Daily Bible Verse and Devotion – Hebrews 11:6

Teen Devotion on How To Make Prayer Easier

And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him. – Hebrews 11:6 (NLT)

Have you ever had a hard time praying? Maybe you felt like you didn’t know what to say or where to get started. Perhaps you even felt like you shouldn’t be bothering God about your troubles in math class when God has to deal with really big stuff like wars, famine, hunger, and people dying.

The truth is, we can let our excuses and fears stop us from having an exciting relationship with God.

That’s not what God really wants. God wants more than anything to have a relationship with you. He is excited and ready to hear what you have to say.

Tip #4- Praying Becomes easier when you know God is excited to hear from you

God isn’t too busy to hear you out. He wants to help you, lead you and guide you into all truth. God desires to know you and to reveal himself to you. You’ve just got to simply believe that He wants to hear from you.

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So today, don’t believe the lie that God is too busy for you. The truth is He is excited to hear from you!

 

Daily Bible Verse and Devotion – Philippians 3:17

Tips for Teens to grow in their relationship with God

Join together in following my example, brothers and sisters, and just as you have us as a model, keep your eyes on those who live as we do. – Phil 3:17 (NIV)

It’s the new year, and if you’re like most people you’re thinking about goals for the new year.  That’s something that we all should be working on. However, in all your goal setting, don’t forget to challenge yourself to grow in your walk with God.

Getting started growing closer to God can often seem overwhelming. Where do you start? How do you do it? The thought of it often makes you feel too overwhelmed to even want to begin.

Knowing God doesn’t have to be overwhelming. In the last two days, we’ve talked about taking five minutes a day to read your Bible and five minutes a day to pray. Today, we’re going to challenge you to take five minutes a day to help yourself grow.

Tip #3 – Spend 5 minutes a day listening/reading something spiritual.

You can do that by reading or listing to something spiritual each day for five minutes. If reading isn’t your thing, look for teaching videos on YouTube. If you love to read, find a few good books that challenge you spiritually.

Spending 5 minutes a day reading or listening to something that challenges you to grow in your walk with God will make a big difference in your life.

So each day this year challenge yourself to do these three things we’ve suggested:

  1. Invest 5 Minutes in the Bible
  2. Spend 5 Minutes in prayer
  3. 5 Minutes listening/reading something spiritual.

These 15 minutes you spend each day challenging yourself and growing in your relationship with God will really help you in the long run. You’ll never regret investing in yourself and your relationship with God.

So this new year, challenge yourself to grow your relationship with God.  We’re excited to see what 2020 brings for you!

 

Daily Bible Verse and Devotion – James 5:16

Teen New Years Resolution - Prayer

Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and produces wonderful results. – James 5:16 (NLT)

In yesterday’s devotion, we talked about how to make Bible reading easy for the new year. Today, let’s talk about prayer. It’s easy to feel weird when you’re about to pray. Sometimes you don’t know what to say or how to really get started doing it. So today, we’re going to show a few easy ways to make prayer part of your routine in 2020.

Tip #2 – Spend 5 Minutes in Prayer Each Day

When you’re starting off, it can be really exciting wanting to pray and you think, I’ll spend 30 minutes a day praying and it will be so easy and wonderful. Then three days later, you begin dreading the idea of praying in the first place. So instead of a huge and lofty goal of prayer, consider doing something sustainable.

Choose to spend 5 minutes a day in prayer. It might be while you take a shower. It could be waiting for the bus each morning. Find a place that works for you and commit to 5 minutes each day. Set a timer on your phone and when it goes off, you’re done. Setting a timer might make it feel a little less spiritual, but sometimes knowing you’re not spending hours on end helps you push in for a few minutes. If the 5 minutes is over and you’re still enjoying your time with God, don’t feel like you have to stop. Just let the five minutes be your starting point and commit to doing it each day.

Try Praying Like This:

Lots of times it can be hard to know where to start when you pray. One easy thing to do is to start by finding a couple of things you can thank God for. Find two or three things and spend a minute or two thanking God for the good things in your life.

After that, talk to God a bit. Tell Him areas where you struggle. Be honest and open with Him. Ask God for help and wisdom for the tough things you’re facing.

Finish up praying by telling God how much you love Him.

A simple format like this takes only a few minutes, but you’ll be surprised how much you’ll grow in your walk with God as a result of spending 5 minutes a day praying.

 

Daily Bible Verse and Devotion – Hebrews 4:12

Teenager New Years Resolution

For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. – Hebrews 4:12 (NIV)

It’s almost the beginning of a new year, and you’re probably starting to think about New Year’s Resolutions. Maybe you want to lose some weight, learn to play guitar, or spend a little less time playing video games. Most people try to make some positive changes for the upcoming year.

One of the best resolutions you can make is spending more time reading your Bible in 2020. So this year, we want to present you with some simple ways to make having a quiet time with God really simple.

It can seem really intimidating to try to read the Bible each day. So let us help you by giving you some quick tips to help you have a simple Bible study plan for 2020!

Tip #1 – Spend 5 mins in the Bible each day

In your quiet times each day, challenge yourself to spend a simple five minutes reading the Bible each day. And if reading the Bible isn’t your thing, consider having it read to you. YouVersion provides an audio version in several different Bible translations.

Also, consider:

  • Reading a Proverb that is the same as the day number. So if it’s January 1, read Proverbs 1.
  • Start reading a chapter from the book of John each day.
  • Do a topical study of an area that interests you. Search our website for topics or google and see what you can find.

There are lots of easy ways to get God’s word into your life. Pick one that makes sense to you. Then set a timer for 5 minutes. When your timer goes off, you’re done. It’s that easy.

Don’t make Bible reading hard this year. Instead, commit to 5 minutes a day and you’ll be amazed at how much you’ll grow in your walk with God in 2020!

Check out this great video by the Bible Project to help you get started reading the Bible.

Daily Bible Verse and Devotion – Matthew 1:21

Merry Christmas from StudentDevos

And she will have a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.” – Matthew 1:21 (NLT)

We are so thankful for Jesus and what His coming to the earth means for our lives. It’s so great to be able to enjoy a relationship with God, freedom from sin, and all of the benefits Jesus has brought into our lives.

We are so thankful to you for your support and for reading the devotions.

StudentDevos will be taking the next few days off from writing to enjoy the Christmas season. We wish blessings to everyone and that you have a great holiday celebrating Jesus!

Daily Bible Verse and Devotion – John 16:33

Daily Bible Verse and Devotion on Peace“I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” – John 16:33 (NIV)

Have you noticed how crazy life can get sometimes? Maybe you’re concerned about your family gatherings this Christmas. You know that Uncle Henry will probably tell that story about you that is so embarrassing and you just wish that Christmas was already over!

Maybe you’re stressed out about finals, or something going on at school. It’s true, life gets crazy sometimes. And in the midst of the craziness, how do you keep your calm?

Today’s Truth: Jesus Came to Bring Peace to Your Storm

Where do you go in the middle of all the unrest around you? Today’s Bible verse helps us out. It shows us that in Jesus we can find peace. Jesus didn’t deny that we would have trouble. No. He told us there would be trouble in the world. But in the middle of trouble, we could find peace in Him.

Jesus came to bring peace into your life and into your situation.

What are you going through that is bringing you trouble? Take it to Jesus. Ask Him to show you how to find peace in the middle of all the craziness of life. He won’t make your trouble go away, but He will show you a way to go through the midst of it and still have peace in Him.

Daily Bible Verse and Devotion – Joshua 1:9

Teen Devotion and Christmas BIble Verse on Jesus being with you

This is my command—be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid or discouraged. For the LORD your God is with you wherever you go.” – Joshua 1:9 (NLT)

Want to know the great thing about God? It’s that he is with you. There’s a difference between someone being for you and someone being with you. If someone is for you, it means they cheer for you. They like the stuff you post online.

But those people like you from a distance. They cheer for you when things are good, but they’re not there day in and day out. They aren’t there when you can’t sleep at night or when things are hard.

But that’s what is so great about Jesus. He’s not just a fan, liking a few things you put online. No, He’s there with you.

Today’s Truth: Jesus Came to Be With You

Jesus is with you when things are hard. When you don’t know what to do, He’s there. He’s not just a God that is for you, He’s with you. Each step of the way. Every day.

Teen Daily Bible Verse and Devotion on Joshua 1:9 ChristmasSo today even if things feel hard. Even if you feel like you can’t keep going on, know this. Jesus is with you. That means you’re never alone!

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Daily Bible Verse and Devotion – Luke 1:37

Teen Christmas Devotion on FaithFor with God nothing will be impossible. – Luke 1:37 (NKJV)

Has God spoken something to your heart about your future? Maybe as a child, you had a dream of doing something great for God. But perhaps you’ve let that dream become dormant and become focused on other things.

God wants to bring good things to pass in your life. But you’ve got to believe Him. Mary believed in God. In today’s verse, we see that the angel tells Mary that with God nothing will be impossible. There are going to be times in your life when it seems like the things God has spoken to you will never happen.

It’s easy to get discouraged, lose hope, and just give up on your god-inspired dreams.

God is not finished with you yet. Even though you haven’t seen your dreams happen yet, don’t give up. God will bring them to pass. The crazy thing is, it always takes longer than you’d like. But God does not fail. Nothing He has spoken to you is impossible of happening if you’ll just believe.

It takes faith though, to believe that what God has spoken will happen.

Teen Christmas DevotionalToday’s Challenge: Believe What God Says

So today, challenge yourself to believe what God says. When He speaks it comes to pass. Trust Him with your dreams and your future, and in time, you’ll see great things happen as you trust Him.

 

Daily Bible Verse and Devotion – 2 Corinthians 9:15

Christmas is getting closer and if you’re anything like me, you’re in full investigation mode. Carefully inspecting the Christmas tree to see if any new presents have appeared. When one is found, it is picked up, inspected for size, shook, all in hopes of determining early what presents you’ll be getting this year.

The Christmas season is so much fun! However, in all the gifts and hype, sometimes, it’s easy to let Jesus become a side thing instead of the main thing.

The problem with that is: Jesus is the main thing about Christmas!

Teen Devotion for Christmas 2 Corinthians 9:15Thank God for this gift too wonderful for words! – 2 Corinthians 9:15 (NLT)

Jesus has a whole holiday with His name in it, and we often push him into the shadows and focus on all the giving and presents. And there is nothing wrong with some good Christmas excitement, as long as we don’t push Jesus and what his life means for us out of the picture.

Read: What Lame Christmas Presents Can Teach You About Jesus

God gave us an amazing gift, His son Jesus. When we look at Jesus’ life, we realize the goodness of God and the freedom we get to live in as children of God, which is better than any present under the tree.

So over the next few days, we’re going to take a look at Jesus, what His coming to the earth meant for us and how we can strive to make Jesus the main focus in our hearts this Christmas season!

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Today’s Challenge: Make Jesus your focus this Christmas season.

Daily Bible Verse and Devotion – Genesis 22:2

Faith devotion for teens

He said, “Take your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I shall tell you.” – Genesis 22:2 (ESV)

I want you to think about your most prized possession. Maybe it’s your phone, gaming system, TV or something else. What would you do if you felt like God one day told you to throw that thing away. Would you do it?

In the Bible, we see Abraham being asked to give away what was probably his most prized possession, his son. He took his son Isaac up to sacrifice him on an altar. I can imagine how scary that must have been for Abraham. I’m sure he was afraid. How would God provide? What would he do without Isaac in his life?

Today’s Truth: Faith says no to fear.

Teen Devotion and Bible Verse on FaithAbraham had to quiet his fears. He had to tell fear no. Even when it felt like he was doing something absolutely crazy.

Abraham is counted as a hero of faith in the Bible. Why? Because he determined to say no to fear, no to his emotions and yes to God.

Big faith ignores feelings. It knows that feelings are fickle. Big faith knows that feelings lead you astray. If you want to really do something big for God, you have to lay aside your feelings and lean into what God says above all else.

What will you do today? Will you lay aside your fear, emotions and choose to follow after God? Will you say no to fear and yes to faith?