Parenting Prodigals Part 1

Luke 15:11-20

This past Sunday at my church we had a guest speaker/writer named Phil Waldrep. He has written an amazing book that I truly believe was ordained by God. The book is called Parenting Prodigals. Phil's teaching in this book is truly phenomenal and I wanted to share my notes with you. If you were there, please feel free to add what you learned in the comment section and if you were not I hope this will bless your life and help you deal with a prodigal in your life. We all have prodigals in our lives. They may not be our children, but most of these principles can still apply. You may also have a friend that is struggling with their child. Please pass this on to as many people as you may believe would benefit. The remainder of my blog today will be my notes from Phil Waldrep.

Two questions that parents ask when they have a prodigal child are:
1. What did we do wrong?
2. What can we do now?

Six Principles for reaching your prodigal and answers to the two questions:

1. Learn to live guilt free in your own Christian life.
There are two reasons for guilt: 1. We are all sinners (Romans 3:23). We are all bent toward sin. If we do what is natural, we will all become prodigals. A prodigal child is just doing the natural, human thing - being a sinner. 2. Many parents feel guilty because of Proverbs 22:6 "Train up a child..." Since their child is not living for God, they automatically feel that they did not raise their in the ways of the Lord. The meaning of this verse is very complex and there are many different views. However, the Hebrew actually means that whatever you teach your child, they will never forget it. Based on Phil's research, he says that this is true in all prodigals lives. They all told him they knew what they were doing was wrong. When asked who told them their lifestyle was wrong, the answer was always my parents and that their parents taught them what was right.

2. Ask for forgiveness for past mistakes
Many parents know that they made mistakes in their child's life. None of us are perfect parents. If the Holy Spirit has revealed something to you that you need to ask forgiveness for, go to your child and confess your sin and ask their forgiveness. They may not forgive you, but you will have taken down part of the barrier when they decide to come back home.

3. Love your prodigal unconditionally
At first glance this sounds like the easiest principle, but Phil asked some very pointed questions like: Do you ever hope that others do not know that is your child? Are you too prideful to request prayer for your own child that is struggling? Do you ever wish, in the quietness of your own heart, that your child had never been born? Unconditional love is divine love and can only be given to you by God. People in general do not know what to do with this kind of love, especially prodigals. They are used to everyone being mad at them and they can handle that. Unconditional love will be very difficult for them to deal with, but is essential to removing the barrier for them to come back home.

I will post the last three tomorrow. I pray that this has blessed someone who is reading the way it did me. Let us never give up on our family and friends that have walked away from God. They are still breathing so God has not given up on them.