Unlocked: Daily Devotions for Teens

I cannot fight this darkness deep

I cannot find my way

Help me, O my God

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The faithful, godly people

Have vanished from the world

Help me, O my God

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The poor and needy gasp for help

That’s nowh…

As a teenager, one of the reasons I didn’t believe in God was because I didn’t think God cared about my individual struggles. There were people in far worse situations who needed God’s help, so I did…

One of my favorite Bible passages is Psalm 19. David, the psalmist, illustrates how God is a master communicator. This psalm has three parts:

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1) God speaks through creation;

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2) God speaks through…

Isaiah 9:6-7 is part of an Old Testament promise of a Messiah: a Rescuer and King for the whole world! This passage lists tons of names that are ultimately fulfilled in Jesus. One of those names is “…

Maybe you’ve heard the saying: God will never give us more than we can handle. I’d never thought much about that idea until I found myself in Guatemala, begging God not to let both of my grandparents…

I need help right now

The waves are about to wash me away

God, I need you right now

This pain is too much for me to bear

The sooner you help

The sooner I can start to heal

The sooner you help

The eas…

Elisha is an Old Testament prophet, and God performed many mighty miracles through him. He healed Naaman of leprosy (2 Kings 5), raised a dead boy back to life (2 Kings 4), and stopped the Aramean ar…

It doesn’t matter when you pray. It can be early in the morning or the middle of the night. It can be on a good day or a hard day. It doesn’t matter when, God hears you no matter what.

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It doesn’t m…

A fragment. A shard. A useless bit of glass. A piece among many. Split from the mass. Silenced. Alone. No comfort in sight. An endless abyss. As dark as the night.

A yearning. A desire. A never-endin…

Do you ever feel down when you see others doing big things? Do you feel like you would never be able to serve like they do or make as big of an impact?

Just because someone is better at something, or…

Imagine feeling so certain that if you did one simple thing, you’d have your deepest desire fulfilled. What if that desire was to be healed from years of suffering? And what if, after spending all yo…

Death feels so final and real. Death has been on my mind recently because I have a family member who is not in good health. Once someone passes away, we cannot get them back. But, death does not have…

Many people sought Jesus during His ministry on earth. Some went to Him to get healed, and some longed to hear from Him and see His miracles. Jesus said that He came to seek and save the lost (Luke 1…

Sometimes I struggle when I read the Bible. It sorts people into two groups: the righteous and the wicked. It says God blesses the righteous and punishes the wicked. That sounds kind of good, right? …

I sat down for the umpteenth Sunday service. Same row. Same struggle. Same insecurity. Never perfect enough or perhaps just never enough. I was exhausted by the hamster wheel of performance and antic…

Do you feel like the world is falling apart? Do you wish someone would have the courage to step forward and fix it? Nehemiah knew what that felt like. He was a cupbearer to the Babylonian king, livin…

Kyren adjusted her pendant so that the beam of light emanating from it illuminated the paper in her worn, leatherbound notebook. “Day 52. The darkness is all-consuming. Do I even remember what light …

While I was reading Psalm 55 the other day, I was reminded of sixth grade. Most days, I did not want to go to school. I was a lot smaller that a lot of my classmates, and the hallways were packed ful…

As winter fades into spring, you might feel good about the transition. The birds are singing in the trees again, and the flowers are starting to bloom.

As fall fades into winter and the last of the c…

Love is not just a four-letter word. Sometimes we want to hear someone say, “I love you” and really mean it and show it.

My dear husband doesn’t say “I love you” very often. When he does say it, I …