Any one of us can be a Prodigal. We need to pray for ourselves sometimes as well as the others in our lives who are following their own way instead of our LORD God in His truth.
We may have a friend who is a Prodigal, or a son or a daughter, a spouse, a mother, a father, an Aunt, an Uncle, Grandma, Grandpa....
This important list can be endless!
When any one of our own precious people become wayward from the LORD it is personal to us and heart-wrenching!
We can PRAY and PRAY and PRAY......
The LORD certainly hears our cries!
Psalm 34:4, 15
"I sought the Lord,
and He answered me,
And delivered me from all my fears.
The eyes of the Lord are toward the righteous
And His ears are open to their cry."
Psalm 40:1
"I waited patiently for the Lord;
And He inclined to me and heard my cry.
Eventually our cries to God can become so huge and so deep inside of us that they are simply groans which only the Holy Spirit can interpret. We may become discouraged, but we only need to remember that the LORD God hears our cries even if we can not express them the way we desire.
Romans 8:26-28
"In the same way the Spirit also helps our weakness;
for we do not know how to pray as we should,
but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with
groanings too deep for words;
and He who searches the hearts
knows what the mind of the Spirit is,
because He intercedes for the saints
according to the will of God.
And we know that God causes all things
to work together for good to those who love God,
to those who are called according to His purpose."
No matter where you are in your agonies and in your praying for your Prodigals you can find solace in His precious Word.
*Continue to RUN to HIM!* He is our safety even when our world seemingly is falling apart!
Psalm18:1-6
“I love You, O Lord, my strength.”
The Lord is my rock and my fortress
and my deliverer, My God, my rock,
in whom I take refuge;
My shield and the horn of my salvation,
my stronghold.
I call upon the Lord,
who is worthy to be praised,
And I am saved from my enemies.
The cords of death encompassed me,
And the torrents of ungodliness terrified me.
The cords of Sheol surrounded me;
The snares of death confronted me.
In my distress I called upon the Lord,
And cried to my God for help;
He heard my voice out of His temple,
And my cry for help before Him came into His ears."
Psalm 118:1-9
"For His lovingkindness is everlasting.
Oh let Israel say,
“His lovingkindness is everlasting.”
Oh let the house of Aaron say,
“His lovingkindness is everlasting.”
Oh let those who fear the Lord say,
“His lovingkindness is everlasting.”
From my distress I called upon the Lord;
The Lord answered me
and set me in a large place.
The Lord is for me; I will not fear;
What can man do to me?
The Lord is for me among those who help me;
Therefore I will look with satisfaction
on those who hate me.
It is better to take refuge in the Lord
than to trust in man.
It is better to take refuge in the Lord
than to trust in princes."
We are to be in His Word everyday, but life overwhelms us and sometimes reading His Word is pushed to the sidelines.
Reading His Word needs to be a staple in our diet!
*All of Psalm 119
(you will find it divided into 8 verses in each section, it is an excellent read!)
"How blessed are those whose way is blameless,
Who walk in the law of the Lord.
How blessed are those who observe His testimonies,
Who seek Him with all their heart.
They also do no unrighteousness;
They walk in His ways.
You have ordained Your precepts,
That we should keep them diligently.
Oh that my ways may be established
To keep Your statutes!
Then I shall not be ashamed
When I look upon all Your commandments.
I shall give thanks to You with uprightness of heart,
When I learn Your righteous judgments.
I shall keep Your statutes;
Do not forsake me utterly!..."
When those we love choose a wayward path we are beside ourselves!
Anxiety, anxiousness, fears, worry, concern, grief, despair, hopelessness, agonies, etc. begin to rule our very being. Our whole aim is "them" and what can we do to help them, change them....
I would counsel that we can do what we can, and then we need to allow the LORD to do His work in them. The LORD God Almighty knows their situation completely. He is the One who can work in them and in His right timing.
This does NOT mean we just give up on our wayward loved ones.
We can choose to continue to read God's Word, we can pray for our Waywards, and we need to live one day at a time for the LORD.
FYI: Living one day at a time for Him is what we are suppose to do every day no matter if we have strive or not!
How do we live for Him when we are in such agonies?!
We must live in HIS JOY! We need to find our own safety in Him. We need to learn to rest in Him while we wait. Waiting can take a lifetime. Are you willing to live your life for the LORD while you wait for His right timing with your Waywards?
Living right now, every day, every moment for the LORD is worth it!
Don't wait until your Waywards turn around! We have our very own lives to live for Him! Let us glorify God right now, every moment because we love Him more than life itself!
Our lives should be a beautiful fragrance to the LORD no matter if we are happy as can be or living in agonies.
Philippians 4:4-9
"Rejoice in the Lord always;
again I will say, rejoice!
Let your gentle spirit be known
to all men. The Lord is near.
Be anxious for nothing,
but in everything by prayer
and supplication with thanksgiving
let your requests be made known to God.
And the peace of God,
which surpasses all comprehension,
will guard your hearts and your minds
in Christ Jesus.
Finally, brethren,
whatever is true,
whatever is honorable,
whatever is right,
whatever is pure,
whatever is lovely,
whatever is of good repute,
if there is any excellence
and if anything worthy of praise,
dwell on these things.
The things you have learned
and received
and heard
and seen in me,
practice these things,
and the God of peace will be with you."
and again:
Psalm 40:1-4
"I waited patiently for the Lord;
And He inclined to me
and heard my cry.
He brought me up out of
the pit of destruction,
out of the miry clay,
And He set my feet upon a rock
making my footsteps firm.
He put a new song in my mouth,
a song of praise to our God;
Many will see and fear
And will trust in the Lord.
How blessed is the man
who has made the Lord his trust,
And has not turned to the proud,
nor to those who lapse into falsehood."
*
Let we who are so broken
because of our Waywards
be a beautiful fragrance
to our wonderful LORD God!
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3 comments:
Oh Jill,
What an amazing word from your heart! I’m sure the enemy of our souls would want to pull your thoughts downward and fill them with discouragement. Praying for loved ones who have wandered away is gut wrenching. You offer God’s remedy....His Word in our hearts and staying close to Jesus in our prayers. His arm is outstretched to those we love and He wants them in the fold even more than we do. May you and I and other praying sisters have the joy of seeing our prayers answered....soon. Keep looking up! <*(((><.
Oops! Forgot to sign my name on the earlier post,
Kathryn
Oh, Kathryn, thank you.
Gut-Wrenching is the perfect word.
It is certainly the LORD working in me.
His Word is our all in all!
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