Parenting Prodigals Part 2

Luke 15:11-20

If you missed yesterday's devotion, stop now and read it or today will make no sense! Let's continue on with the last three principles for reaching your prodigal and removing any barriers that would keep them from being able to come back home.

4. Allow sin to run its course.
Everyone must be allowed to live with the consequences of the choices they have made. I remember when I was a young adult and living away from God, a very close friend of mine that was significantly older told me to look in the mirror. When I did she said "that is the face you are going to have to answer to for every decision you make". I remember thinking that she was so right. My decisions were mine and I could not blame the consequences on anyone else. Prodigals must be allowed to face their consequences as difficult as that may be. How can unconditional love and consequences happen at the same time? By telling your prodigal that you love them no matter what, but that "this" is the consequence for their actions.

5. Be willing to guard you words.
This one is so important. We must guard what we say about God, other Christians, and the Church. We must be uplifting about the church and other Christians. Many prodigals have left the church because they or someone they loved and trusted was hurt by the church. When we put down other Christians it only feeds their belief that the Church is all a "bunch of hypocrites".

6. Pray specifically for your prodigal.
There are two specific prayers to pray for the prodigals in our lives. The first one is to ask God to bring people into the lives of our prodigals that have a heart for Him. Now this is where it gets touchy. If God answers our prayer, but the people He brings are not the type of people we would have chosen, we have to go back to number 5 and guard our words. If our prodigal comes back to God and goes to a different church or even a different denomination, we must rejoice that they have come home and not complain that they did not come back to "our church".

The second prayer is even a little more difficult. Many prodigals come home when someone they love gets very sick or dies such as a grandparent, parent, brother, or sister. This lose makes them look at their lives and evaluate their lifestyles. Are we willing to be the one to get sick and possibly even die so that they will come home? Can we truly ask God to do whatever it takes to bring our prodigal home?

I hope this has helped you in some way. It so impacted me I wanted to share it with all of you. If you have no prodigals in your life, first of all, PRAISE GOD! But secondly, when a friend shares with you about their child or grandchild, I pray God will remind you of these truths so that you can have some encouragement to share. To learn more about Parenting Prodigals and Phil Waldrep you can visit his website at www.philwaldrep.org

Have a great weekend!