Six Bottom-Line Encouragements for Pray-ers

1. God is greater than anything Satan is throwing at your prodigal and greater than anything your prodigal is doing. “You are of God, little children, and have overcome them, because He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world” (1 John 4:4 NKJV).

2. God keeps His promises. Your promise will not be the first one He neglects to keep. No matter where your faith is on the spectrum–if you have great faith or almost no faith–He is faithful, and your amount of faith does not change His faithfulness (2 Timothy 2:13). You can absolutely rest in the promises of God. “The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance” (2 Peter 3:9).

3. Our parts in the process of prodigals’ coming back to God are loving, praying, and obeying God. There are three components to praying without ceasing: knee time, instantaneous prayers, and never giving up. We love unconditionally and pray without ceasing while obeying God’s voice in the process. After all, we cannot do God’s things, anyway, such as saving a soul, changing a heart, or healing a hurt. “Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, to God who alone is wise, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen” (1 Timothy 1:17, emphasis added). By the way, loving unconditionally does not mean we accept sin, allow ourselves to be taken advantage of, allow feelings to enable, or we should not set boundaries, because boundaries are sometimes absolutely necessary.

4. The peace that passes understanding also applies to those who love and pray for a prodigal. It is absolutely a promise for you! Pray until you get that peace, and rest there until the Lord burdens you again. However, do not accept a burden from any other source: Facebook or other social media, other people, rumors, circumstances. suspicions, or accusations from Satan, etc. Pray what the Holy Spirit leads you to pray. In fact, after praise, thanksgiving, and confession of sins, the next best prayer is asking the Holy Spirit what to pray. He knows what your prodigal is thinking, where he/she is, what he/she is doing, what he/she is going through, and what he/she will go through before you pray again. He can help you know what to cover in prayer, and if He doesn’t give you words, He can pray through you (Romans 8:26).

5. You never have to fear that your prodigal has gone too far. The Bible says God is married to the backslider (Jeremiah 3:14), and it says “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9, emphasis added). It does not say, “Except addiction, homosexuality, murder, lying, stealing.” The Bible says these are sins, but there is only one unpardonable sin (Matthew 12:31), and Satan lies about what that is so we will give up praying, and so our prodigals will give up hope for salvation. God will forgive.

6. And one last encouragement: there is power in YOUR prayer! You have a greater love for your prodigal, a greater amount of authority in his/her life than anyone besides the prodigal himself/herself, and a greater anointing for prayer. God hears AND answers YOUR prayer!

Be encouraged! There absolutely is hope! (Hebrews 11:1).