Sweet 16
Sweet 16…..such a special time in a girl’s life.
The excitement of driving a car….
being a princess…
Daddy’s little girl….
…..having her whole life ahead of her.
And yet….it can be such a dangerous time in a young girl’s life. I am reminded of the movie, “Sleeping Beauty.” Princess Aurora is excited about turning 16. She has no idea of the imminent danger she is going to encounter. She doesn’t know about the evil lurking around the corner, looking for, just waiting to bring harm to her.
My sweet niece is turning 16 this weekend. She is excited, anticipating a party, presents, a cake, and the opportunity to drive the car without her parents in the car looking over her shoulder. Life is exciting!
But, she isn’t aware of the imminent danger lurking around the corner, waiting for an opportunity to harm her….
online predators…
temptations of drugs and alcohol….
pressure of having sex….
anorexia nervosa…
There is so much I want to tell her…..so much I wish I had know at the tender of age of 16.
I want her to know how much her Heavenly Father loves her. He knit her together in her mother’s womb and she is fearfully and wonderfully made. Oh, how I want her to see herself in Christ, as His Beloved. I want her to know WHO she is in Him.
I want her to know that she does NOT have to impress a boy to be special. God already sees her as special. She is His treasured possession.
She is already beautiful and she doesn’t have to wear low cut shirts or short skirts to be pretty. “The King is enthralled with her beauty.”
She doesn’t have to give her body away to be loved. How I want to impress on her to guard her purity, her innocence because they are a special gift from her Father.
I pray that she would guard her heart and her eyes against all of the un-Godly TV shows, music, and Internet sites. “Above all else, guard your heart for it is the wellspring of life.”
I pray for her protection against any people that would try to take advantage of her, and protection against the enemy of her soul that would try to destroy her.
But, most of all, I pray that she would have a intimate relationship with Jesus Christ. I pray that she would love Him with all of her heart, soul, mind and strength. I pray that He would be the air she breathes. I pray He would be her LIFE.
Oh, how I wish I had known these things at the sweet age of 16. How I wish I knew then what I know now. It has taken several years to work through the damage of not knowing….
But, thankfully, God has made all things new. God restores. He heals. He is a God of new beginnings….a chance to be Sweet 16 in Daddy’s arms.
Lord, I pray over this generation of girls. I pray a hedge of protection around them…mind, body, heart, and soul. I pray they would seek You above all else. I pray Lord, for all of Your daughters who made mistakes in the past and are in desperate need of Your healing. Lord, open our eyes to see ourselves the way You see us. In Jesus’ Name we pray. Amen.
THIRSTY FOR HIM,
Tracy
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Amen, I join you in this prayer my friend.
My daughter will be 16 this year as well and it’s such a hard age. But she is truly seeking the Lord in her life. I bought some great books from Vision Forum about what to do while waiting for Prince Charming and about Purity and she’s really been enjoying those. It’s a tough time for a Mom because we know that some day our little girls will be whisked off to keep their own home and care for her own family and it just seems like it’s coming so fast!
I second that prayer!
Blessings,
Kim
These are wonderful things for girls of any age to know.
Amen! Thank you for sharing these beautiful, heartfelt prayers for young ladies. Happy Sweet 16 to your niece.
Amen to that Tracy. I too wish I would have known the unconditional love of our Heavenly Father at the tender age of 16. I think I would have been spared of much heartache. But you know what, our Father took as back without us having to clean up our act…May we all pray for the younger generation that they will see the love of our Heavenly Father.
Such wonderful thoughts at this special time for your niece.
Tracy, I loved this post. Gving it t my daughter. Hugs.
Such a beautiful post, Tracy! I especially love the prayer…
We need to build more hedges of prayer around our teens…the world and the enemy of the souls must not have them!
Thanks for this reminder…
Bless you!
Susan
Great post. A much needed topic. Thank you for sharing. God bless you….
Tracy, what a great heartfelt devotion. My daughter is 13 but I am already instilling in her the boundaries that she will need to have in place for when the time comes as you have spoken of. “16” such a wonderful year to celebrate all the potential God has given! -Blessings.
Amen Tracy! I’m going to print this out and share it in devotions with my at risk teen girls group Wednesday morning.
Thanks so much for this.
Beautiful! This is exactly my prayer for my daughter who’s turning 16 in few days. Thanks for sharing.
Thank you for these life giving words and prayer!