Main Article: The Praying Parent
Hot Quote: Paul Weigle, M.D.
From the News: Deepfake Nudes
Trends: Delayed Driver’s License
Latest Research: Need for Screen Detox
Quick Stats
Top Ten: Brands that Resonate with Fathers
Helpful Insight: Parenting and Happiness
From the Word
Podcast
Resources
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“We are to look regularly for opportunities to withdraw from all the regular activities, hurriedness, and distractions of life to focus solely on prayer.”
With my own four children now out of their teenage years and into adulthood, I’ve had plenty of opportunity to think back on my own parenting journey. On the one hand, I’m grateful for the Godly advice that was given to me by older parents who had already raised their now adult children. All of the good advice I had chosen to follow paid great dividends. On the other hand, hindsight leaves me with some regrets… things I wish I had done differently as a dad.
One of my personal parenting regrets relates to prayer. Yes, we prayed for our children. But all too often those prayers were squeezed in between other activities on our busy and frantic schedules. Looking back, I also realize that our prayers were “amped up” in frequency and intensity when we were in the midst of navigating difficult parenting matters with our kids. I’m sure that’s not unusual, but I do wish that the frequency and intensity of those “tough time” prayers had been the usual rather than the from time-to-time.
Why not take some time to challenge yourself to pray regularly for your children in the same manner that Jesus prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane the night before His death. The great English preacher Charles Spurgeon wrote that there are five aspects to the way Jesus prayed in Matthew 26:39 that we would do well to emulate. How might enlisting each of these aspects change the way you pray for your children?
First, our prayer for our children should be lonely prayer. This does not mean that we are to feel alone as we parent our kids. Rather, we are to look regularly for opportunities to withdraw from all the regular activities, hurriedness, and distractions of life to focus solely on prayer. Jesus was deliberately by himself where no ears but God’s ears would hear his prayers. A lonely prayer is an intense and focused prayer.
Second, our prayer for our children should be humble prayer. When Jesus approached his Father in prayer he fell with his face to the ground. This was a position that represented humble recognition of his Father’s power, sovereignty, and holiness. Sometimes we get lost in thinking that we know what to do and how to do it. Reality is, that if we depend solely on ourselves and not on God for guidance, direction, wisdom, and power, we are doomed to eventually fail. It’s better to humbly fall flat on your face while crying out to God in prayer, than falling flat on your face through failure rooted in self-reliance.
Third, our prayer for our children should be filial prayer. The word “filial” signifies the affection, respect, and devotion from a son or daughter to a parent. Jesus assumed a filial posture as he approached his Heavenly Father. In the same way, those of us who have been adopted by God as His sons and daughters must “plead” our adoption, recognizing that God has given us the right and privilege to approach Him as His children.
Fourth, our prayer for our children should be persevering prayer. The Bible tells us that while he was in the Garden, he prayed three times. Prayer for our children should be regular and ongoing.
And fifth, our prayer for our children should be submissive prayer. If you’re like me, your prayers are uttered while assuming that you know what the most desirable answer and outcome should be. But the prayer of Jesus reminds us that we must trust God’s wisdom, as He will give us the answer we need. We must pray, “not my will, but Your will be done.”
This summer, make it an opportunity to learn new ways to pray.
“While screens may seem inseparable from modern adolescence, we must not ignore the mounting evidence that nighttime screen use exacts a terrible toll on mental health. Teens must be educated about the importance of adequate sleep, and how screens can get in the way. Many lack the insight, perspective, and willpower to manage screen time on their own, but parents can help by setting a bedtime that allows for nine hours of sleep per night and restricting all access to screens until morning. Often this means banning screens from the bedroom completely, charging phones in the parents’ bedroom overnight, and deactivating Wi-Fi automatically each evening.”
Paul Weigle
Adolescent Psychiatrist Paul Weigle, M.D., in an op-ed for statnews.com, June 25, 2025.
DEEPFAKE NUDES
Unfortunately, this month’s story is not unique in today’s online digital world.
USA Today recently reported on what happened to fourteen-year-old Elliston Berry in October 2023, when she received a text telling her that nude images of her were being passed around at her high school. A classmate had used artificial intelligence to create deepfake photos by putting a nude body on pictures of Berry that had been found on her Instagram account. The reality is that one in eight 13-17 year-old teens know someone who has been victimized by photo-shopped deepfake nudes. One in seventeen kids say they have been personally victimized. Parents, since this technology is readily available, we need to warn our kids about the moral issues involved in not only creating and distributing pornography, but the way that digital sexual trafficking, which is clearly illegal, compromises and devalues the image of God in each of His unique human creations.
TRENDS:
Delayed Driver’s License
For many of us, the moment we turned 16 years-old, our top priority in life was to get our driver’s license. Armed with a brand new learner’s permit, we couldn’t get enough practice time in on the road. Passing our driver’s test brought about a sense of freedom and liberation and marked a major rite of passage. We all were eager to get that signifier of being one-step closer to full-fledged adulthood. But something’s changed. Researchers tell us that almost 40% of teens delay getting their license by one or two years, and 30% are delaying by more than two years. What’s driving this shift? (No pun intended!) Today’s kids say they’re overscheduled and too busy, they are staying home and socializing online, and some are too depressed and anxious to drive. If your kids are holding off for any of these reasons, take steps to ease the unwarranted pressures which they find paralyzing.
LATEST RESEARCH:
Need for Screen Detox
Parenting in today’s world can be difficult and exhausting. One of the go-to’s for parents seeking rest and reprieve is to redirect our kids away from making demands on us and our time by putting a screen in their hands or setting them down in front of the TV. Because Christian parents are to live counter-cultural lives where we focus on raising our kids in the nurture and admonition of the Lord, allowing the cultural narrative to entertain and educate our kids is not a good choice. In addition, experts tell us that too much screen time delays and even derails healthy cognitive development, feeds anxiety and depression, and disrupts sleep. A recent Harris Poll has found that 60% of parents admit to allowing their children to use technology before they could read. Seeing what this has done to their kids, 73% believe their kids need a technology detox. Parents, limit screen time, monitor their use, and don’t put screens into the hands of young children.
There are approximately 18.3 million children across America who live without a father in the home. This number is a major international outlier, with the U.S. having the highest rate globally of children living in single-parent households.
(U.S. Census Bureau, 2022/Pew Research Center)
Nearly 3 in 5 adults ages 18-44 have lived with an unmarried partner at some point. Three-quarters of recent marriages (2015-2019) were preceded by cohabitation.
(Pew Research Center/Bowling Green State University)
Brands that Resonate with Fathers
US men in households with children under the age of 18.
10/1/2024 – 3/31/2025
Source:
QuestBrand from
The Harris Poll
1. Electronic Arts
2. twitch
3. Lawn Doctor
4. Dave
5. crypto.com
6. Robinhood
7. Royal Caribbean
8. DUDE WIPES
9. TRUGREEN
10. Omaha Steaks
PARENTING & HAPPINESS
by WALT MUELLER
Have you ever found yourself basing your mood and happiness on your teenagers mood and happiness? I’ve learned that that’s not a good thing to do. If you do, you’re just setting yourself up for disappointment.
We’ve learned that even though we began our parenting adventure with a wonderfully written script… a script written by us that looked quite a bit like a Norman Rockwell painting… God had a different script for us to live. His script wasn’t 100% percent happy like ours.
While it was a struggle for us, we learned that God gives us and our kids the opportunity to struggle through life so that we might grow and mature. If we were all to base our happiness on how well things were going with our kids… well, we’d all wind up spending time being miserable people. The Apostle Paul laid out a better way… in fact, it’s the right way. He writes in Romans 12:12, “Base your happiness on your hope in Christ. When trials come endure them patiently, steadfastly maintain the habit of prayer.”
“I have stored up your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you.”
Psalm 119:11
Perhaps you’ve heard the old saying, “Idle hands are the devil’s workshop.” But, it’s not just a life spent lazily doing nothing that thwarts and derails Christian growth. It’s also being way too busy.
As parents, we tend to get wrapped up in the frantic pace of life that’s being lived by just about everyone else around us. Time flies, important tasks fall by the wayside, and before we know it, our kids are all grown up. And one of the most important endeavors that we tend to let fall by the wayside is tending to our own spiritual growth. When the tanks of our spiritual lives empty out or run on fumes, we lack the ability to pass on faith to our kids. With no spiritual vitality to give, they are left with no spiritual vitality to get.
Psalm 119 is a poetic call to immerse one’s self in God’s Word. The Psalm’s length (it’s the longest chapter in the Bible) emphasizes the urgency of the Psalm’s message. In verse 11 the Psalmist shares his resolve to fill his being with the truths of God’s Word. Constantly “shoveling” God’s Word into the storehouse of our hearts results in a life of faithful obedience. Conversely, when we run dry as a result of biblical ignorance, we not only suffer, but that suffering extends to our kids. Theologian John Stott said, “Ignorance is probably the greatest enemy of the Christian faith today.”
Do your kids have parents who are ignorant? Or are they blessed with parents who are wise?
Youth Culture Matters is a long-format podcast from CPYU hosted by Walt Mueller.
SUMMER PODCAST SERIES –
BE SURE TO CHECK OUT EPISODE 202:
“Purposeful Parenting: What Kind of Proverbial Fool Am I?”
CPYU Parent Prompts are a regularly released resource to spark biblically-centered conversations with your kids about the issues they face in today’s youth culture. Each Parent Prompt tackles a cultural or theological issue and works through what the World is saying about the topic, what God’s Word says about the topic, and includes discussion prompts parents can use with their families to help them navigate what it all means for their Christian Walk.
These resources are available to download for free from CPYU’s website. Simply visit cpyu.org, click on the “CPYU Resources” tab, and then click on “Parent Prompt.”
Written by CPYU Staff and CPYU Research Fellows, a growing number of these resources are available with a new addition being added regularly. Topics already released include, gambling, ChatGPT, modesty, grief, social media, spiritual formation, mental health, identity, and more.
Keep visiting regularly to access and download new Parent Prompts as they are released.
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