What do you do between the time your child rebels and the time he or she comes back to the Lord? In looking at the story of the prodigal son, we have seen why the son left; and we have seen the father’s loving forgiveness when the son came back. But what do you do during the time of rebellion?
I went to a seminar years ago that dealt with this very issue. I’m sorry I don’t remember who led the seminar but one point stands out.
Truth + Space + Prayer + Unconditional Love = A Changed Life!
- Lay the proper foundation of the truth of God’s Word.
- Give them their space . . . let them take flight!
- Continue in warfare praying.
- Show them unconditional love when they return
- This will result in a changed life.
St. Augustine is held in great esteem in Christianity. But he was not always saintly. He fell into a rebellious lifestyle and fathered a child out of wedlock. He was heavy into drinking. His mother was a virtuous woman by the name of Monica. Sometimes she almost despaired; but she was greatly comforted by a Christian friend who said to her, “A son of so many prayers cannot be lost.” Some time after that he was converted and went on to be one of the founding fathers of the church.
Max Lucado has said, “God has too much invested in a wayward believer to leave them where they are!”
If you have a child who is adrift and wandering from the Lord, meditate and pray the following scriptures . . . there is power in praying the Word .
- 2 Tim. 3:14-15 (NKJV) But you must continue in the things which you have learned and been assured of, knowing from whom you have learned them, and that from childhood you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.
- Proverbs 24:15-16 (NKJV) Do not lie in wait, O wicked man, against the dwelling of the righteous; Do not plunder his resting place; For a righteous man may fall seven times and rise again, But the wicked shall fall by calamity.
- Proverbs 11:21 (NKJV) Though they join forces, the wicked will not go unpunished; But the seed of the righteous will be delivered.
- Proverbs 12:7 (NKJV) The wicked are overthrown and are no more, But the house of the righteous will stand.
- Isaiah 59:21 (NKJV) “As for Me,” says the Lord, “this is My covenant with them: My Spirit who is upon you, and My words which I have put in your mouth, shall not depart from your mouth, nor from the mouth of your descendants, nor from the mouth of your descendants’ descendants,” says the Lord, “from this time and forevermore.”
- Jeremiah 24:5-7 (NKJV) “Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: ‘Like these good figs, so will I acknowledge those who are carried away captive from Judah, whom I have sent out of this place for their own good, into the land of the Chaldeans. [6] For I will set My eyes on them for good, and I will bring them back to this land; I will build them and not pull them down, and I will plant them and not pluck them up. [7] Then I will give them a heart to know Me, that I am the Lord; and they shall be My people, and I will be their God, for they shall return to Me with their whole heart.
- Psalm 23:3 (NKJV) He restores my soul; He leads me in the paths of righteousness for His name’s sake.
- Ezekiel 11:18-20 (NKJV) And they will go there, and they will take away all its detestable things and all its abominations from there. [19] Then I will give them one heart, and I will put a new spirit within them, and take the stony heart out of their flesh, and give them a heart of flesh, [20] that they may walk in My statutes and keep My judgments and do them; and they shall be My people, and I will be their God.
- Jeremiah 31:16-17 (NKJV) Thus says the Lord:”Refrain your voice from weeping, And your eyes from tears; For your work shall be rewarded, says the Lord,And they shall come back from the land of the enemy. There is hope in your future, says the Lord, That your children shall come back to their own border.
Prayer is the mightiest weapon in the universe. Use it to reclaim your children.
