I Don’t Want To Lose You: A Prayer Service for the Next Generation

Acts 20:7–12 ESV

On the first day of the week, when we were gathered together to break bread, Paul talked with them, intending to depart on the next day, and he prolonged his speech until midnight. There were many lamps in the upper room where we were gathered. And a young man named Eutychus, sitting at the window, sank into a deep sleep as Paul talked still longer. And being overcome by sleep, he fell down from the third story and was taken up dead. But Paul went down and bent over him, and taking him in his arms, said, “Do not be alarmed, for his life is in him.” And when Paul had gone up and had broken bread and eaten, he conversed with them a long while, until daybreak, and so departed. And they took the youth away alive, and were not a little comforted.

Sometimes, the appropriate response to scripture is not to preach, but to pray.

Preaching would not expose anyone here to ideas that we don’t already believe.

What we need is power…strategy…the help of the Holy Spirit.

So today, I do not want to just preach to or preach about the next generation.

I want to pray for them. I want to pray with them.

Today, I want to bring us less of a sermon…more of an exercise.

And I’m super excited because I won’t be leading it by myself.

Azadi is going to join me in the proclamation.

Azadi…along with all of you are going to join in the prayer.

The title of the exercise is simply this: I Don’t Want To Lose You: A Prayer Service for the Next Generation.

PRAYER POINT 1: Lord Help Us Create a Better Environment

Scripture Focus: Acts 20:7–9

“There were many lamps in the upstairs room where we were gathered… and a young man named Eutychus… fell asleep.”

Luke, as a physician, is noting that the conditions in the room left Eutychus susceptible to falling asleep.

The room was hot, stuffy, crowded.

Too much going on.

Paul talked for too long without taking a break.

There were many lamps (fire consumes oxygen)

There were lots of people (people consume oxygen)

The boy was in the window because his lung capacity was not as great as all those grown ups in the room…he was just trying to get some air.

Eutychus didn’t fall because he was rebellious—he fell because the environment made it hard to stay engaged.

We often criticize young people for falling out of faith, but the church can unintentionally become an environment where its hard for a young person to breathe.

SEASON OF PRAYER 1: Youth Teams Come Down

(Led by ?????)

I want to pray over Next Gen. teams, children’s workers, volunteers, children’s teachers, who are charged with the critical task of helping us to create environments where kids can encounter God.

PRAYER POINT 2: Lord, Don’t Let Us Get Bored

(Preached by Azadi)

Scripture Focus: Acts 20:9 “Eutychus, who was sinking into a deep sleep… was overcome by sleep.”

Azadi’s Speaking Notes (as provided):

Sometimes we’re in church or reading the Bible, and we just get bored.

But when you get bored, you can miss something important.

Paul was saying things that could change Eutychus’ life forever.

We don’t want to be so bored that we miss what God is doing.

SEASON OF PRAYER 2: Children/Youth Stand

(Led by ?????) Pray for the kids—ask God to help them stay engaged, curious, and hungry to learn. Pray against distractions, mental health struggles, or boredom that pulls them away from their faith.

PRAYER POINT 3: Lord, Help Us Keep An Eye on Our Kids

Scripture Focus: Acts 20:9

“Seated in a window, he was overcome by sleep and fell…”

Eutychus battled with sleep for a while

Somebody should have noticed that boy was fading.

Somebody should have recognized that he was struggling

He was in the window…on the periphery—not in the center.

Everyone was focused on the front, where Paul was.

But, here’s the question; Do we see when our children are drifting? Or do we only notice when they fall?

I’m not saying this to judge.

We need to focus on the word of God.

And anybody’s child can fall. THAT IS WHY WE HAVE TO PRAY.

SEASON OF PRAYER 3: Children join Azadi on the stage, parents come down front.

(Led by Azadi — praying over the parents)

Azadi’s Prayer: Children Repeat

Dear God, thank you for our moms and dads and the people who take care of us.

Please help them to see us,

Please help them to know when we’re hurting or when we need help.

Help them to listen.

Help them to be kind, and to love us the way you do.

And help us to love them back.

In Jesus’ name, Amen.

PRAYER POINT 4: Lord, Raise Up the Fallen

Scripture Focus: Acts 20:10

“But Paul went down, bent over him, and taking him in his arms, said, ‘Do not be alarmed, for his life is in him.’”

Nobody noticed the fade, but everybody noticed the fall.

There was probably a scream.

Almost certainly an eery thud.

The fade is subtle…the fall is dramatic.

The crowd went out to look at Eutychus, but Paul went out to lift him.

The text says he leaned over him and took him up in his arms.

The crowd went out to say, “Its so sad what happened to Eutychus”

Paul dared to believe that this was not the end of this boy’s story.

There are young people today who have already fallen

Fallen into temptation

Fallen into addiction

Fallen into depression, confusion, isolation.

And they are, right now, spiritually and emotionally dead.

Our job is not to criticize the fall but to take them up in our arms and believe for life again.

SEASON OF PRAYER 4: Everyone standing for prayer.

(Led by ?????)

Pray for the prodigals, the wanderers, the hurt, the broken. Ask God to give the church courage to embrace the fallen and faith to believe for resurrection.

Here’s our exhortation for us today: Watch the Windows

But, don’t take this is just an exhortation to try to be more vigilant.

In the scriptures and in Christian tradition, watching is primarily a prayer function.

So “Watch the Windows” means KEEP ON PRAYING.

Pray that we Build better environments for our young people.

Pray that our young hearts will not get bored with the things of God.

Pray that we have spiritual eyes to see when you children are struggling.

Pray that if anyone does fall, they will experience the resurrection power that is in name of Jesus.

We have prayer cards for everyone to take to remember to Watch the Windows and keep praying for our young people.