Prodigal Son Prayer

Prayers for Prodigals

Nothing Will Be Impossible

If you have lived very long as a Christian, there is likely to be something that you are praying for that God has not yet answered. Many of the women I speak with have been praying for a prodigal child or for a broken relationship for a long time. Jesus said in Matthew 17:20-21:  “Truly I tell you, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there,' and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.” 

If we have earnestly prayed for our prodigal, yet the “mountain” does not appear to be moving in the right direction– do not be discouraged. The Bible gives us answers as to why that might be:

Unconfessed sin 

Psalm 66:18 says, “If I had ignored my sins, the Lord would not have listened to me.” This implies that if you have unconfessed sin in your life, it will hinder the effectiveness of your mountain-moving prayers. Romans 4:7 says that if we confess our sins, God not only forgives them… He forgets them! To ensure that unconfessed sin is not interfering with your prayers, spend quiet time in the presence of God asking His Holy Spirit to reveal to you any behavior or mindset that is not honoring Him. Then confess it, and continue to pray faith-filled prayers.

God’s Timing

We are finite. God is infinite. His timing is always right, despite the fact that we desire instant answers. In the famous story of Joseph found in the book of Genesis (37-50), he was faithful to God, yet was sold into slavery and wrongly imprisoned. During the 13 years where his situation looked hopeless, he may have thought that his prayers were not working. But God was moving mountains that Joseph could not see. At the right time, God restored his broken family – and promoted him beyond anything he was likely could have imagined!

God’s Plan is Much Bigger than Your Prayer

The Book of Daniel gives us a beautiful example of the impact of a lifetime of faithful prayer. In Chapter 10, Daniel was quite old and still had not seen all of his prayers answered. He continued to pray earnestly for breakthrough for his people who were in exile. Possibly his advanced age motivated his urgency in prayer. God was so moved by Daniel’s prayers, that he sent him an angel to explain that Daniel would not see all of God’s plan unfold in his lifetime, but everything Daniel prayed for would happen. 

Praying for Prodigals:

While You’re Waiting…

The Bible tells us how to live while waiting for our prodigals to return:

“We should live in this evil world with wisdom, righteousness, and devotion to God while we look forward with hope to that wonderful day when the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, will be revealed.”- Titus 2:12

No matter what you can see with your natural eyes, believe that tectonic shifts are happening in the spiritual realm – and see your prodigal return with your eyes of faith!

Blessings, 

Lily