The Bible reveals these three roots that lead to evil:

• Mammon: “For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, for which some have strayed from the faith in their greediness, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows” (1 Timothy 6:10 NKJV, emphasis added). Chasing money and depending on it to preserve people replaces dependence on Jehovah Jireh, The Lord Our Provider, and moves them to commit other sins against God, themselves, and others. We can pray for right priorities.
• Bitterness: “ looking carefully lest anyone fall short of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up cause trouble, and by this many become defiled” (Hebrews 12:15). Things that happen cause pain and result in bitterness. Prodigals sometimes need healing from church hurt, rape, molestation, things seen or heard, offense, living with addicted parents, neglect, and the pain and confusion from times when God seemed silent. We can pray for healing.
• Pride: pride was the root that brought about the Fall, and it has been at work ever since. The Lord tells us in Malachi 4:1 the fate of people with pride: “‘For behold, the day is coming, Burning like an oven, And all the proud, yes, all who do wickedly will be stubble. And the day which is coming shall burn them up,’ Says the LORD of hosts, ‘That will leave them neither root nor branch.’” Pride and its roots have to be destroyed sooner or later, and we are hoping for sooner—in this life. Pride elevates people’s opinion of themselves higher than their opinion of God, and because they believe their way to be better and their thoughts more important and higher than God’s, they rebell against Him (see Deuteronomy 29:18-19 for a connection between the roots of pride, rebellion, and bitterness). We can pray for deliverance.

Perhaps you recognize one or more of these roots in your own life. Isn’t God faithful and merciful to continually show us roots needing to be destroyed from our lives, to set us free from any weapon the enemy forms against us? We have to pray through those roots so they can be destroyed and no longer grow. I believe part of our being sanctified by Jehovah M’Kaddesh, The Lord Who Sanctifies, is the faithful peeling back and destruction of layers of things that don’t please God–layers, because as we get closer to Him, we see ourselves more clearly, and I think it is His mercy to do it over time, because we are too fragile to see all of our flaws all at once. He is so faithful to cleanse us, to sanctify us, to prepare us for use in His kingdom. 

The Lord also wants to destroy roots of sin in our prodigals’ lives, roots that take hold and grow into strongholds, holds so strong that only God can break.

Pride was the reason the Lord spoke to King Nebuchadnezzar in a dream, a dream which Daniel interpreted for him, telling him he would be cut down “till you know that the Most High rules in the kingdom of men” (Daniel 4:25). The dream also revealed, though, that there would be a stump left, a stump that still had roots, a stump that would grow into a tree of blessing for Nebuchadnezzar. At the end of the time of his punishment, Nebuchadnezzar “blessed the Most High and praised and honored Him who lives forever” (v. 34). His stump truly did become a tree again. He said:

At the same time my reason returned to me, and for the glory of my kingdom, my honor and splendor returned to me. My counselors and nobles resorted to me, I was restored to my kingdom, and excellent majesty was added to me. Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise and extol and honor the King of heaven, all of whose works are truth, and His ways justice. And those who walk in pride He is able to put down (vv. 36-37).

Sometimes the Lord has to humble our prodigals to destroy the roots of mammon, bitterness,  and pride and rebellion, so they can be restored to Himself. I believe that in the humbling, they still have stumps and roots of life and truth, and that the Lord is working to bring them back to full life in Him, the abundant life He provided, the faith He has given them.

Our hope for the destruction of roots lies in  Jesus, “‘the Root and Offspring of David, the Bright and Morning Star’” (Revelation 22:16). The enemy is fighting, but the Lord is winning. He has the last word.

Those who sat in darkness and in the shadow of death,

Bound in affliction and irons—
Because they rebelled against the words of God,
And despised the counsel of the Most High,
Therefore He brought down their heart with labor;
They fell down, and there was none to help.
Then they cried out to the Lord in their trouble,
And He saved them out of their distresses.
He brought them out of darkness and the shadow of death,
And broke their chains in pieces.
Oh, that men would give thanks to the Lord for His goodness,
And for His wonderful works to the children of men!
For He has broken the gates of bronze,
And cut the bars of iron in two (Psalm 107:10–16).

PRAYER: Our Father, You have chosen us as pray-ers for prodigals to use the mighty weapons You’ve given us to destroy strongholds. I believe destroying roots is an important part of that. Help us to use Your mighty weapons to see those roots and strongholds destroyed and strongholds in our prodigals’ lives (2 Corinthians 10:3-5).

As You told Jeremiah, “See, I have this day set you over the nations and over the kingdoms, To root out and to pull down, To destroy and to throw down, To build and to plant” (Jeremiah 1:10). I believe You have given us our prodigals to root out, to pull down, to destroy, and to throw down roots and strongholds, and to build and plant the truth in our prodigals’ lives. Use us as You see fit, in our own prodigals’ lives and in the lives of other people’s prodigals.

El Shaddai, Almighty, All-Sufficient God, destroy the root of the love of money and give our prodigals right priorities, so they look to You as their Jehovah Jireh, The Lord Our Provider.

Father, destroy the roots of pride and rebellion that result in our prodigals believing they know better than You, that their choices are better, that they are as You, that they are gods, that their opinion matters more than Yours, that they can build their own version of truth or live by a so-called truth that is contrary to the Word.

Jehovah Rapha, heal any pain in them caused from something in their past that has resulted in bitterness against You. Break its hold on them. Release them from the hurt. Put forgiveness in their hearts for those who hurt them, whether it was intentional or unintentional, real or perceived.

Destroy every evil root, Lord, and replace those evil roots with Yourself, The Root, so Satan no longer has a place from which to lie and destroy. We pray our prodigals will be “rooted and grounded in love” (Ephesians 3:7), “rooted and built up in [You] and established in the faith, as [they] have been taught, abounding in it with thanksgiving” (Colossians 2:7).

Set our prodigals free, Lord.

In the name of Jesus we pray.