Some of us are very close to seeing our faith become sight!

I have been feeling like we need to prepare for the changes that are coming in the lives of our prodigals, and in our lives because of it. Just like the father in the story of the return of the prodigal son had already fattened up the calf (Luke 15:23), there are some things we need to prepare.

How Should We Prepare?

Some are ready in physical ways: we either bought Bibles or saved theirs from when they were saved before or both. We’ve prepared rooms for when they come home, even anointing doors, windows, and beds from time to time as well as putting anointed prayer cloths under the mattresses where they will sleep. We are ready in these ways for the celebration of their long-awaited return.

However, there are other ways we can be prepared in our own lives and in our churches.

We need to prepare emotionally by realizing now that it may not look like what we thought it would. We need to understand that, even though they were possibly raised in a Christian home and have been saved, they will be somewhat babes in Christ and will need to grow in their relationship with God, moving from faith to faith (Romans 1:17) and glory to glory (2 Corinthians 3:18), just like we are still doing. We cannot hold them to being as mature in Christ as we are. Also, if they were addicted to substances, their emotional growth may have been delayed, so decisions may be difficult for them, and all the newness of their newfound relationship with God’s people may take a while to become a more thorough part of their lives. We can ask God to prepare us to be there for them, no matter.

They will need discipleship, encouragement, guidance, answers, mentoring, and we as the body of Christ are the ones to do all of that, but we will need the guidance of the Holy Spirit in every part of it. When they come back to God, we do not want to hinder their growth and sanctification in any way nor give the devil a foothold to creep back in because of offense, so we will need wisdom in our interactions with them and clarity in how to be there for them without being overbearing, overanxious, and overly excited. (That last one will be especially hard.) We will need ears that hear the Holy Spirit’s direction for words and attitudes. We can pray about that now.

We may also need physical stamina for the long conversations, especially the ones in the middle of the night. We can pray about that now and walk through it as it comes.

We will need discernment in knowing how to pray for them, what areas and weapons the enemy plans to use to sabotage their walk with God, and how to answer their questions.

Church will be different from what they remember. The music will most likely be unfamiliar, and there will be some unfamiliar faces as well as some missing faces. They may even choose to be part of another congregation, so we pray for ourselves yet again that God will guide us or another godly person in helping them in deciding about where to attend church; in introducing them to the people, settings, and groups God knows they need; and in pointing them in the direction God would have them go.

How Can the Church Prepare?

When they are saved, the church needs to remember that they are just as saved and forgiven as we are and should never be called unclean or treated as second-class Christians. As the church, we need to be prepared to refrain from holding them to a circumcision-type standard, one where we require them to wear their hair a certain way, dress a certain way—modest, yes, but not a certain style—take out the gauges, listen to our kind of Christian music—Christian music, yes, but not necessarily our genre. We will need restraint regarding pushing our personal agendas and opinions on them while guiding them in the ways of the Bible. In other words, we will need patience while the Holy Spirit does His work in them. He will help us, too, if we ask and depend on Him.

Our churches can be ready by putting discipleship classes for new Christians in place, with teachers prepared and ready to go. For those who will be coming from an addicted lifestyle, programs for supporting their freedom are good. Of course, we will need plenty of seating and parking! And, if you have people in your congregation who are attached to their particular seat, prepare them to share. We want our prodigals in church, period, without their feeling they’ve broken unwritten rules or encroached on someone else’s territory. We want to be and need to be there for them and be an example of fearing the Lord, serving the Lord, and loving people. We allow God to do the work that only He can do, just like He does for us.

How Can We Be Ready?

When our prodigals come back to God, we want to support them in ways that bring God glory and in ways that mean something to them in a good way, in ways they actually need.

So, how do we prepare? We pray and study the Word with an eye to what is coming. We pray for ourselves and our churches. We want to be and need to be ready to answer questions, speak words of life, and guide them when the time comes, for our own prodigals and for the prodigals of others that will be returning to God and His church.

We can ask the Holy Spirit which Scripture verses we will need on recall, so we pray before studying the Word, be alert to what the Holy Spirit is calling to our attention, and then memorize those verses we may need to quote at some point.

Prayerfully, we will be prepared to receive them with love, respect, and joy; never calling unclean what God has called clean; and allowing God to do the work that only He can do while helping them walk through the process in a loving and accepting way.

We long to worship with our prodigals again, and we want to support their walk in every way possible.

So, let’s get prepared, cover our preparation in prayer, and study God’s Word. The Lord will help us be ready for the DELUGE!