Oct 21 2006
Prayer for drunk teens
A new Catholic prayer book aimed at teenagers includes a prayer for God’s help to avoid talking rubbish when drunk.
“Lord, if in an unsober state, and under the influence of those around me, I say something stupid, please give me strength to retract my words. Protect me against senseless bravado and pride,” reads the prayer.
Father Jedrzejewski stands by his work. He said:
“This book will make it easier for young people to meet with God.”
Read about it here.
Oh my. Why not have a prayer that they don’t get drunk in the first place?
What do you think?
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6 responses so far
In the real world many teens are going to experiment with things like sex and alcohol. I can’t see the the problem with acknowledging that and trying to give them guidance. It’s all well and good to pray for abstinence of any kind, but do we abandon our youth when they stray from the path? I don’t think so, and I think this preist’s prayers reflect that, he has courage for his prayers and I for one commend him.
JMO
Doug
Doug,
Thanks for stopping by. I agree teens will experiment, but I would rather have a prayer that they would be safe and not drink. It is illegal for teens to drink.
If we buy that peer pressure is the most dominant influence on a kid’s life, we have turned our back on what God instructs and promises regarding raising children. And on our own influence in a child’s life. This priest has given the ostensible stamp of “church approval” to behavior which God condemns.
Respect for parental authority saved my older son’s life one time. And it was respect for an instruction that was neither right nor wrong .. it’s just what my wife had told him to do.
It really did save his life. Email me if you’d like the details; it’s a bit of a long story.
Don’t ever underestimate the importance of taking a stand with your kids. With all the authority of a God who commands you to do so, and commands your children to honor you.
The story of Jesus raising Jairus’ daughter emphatically shows how important it is that we have an attitude of expectance that God will honor His word.
Lord, please help today’s teens to seek you and find place in godly churches that will direct them to the Bible. Let them not be conformed to the world but transformed in their minds and renewed by the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.
These comments are too small to read. I’m a blind old lady. sounds like someone was trying to intrucuce a “Frgive Mel” clause in they Catholic prayer book. So okay, we should all try to pray for Mel and his problems, but to come up with this kind of a prayer to sneek it in. Who are you going to think of everytime you say it? A better prayer would be to bray for the strength of abstinance. I’d check my spelling but the print is so small I can’t tell what the corrections would be. :):):)
Keven,
Do we know that there is NOT a prayer in the book about staying sober? Remember the old adage: Absence of proof is not proof of absence. Most Prayer books are pretty comprehensive.
Secondly, is it in fact illegal for teens to drink in Poland? European countries have vastly different attitudes on alcohol consumption from the American Southern Evangelicals.
I don’t see any “approval” in this prayer. It acknowledges the dangerous state the person has placed him or her self in and asks for God’s mercy. Aren’t lots of prayers pleas for that very thing?