should have done. I confess letting anger explode And bitterness smolder inside. I confess that I strayed off the path of following you. I missed the mark of the goodness you planned for me. I lay down my pride and envy, selfishness and jealousy. My independent nature thinks I can live without you, But you’re the only source of life. Both...

God doesn’t despise our brokenness. He doesn’t look down on us when we are hurting. He doesn’t think less of us because we are broken. God loves the broken. He offers healing to the hurting. God is a comfort in times of trouble and sorrow. God doesn’t despise us when we are broken. He is there to help. He offered His love to us while we were still sinners, as it says in Romans 5:8, God demonstrate...

Not five days had passed since we began our journey, and already we had seen trouble. My brother and I dragged our tired bodies down the road, our dented swords hanging limply in their scabbards and our stomachs moaning with hunger. I remembered how Supreme Agape told us that we would have troublesmany of themand that the journey would be far from easy. Even so, this particular hardship made me fe...