Prodigals get delivered and turn back. Prodigals get saved and backslide again. They take two steps forward and one step back, or worse, two or three steps back.

We don’t understand it, because we walk in a fullness with God they need.

I suspect that sometimes they go back into sin because there are spaces left empty by the ungodly things God removed from their lives in answer to our prayers, spaces that need to be filled with godly things.  

Jesus addressed this:

“When an unclean spirit goes out of a man, he goes through dry places, seeking rest; and finding none, he says, ‘I will return to my house from which I came.’ And when he comes, he finds it swept and put in order. Then he goes and takes with him seven other spirits more wicked than himself, and they enter and dwell there; and the last state of that man is worse than the first” (Luke 11:24-26).

So we pray.

We ask Him to fill the empty space of time, companionship, activities, or thoughts with something or someone good from His perfect and complete goodness.

It is important to ask God often to remove their hearts of stone and replace them with hearts of flesh  (Ezekiel 36:26), because the other things we pray out of their lives are symptoms of their heart condition.

When we ask God to remove demons, we ask Him to save them, sanctify them, and fill them with His Holy Spirit as well as give His angels charge over them.

In the place of ungodly concerts, we ask God to give them a love of worship.

When we ask God to remove ungodly influence, we ask that He will send someone who will faithfully follow the Holy Spirit in witness, example, and love.

When we ask God to sever ties with any ungodly lifestyle, we ask Him to turn their passions to the opposite sex and give them a desire to raise a godly family, and to bring His perfect will for a spouse into their lives.

When we ask God to remove sin, we ask Him to replace it with righteousness and sanctification, an abundant life.

When we ask God to remove gaming, we ask Him to use their time in the fulfillment of their God-given purposes, calling, and anointing.

There are also some things that need to be replaced with the fruit of the Spirit:

• When we ask God to remove hatred, we ask Him to fill that empty space with love.
• When we ask God to remove bitterness, we ask Him to help them forgive and to fill them with joy.
• When we ask God to remove anger, we ask Him to fill them with peace.
• When we ask God to remove addiction, we ask Him to fill them with temperance.

You get the idea. You know your prodigal better than anyone besides God and themselves, and you know what needs to fill the empty spaces left behind by the things you pray out of their lives.

They’ve lived their lives with these kinds of people and activities for so long, and the void will tempt them to return to their old ways, simply because they long for something familiar, companionship, and activities, not to mention the hold habits have on them, but God has a plan and answers to the dilemma, so we pray as the Holy Spirit directs us to pray. God will fill those spaces with Himself, and that is exactly what we want for them!