I’m a teacher by inclination and calling. I give it my all when opportunity calls in secret and in the open especially when it has to do with young people and to the glory of God, I have great testimonies. I make it a point of duty to impact my own biological children intentionally so that I would not be exporting what I have not practicalised.
I got on my knees one day after series of encounter rehabilitating preteens and teens who have been ravaged by pornography. I prayed a simple prayer: “God, any day, anywhere, anyhow my children would, by commission or omission, involve in porn, may the device and everything used become useless from that day”. Few weeks after working on my latest book on porn, which is targeted at curbing the malaise, one of my teens had an experience. The day he tried to open a porn related site on his phone, the phone crashed. When I was told of the phone crashing, I smiled and said: “go and repent. You can’t use any device again until you make a covenant with your eyes not to behold iniquity.” He literally froze.
After days, I repeated it in my normal play tone, ‘go and repent, else no phone would work in your hands’. Weeks later, he got another device that was meant to facilitate a job. Things were going normal until the devil whispered to him to open that dangerous site again. He tried and straight the device went blank.
He met me and said, “Truly God is the one that shut down my device.” I looked again and smiled at him, saying: “I have told you it can’t work. I can’t be praying and impacting others and mine would be different. I have taught you all you need to know about porn and you still want to experiment. You can’t use devices again, because God is committed to answering my prayers.”
He broke down and cried in remorse, made a public and secret vow to God and to me never to give in to the devil in any form. Deep in me, I was full of joy, but in my calm method, I admonished and expressed my trust in him. After months of teachings, healing and repentance, I bought a new phone as it’s necessary for the work I have committed to his hands.
However, yesterday, he went to collect a business app from a young guy and came home in pains. “Mom, do you know what someone is supposed to be ashamed of, this guy is busy flaunting different series of it?” Sadly, the guy involved is one of our teens in church. I immediately decoded and another discussion came up. We analyzed why the boy is comfortable with those porn things and the perils involved.
“There are a lot of lessons we should teacher our children. These teens are too smart. You need spiritual energy with knowledge to help and impact on them. The devil has shifted attention to them. Vices these days are committed by chaps within their age brackets. When you teach and counsel them, don’t fail to pray for them. A teenager you have not presented to Jesus, you can’t impact. They’re fighting forces more powerful and unknown to them, be empathic.
Don’t give up on them. Keep trying. They’re still in their character formation years. Express your trust in them, it goes a long way in shaping them and taking them through life. Encourage them. Let them know that, no matter how far they have gone on the wrong part, that the way to the right path is still open and achievable. Teenagers and preteens, just like everyone, encounter temptations. Don’t discard them, but discard their mistakes. Speak the right words to them even when the situation is discouraging. Your positive words would make meaning to them in due time. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous parent avails much.
Eze Florence Uchenna, teens advocate and mentor