Building Trust (Part 2)

Read the Script

Connor Owen:
Welcome to The Approach. I’m Connor Owen, and I serve on staff at World Gospel Mission, and this is one of our prayer habit episodes where we pray over the topic we’ve been learning about. A few weeks ago, we had part 1 of Building Trust, where we discuss the level of trust among Gen Z and the world in general. You can go listen to that for some helpful context if you haven’t already.

Trust is a major theme in the Bible, specifically in the book of the Psalms, where it shows us that trust is not based on circumstances. It’s based on the One in whom we put our trust. There’s a group of nine Psalms, chapters 25 to 33, which contains several cries for God’s mercy and grace. And in these Psalms, the psalmist is up against so many enemies who are trying to defeat him. Seven times he cries out for mercy or grace. But eight times, he proclaims his trust, and ten times he offers “appeals to or celebrations of Yahweh’s unfailing love” (pp. 881–882). Notice that the number of times he proclaims his trust and praise each outweigh the times he asked God to save him.

For a full list of these mentions, you can go the show notes on our website. We’re committed to help you learn to pray Scripture over the next generation, and today we’ll use Psalm 27 verse 3. This passage gives us an image of someone who is having the rug pulled out from underneath them, yet their trust in God remains firm. And this is the type of trust we’re trying to build within Gen Z, one that is not based on circumstances but is rooted in the one in whom we trust.

As we pray, I’ll give you space to repeat it silently to yourself or you can say it out loud.

Though a mighty army surrounds me, My heart will not be afraid.
Even if I am attacked, I will remain confident.

For the last two years, the Gen Zer in your life has had the normalcy of their life uprooted. The next generation has reason to feel a sense of uncertainty, which might feel a bit like that mighty army that the psalmist wrote about. For them, the classroom has changed, sports have changed, Mom and Dad are working from home or maybe even lost their job. And we know that prolonged uncertainty leads to less trust, and so what we want to do is submit that uncertainty and surrender it back to Jesus. For your Gen Zer, what has caused a decline in trust? Let’s take a moment to ask the Spirit reveal that to us.

If you’re like me, I am often ready to have spiritual conversations with my kids, and then as I’m knee deep in this beautiful talk I’ve prepared, they ask me if we can get McDonald’s. Or they’ll ask me a question while I’m in the middle of something that requires deep focus. It’s as if we’re missing each other when it comes to timing. So let’s ask the Father for wisdom to know when and where to talk with your Gen Zer about trust. Take a moment and talk to God about that.

As we end this time of prayer, we’re going to go back to the Psalm that we prayed at the beginning. And this verse—Psalm 27:3—might be something you consider writing on a sticky note and putting it somewhere your Gen Zer will find it; or maybe a quick text message with the verse, letting them know you’re praying form them.

Let’s pray.

Though a mighty army surrounds me, My heart will not be afraid.
Even if I am attacked, I will remain confident.