Do you have a prodigal in your life? Is there a well-loved son or a cherished daughter who has walked away from their faith in Jesus Christ? Have you been praying without ceasing for a grandchild, for a niece or a nephew or for a sibling to return to their first love for the Lord?
I believe emphatically that we are currently in a season in which God is calling the prodigals to come home. I know that I know that I know that the Holy Spirit is relentlessly chasing down those who have been deceived and then paralyzed by the grip of sin. We are in a “now” moment as the Father is pursuing those who have rejected His love time after time.
If you have a prodigal, and choose to believe with me that God is once again knocking on the doors of their hearts, these are some of the ways you can partner with the Holy Spirit in enabling them to quickly turn and come home:
1. Love your prodigal. Reach out in genuine kindness and compassion so they know they will be accepted and restored. The kindness of God leads to repentance—and if it works for Him, it will also work for you. The mistake that many Christian parents make is that they build such high walls between themselves and their prodigals that it is impossible for the wandering one to climb the difficult wall. Keep your walls low and your love fervent!
“Or do you think lightly of the riches of His kindness and tolerance and patience, not knowing that the kindness of God leads you to repentance?” (Rom. 2:4, NASB).
2. Declare the Word. Ask the Holy Spirit to give you a Scripture that you then declare over this loved one’s life. It is of vital importance to repeat the Words of God back to His ears in prayer. Write out this verse and place it on your bathroom mirror, on the dashboard of your car and on your kitchen cabinets. Share this verse with others who have joined you in praying for your prodigal. When we pray the Word of God, we are also praying the will of God.
“So it is not the will of your Father who is in heaven that one of these little ones should perish” (Matt. 18:14, MEV).
3. Continue to pray. Don’t ever grow weary in the arena of prayer. Prayer is the unseen power that we have been given which enables us to partner with God in the ushering in of the miraculous. The greatest work of your life will be done on your knees. The Lord has clearly shown me that with my prodigals, I don’t need to “talk” more, because they can run away from my words, but they can never escape my prayers. So our strategy is to talk less and pray more!
“This is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. So if we know that He hears whatever we ask, we know that we have whatever we asked of Him” (1 John 5:14-15).
4. Keep your hopes up. I have made the mistake of becoming discouraged and hopeless during the wait for a prodigal to come to his or her senses. But we must daily, even hourly, remind ourselves that nothing is impossible to the Lord. No one is beyond His reach, and no one is immune to His great compassion. So keep your hopes up and prepare for the celebration!
“So he arose and came to his father. But while he was yet far away, his father saw him and was moved with compassion, and ran and embraced his neck and kissed him” (Luke 15:20).
Listen as Carol McLeod teaches how to fight from a place of truth, not deception.
Carol McLeod is an author and popular speaker at women’s conferences and retreats, where she teaches the Word of God with great joy and enthusiasm. Carol encourages and empowers women with passionate and practical biblical messages mixed with her own special brand of hope and humor. She has written 10 books, including The Rooms of a Woman’s Heart; Defiant Joy!; Holy Estrogen!; No More Ordinary; Refined; Joy For All Seasons; Let There Be Joy!; Pass the Joy, Please!; Guide Your Mind, Guard Your Heart, Grace Your Tongue; and Stormproof, which releases on March 1, 2019. Her teaching DVD, The Rooms of a Woman’s Heart, won the Telly Award, a prestigious industry award for excellence in religious programming. You can also listen to Carol’s “Jolt of Joy” program daily on the Charisma Podcast Network. Connect with Carol or inquire about her speaking to your group at carolmcleodministries.com.
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