Praying for Prodigals

God has great compassion for those who agonize in prayer for loved ones who have wandered away from His love. Throughout Scripture we see God’s concern for prodigals and His efforts to woo them back and reveal Himself to them as a loving, compassionate heavenly Father. Whoever the prodigals may be that you’re praying for, eventually you must put him or her in God’s hands and trust Him to do a work of grace in that person’s life. He knows what caused them to turn away from His path, and He knows what it will take to bring them back.¹

“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; KJV)

Give Him 15 minutes in prayer:

• Ask Holy Spirit to give you creative ideas for expressing love to your prodigal.
• Pray Psalm 91 over the prodigals, asking God to keep them safe.
• Pray with others who are crying out to God for their prodigals—there is great power in prayers of agreement (see Matt. 18:19).

A prayer you can pray:

Thank you, Lord, that I can entrust my prodigals into your hands, knowing that you love them with an undying love. Send someone across their path who can get their attention and speak words of hope and life to them. Give me compassion for the prodigals I encounter from day to day. Help me not to judge them, but to exhibit a Christ-like spirit and bless them in Your Name. Amen.

Today’s decree:

God will bring our prodigal sons and daughters home!

1 Excerpted from Praying Prodigals Home by Quin Sherrer and Ruthanne Garlock, Regal Books, 2000.