Rebellious teenagers can be difficult to handle for parents, especially those who desire more than anything to see their child thrive and be safe within their environment. Yet the best thing that you can do when caring for rebellious children is to keep them in your prayers and know that God has them in his hand.
Here are some Bible verses and prayers that can help you as Christian parents to parent well and love your rebellious son or daughter better by the power of the Holy Spirit during these teenage years.
Ephesians 6:4 – Bring Up Your Children In the Instruction of the Lord
Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.
Heavenly Father, please help me to discipline my child rightly and to bring them up in the instruction of your ways. Even though they seem to want to walk their own path in a spirit of rebellion, I ask that you would help me to be the best parent that I can be by not making them angry, but giving them words of wisdom in your instruction.
Give me wisdom and strength to do what is right as a parent and to help them see the truth in your ways. In the name of Christ Jesus, amen.
Colossians 3:21 – Do Not Provoke Your Children
Fathers, do not provoke your children, lest they become discouraged.
God, it is so easy to make matters worse when my child is being rebellious and not listening to me. The easy thing to do is to get angry and to make them distance themselves from me even more, but I ask that you would help me to not provoke my child.
Help me to approach them with grace and mercy while also being firm as the parent. Help them to not be discouraged but to be encouraged by me and the way that I treat them. Let my manner of living be something that brings them back to you and the will of God for their lives. In Jesus’ name, amen.
Proverbs 22:6 – Train Up Your Child In the Way They Should Go
Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it.
Dear Lord, help me to train up my child in your ways and to impart your wisdom onto their lives. Even though they are being rebellious, help me to not grow tired of teaching them and still sowing seeds of your Word into their lives.
Help those seeds to flourish and allow them to see the beauty and truth in your ways. Give me strength to fight this spiritual warfare during this difficult time. In Jesus’ name, amen.
Proverbs 15:1 – Let Your Words Be Soft
A soft answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.
God, it is a difficult line to walk between a firm hand as a parent and the grace that I am called to have with my child. Help me in my frustration to give a soft word where it is needed so that my child knows that I love them and that I care for them.
Help me to be gracious and merciful toward my child like you are toward me and help me to have the wisdom to know how to handle each situation that I encounter with my rebellious teen. Give me the right words when I need them and remind me of this truth from the word of God. In Jesus’ name, amen.
Psalm 127:3 – Children Are a Gift, Even When Rebellious
Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord, the fruit of the womb a reward.
God, I want to thank you for my child. God’s word says that my child is a heritage from you and a reward. I just want to recognize that truth today and I ask you to remind me that even in the toughest times, even when my child is being rebellious, that they are a gift from you.
Help me to always remember that and to cherish that every day as I navigate how to parent them in a gracious and loving way. In Jesus’ name, amen.
Psalm 103:13 – Show Compassion to Your Children
As a father shows compassion to his children, so the Lord shows compassion to those who fear him.
God, I must be honest; it is so difficult to show compassion to my child when they are being rebellious. However, you show compassion to me, even when I am being rebellious toward you. So I ask today that you would help me to be compassionate toward my child.
Help me to see things from their perspective and to sympathize with the specific challenges that they are going through in their own life. Help me to learn from that and to let it shape my parenting. In Jesus’ name, amen.
1 Corinthians 13:4-6 – Show Your Child True Godly Love
Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth.
God, even though your word says that love is all of these things, it is very difficult to show this kind of love toward someone who is rebelling against you. But you know this more than anyone. So I pray that you would give me your kind of love and help me to show God’s love toward my child.
Help me to be patient with them, kind to them, and not irritable or resentful. Help me to show them true unconditional love in all that I do. In the name of Jesus, amen.
James 1:19 – Be Quick to Hear and Slow to Speak
Know this, my beloved brothers: let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger;
God, when things get heated between me and my child, it is much easier to be quick to speak instead of being quick to hear. Help me and my child to be quick to hear, slow to speak, and slow to anger. Let our conflicts be glorifying to you and be full of love instead of full of anger toward one another.
Help me to set the tone and model this myself so that my teen can see it in me first. In Jesus’ name, amen.
Isaiah 40:29 – Ask God to Give Your Child Strength
He gives power to the faint, and to him who has no might he increases strength.
God, I know that my child is going through a lot to make them rebellious. But I also know that you are a strong tower who gives power to the faint and strength to those with broken hearts. I pray right now for my child that in whatever they go through, they will get their strength and power from you.
Help them to know that they don’t have to act out or rebel in the middle of their pain and struggle, but that they can reach out to you and get their strength from you in their time of need. Give them the strength to resist peer pressure from other young people and the pressures of social media. In Jesus’ name, amen.
Galatians 6:9 – Don’t Grow Weary of Doing Good
And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up.
Father God, even though it can sometimes be very difficult to parent a rebellious child, I want to ask you to remind me that it is a good thing that I have been given a child to parent in the first place. Parenting is a good thing, so help me to not get tired of doing it.
In time, bring up my child as a sprouting seed to thrive in your truth and to be the godly person that you want them to be. Help me to look forward to that and to continue parenting in a godly way. In Jesus’ name, amen.
Psalm 34:18 – God Is Near to Your Child
The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit.
Dear Father, I know that my teenager is going through a lot right now. This time in my child’s life is full of changes and pressures and a whole lot of expectations from various people. But I ask that you would be near to them at this time and that they would feel your presence in their life.
Please protect them and lift up their spirit in all things. Thank you for being a very present help in my child’s heart. In Jesus’ name, amen.
1 Peter 5:6-7 – Humble Yourself Before God
Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you.
God, it is easy to get caught up in feeling arrogant or prideful as a parent when you are teaching and parenting your child. However, I want to ask that you would help me be humble before you and before them.
I am not perfect; I make mistakes and rebel against you every day. So, even though my child is being rebellious, help me to also recognize my own rebellion and be humble before you and them. In Jesus’ name, amen.
Hebrews 12:11 – Recognize the Value of Discipline
For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.
Lord God, no child enjoys discipline. However, on behalf of my child, help them to understand that even though discipline isn’t a pleasant thing, the rewards that are reaped from it are surely pleasant.
Help them to see the value that discipline brings and the lesson that I am trying to get them to learn through it and to have an obedient spirit by your divine power.
Help me as the parent to know the right time to discipline and the right way to discipline. Be with me in the hard struggle of parenting. In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, amen.
Romans 8:28 – All Things Will Work Together For Your Child
And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.
God, I thank you for this wonderful truth that all things work together for good for those who love you and are called according to this purpose. I want to pray for my child today, that they would indeed love you and be called by your purposes for them.
In their life, please work all things together for their good and show them the error of your ways. Make your goodness and truth known to them so that they can thrive, living good lives of purpose down the right path in the Kingdom of God. In Jesus’ name, amen.