Unlocked: Daily Devotions for Teens

READ: PSALMS 68:5; 145:8-9; LUKE 18:1-8

Have you ever felt like you have lost the heart to pray? It could be for any number of reasons. Jesus knows there are times we may be discouraged from praying, and so He tells a parable in Luke 18 meant to encourage His people to not give up praying.

The first character in this story is a judge. Right away, we learn this is not a God-fearing or people-respecting judge, meaning he’s probably not going to settle your case fairly. Chances are, to get a favorable ruling, you’d probably need to grease this judge’s palm.

Next, we meet the second character in the story: an impoverished widow seeking justice from the unjust judge. This widow doesn’t have the influence, power, or money necessary to sway his opinion. So, what does the widow do? She perseveres.

Eventually the judge gives the widow a just ruling because he becomes so sick and tired of her “pestering” him (verse 5)!

Now, we may read this parable and think the judge is supposed to be God. If that were true, then God would be a grumpy, unfair judge who only listens to us if we bug Him enough.

But this view of God couldn’t be further from the truth!

Notice how Jesus explains the parable in verses 6 and 7: if even the unjust judge in this story answered the widow’s request because of her perseverance, how much more will a perfectly just and loving God answer our requests? With this truth in mind, we can be encouraged to persevere in our prayers, knowing that God hears us with tenderness and compassion. • Jonathon Fuller

• Can you think of a time you lost the heart to pray? Jesus understands. He sees everything you’re going through, and He has so much empathy for you.

• When we’re hurting, it’s easy to imagine that God is coldhearted toward us. But He loves us so ardently that He was willing to die for us! Whenever you pray, you can rest assured that you belong to the God who has chosen you, receives your cry, and promises to work on your behalf. Do you have any favorite Bible passages that remind you what God is really like? How could being reminded of God’s characteristics—like His love, His justice, and His profound care for us—help us come to Him with our needs and longings?

Don’t worry about anything, but in everything, through prayer and petition with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. Philippians 4:6 (CSB)

READ: COLOSSIANS 1:13-14, 21-22; 2:2-8, 16-23; 3:5-17; 4:2-6

We’re all faced with the temptation to try to look godly to those around us. We might go to church, volunteer to pray, pray before every meal, refuse to use certain words, and the list could go on. But does a list of actions truly reflect how close we are to God?

Fairly early on in Christianity, a trend toward something called asceticism arose. Asceticism is the belief that the strict discipline of bodily pleasures is key to growing closer to God: the more you resist earthly comforts or pleasures, the more holy you are considered to be.

During the 400s AD, an ascetic monk by the name of Simeon Stylites believed in asceticism so strongly that he climbed on top of an old pillar and chose to live on its square surface, which would’ve been about a meter wide, for almost forty years. People flocked to ask for his advice or just to see the spectacle. Simeon Stylites kept moving to pillars that were taller and taller, and by the end of his life, the pillar he was living on was fifty feet high! Simeon believed the further he removed himself from the physical comforts of this earth, the closer he would be to God.

According to the book of Colossians, Paul actually teaches the opposite. When referring to ascetic practices, Paul says they “have an appearance of wisdom” but are in fact worthless (Colossians 2:23). Following God isn’t about making ourselves look godly on the outside—it’s about relying on Jesus. He is the only one who can save us and help us grow in relationship with God.

As we rest in Jesus and His work on the cross, we remember that we belong to Him and nothing can take us out of His hands (John 10:27-30). That living on top of a pillar won’t make God love us any more or any less (Matthew 11:28; Ephesians 2:8-10). And that Jesus has already done everything needed to bring us close to God (Colossians 1:13-14, 21-22). • Jonathon Fuller

• Can you think of anything you might do because you believe it will make Jesus love you more?

• Read Romans 8:38-39. In Christ, can anything separate you from God’s love or thwart His promises to save you? (For more about the good news of Jesus, see our "Know Jesus" page.)

Such regulations indeed have an appearance of wisdom, with their self-imposed worship, their false humility and their harsh treatment of the body, but they lack any value in restraining sensual indulgence. Colossians 2:23 (NIV)

READ: ROMANS 12:9-21; 1 PETER 4:7-11

After a long week of boring classes and demanding homework assignments, I was very excited when the weekend arrived. I was free to enjoy myself, at least for a few hours. I didn’t have any big plans—one of my new college friends was coming over, and we were going to watch an episode of a TV show together.

When we finished the episode, my new friend invited me and my roommate over to her dorm room. This gesture of kindness might seem small, but it meant a lot to me. She made popcorn for us to share, talked with us about life, and even offered to make us hot tea in her microwave.

My friend’s hospitality was simple yet incredibly thoughtful. Everything from the freshly-popped popcorn to her words of encouragement made our evening special. Her example serves as a reminder that hospitality doesn’t need to be complicated or extravagant. In fact, it can be quite simple, as long as it comes from the heart.

Throughout the course of Jesus’s ministry, many people demonstrated hospitality. For example, Martha invited Jesus into her home (Luke 10:38), and an unnamed man hosted Passover in his home for Jesus and His disciples (Mark 14:12-16).

Even thousands of years later, we can have an incredible impact on others by showing hospitality to believers and nonbelievers alike. Our acts of hospitality don’t require four-course meals, countless hours of cleaning, or elaborate decor. Hospitality simply requires a servant’s heart—a heart transformed by Jesus and filled with His hospitable love. • Grace McCready

• What comes to mind when you hear the word hospitality? Do you automatically think of something elaborate, like a fancy dinner party? Hospitality is often much simpler (Luke 10:38-42; John 21:1-14). Can you think of a time someone showed you simple hospitality, perhaps by inviting you into their space, offering you food, or even just making you feel welcome and included?

• Remember, we can show hospitality to others because Jesus has shown the greatest hospitality to us— welcoming us into His family by dying on the cross and rising from the grave for us. Jesus even said that He was going to the Father to prepare a place for us (John 14:1-3). What is one thing you could do to show hospitality to somebody this week?

Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins. Offer hospitality to one another without grumbling. 1 Peter 4:8-9 (NIV)

READ: GENESIS 1:1-19; PSALM 19:1; COLOSSIANS 1:15-22

Have you ever put together an aquarium? If not, you may be surprised how many requirements have to be met to create an ideal habitat for fish. Some species require fresh water, others salt. Some thrive with companions; others prefer to live alone. Temperature must be adjusted, a bubbler installed, and the right kind of food provided. If your fish are going to survive, you need to plan your aquarium very carefully.

God paid even more attention to detail when He created the earth. When we examine all the provisions He made for us to thrive on our beautiful planet, we find He created Earth specifically, with a very intentional design in mind. When God created, it wasn’t out of haphazard loneliness or boredom, but out of love! Consider just these few details that make it possible for plants, animals, and humans to live:

• God created oceans full of water to sustain us, as well as the weather patterns required to cycle it in various forms across the entire earth.

• God created a way to recycle oxygen through photosynthesis so we’d never run out of breathable air.

• God covered the earth in a protective atmosphere.

• God set the earth in motion with precision. If our globe rotated slower, the longer days and nights would result in extreme temperatures and lock our water supply in a solid or gaseous state.

• When God tilted the earth on an axis, He extended the growing season far into the north and south.

Isn’t God amazing? None of the other planets in our solar system can claim even one of these life-sustaining qualities, yet ours has them all! When we study God’s handiwork, we can see how wise, purposeful, and creative He truly is—and how much He truly loves us. • Michelle Isenhoff

• Sometimes our world feels chaotic. That’s why it can be helpful to slow down, examine creation, and notice God’s great care in all the intentional details He designed. Though our world has been broken by sin, we can still see God’s goodness in it, and we have the assurance that Jesus will return one day to make all creation whole, free from the effects of sin. How can beholding creation and studying it through science help us remember that God cares for us?

For the LORD is God, and he created the heavens and earth and put everything in place. He made the world to be lived in, not to be a place of empty chaos. “I am the LORD,” he says, “and there is no other.” Isaiah 45:18 (NLT)

READ: JOSHUA 23:3; PSALM 61:2-4; ISAIAH 54:17

I clutched the blankets over my face to muffle my sobs. I didn’t want my family to hear me crying. We had a good day together, and right now everyone was healthy in our family. But when the lights were out and I lay in bed, my heart was aching, burdened. So I let the tears flow until my body trembled with each breath.

Flashes of the past few years played in my mind. Scenes of hospital rooms, moments of utter fear, and the long road we had traveled in the recovery, only for the whole process to repeat itself all over again. In the course of the last four years, my dad had battled Covid, pneumonia, blood clots, cancer, four strokes, and more. The revolving door of “He’s getting better” and “We might lose him” had taken a toll. I thought I’d already broken and wept over these things. Yet here in the darkness, after a good day when all was well, I lay here, my heart crumbling all over again.

The devil wanted to use the pain in my past to make me anxious and fearful. But the more I thought about it, I realized those painful moments were not memories of defeat. In each terrifying time throughout my dad’s long health battle, God had carried us through. He had performed miracles. He had brought healing and answers. He had never left us. He had been our Rock, our Comfort, our Strength.

In that moment, the tightness in my heart loosened, and a feeling of peace came over me—my crippling anxiety lost its grip. The very memories that the devil wanted to use as a weapon against me were now reminders of God’s faithfulness. I don’t have to live in this fear. I have a refuge in the Living God who will never leave me, never forsake me. • Madison Mae

• As humans, we often struggle with fears about the future, especially when we remember painful experiences we’ve had in the past. How can remembering God’s faithfulness help us feel less afraid?

• Can you think of a time you experienced God’s love and help in your life? Consider taking a moment to thank Him for this!

• Jesus is Immanuel, which means “God with us” (Matthew 1:23), and He has promised never to leave us. He died and rose again so that He could always be with us! And while He lived among us on earth, He experienced all the brokenness of human life, so He can truly empathize with whatever we’re going through. When thoughts of the past feel overwhelming, we can ask Jesus to help us see how He has faithfully been with us through the hard things we’ve experienced. Consider taking some time to talk to Jesus about any fears or painful memories that come to mind, and imagine Him sitting beside you and weeping over the things that have hurt you.

• Sometimes we need help bringing our fears and painful memories to God, and this is perfectly normal. Who are trusted Christians in your life you could share your thoughts and feelings with—people who will listen with compassion, pray with you, and show you God’s love?

• Sometimes our bodies learn patterns of fear and anxiety, especially when we go through seasons of grief and turmoil. It can be a long process for our bodies to relearn healthy patterns of rest, but Jesus is ever gentle and patient with us. He stays with us on the journey and never lets us go, even in moments when anxiety seems overwhelming. And He wants to help us feel better in lots of ways, not just through prayer and Scripture, but also through the care and expertise of other people. When you’re struggling, who is a trusted adult you could talk to?...