Praying God's Word for your Prodigal

Encouraging prayer, God offers open imitation for his people to talk with him anytime about anything encouraging prayer Dr. James Banks, author of the best-selling and many other books on prayer provides weekly biblical insight help you learn to love and valve day out and talk about thing that so this is one that is near and dear to your heart is in it.

I will not talk about praying for probables. This really is an important topic probably could not just for me but for so many of our listeners. If you have a problem in your life. You know how difficult that can be usually think about the prodigal son or daughter, but it could be a parent or spouse or a friend, probably someone who is running from God needs to come home to him. Some of our listeners may know that you've written a best-selling book about this prayer from Chronicles and you wrote it out of personal experience so can you tell us more. Will do a really hard time with her kids and we got to the place where we realize that, try as hard as we might. We couldn't change their hearts. You know you do everything that you can you get to the point where you realize only God could do that and and it's hard to stay focused when you're emotionally exhausted and feeling like a failure. So I found myself just know writing down some of my prayers and and anchoring them as best I could to the word of God because you and myself. I have nothing. So that's one of the way you ways that you learn to pray for particles right with your Bible) from yet that's right because God has a way of meeting us in his word. Unlike any other place and at that time. I just learned something from from Charles Spurgeon about praying God's word and he said that the prayer you promised. Actually, he said, thou satirists, but you promised is one of the most vital ways you can pray, so you found yourself looking for promises in God's word and sort of praying them back to him. That's part of it.

Psalms are full of references like that. For example someone of 317 tells us that the Lord's love is with those who fear him, and his righteousness is with their children's children. What you could pray that you know and you could see all kinds of scriptural references that talk about God's faithfulness to all generations.

In first Corinthians 714 tells us that the children of believers are set apart or holy as some translations put it in. You may not understand what all of that means, but again, you can pray that in and say Lord show me what this means one thing we do know it means is, is that our children matter to God he's got of generations of families and were praying for our loved ones to come to him. We can be assured that were praying for something that that matters more to him even than it does to us. Regardless of where they've been, or or what they've done. He loves them.

If you think about it, the very reason Jesus came first Timothy 115 says he came into the world to save sinners exactly known Paulette for that which I'm very worried important to sort this out because so often the parents of prodigal's can feel like failures like I mentioned yell at me. If only I done something differently and this is made more difficult by the fact that let's face it, if you haven't had a prodigal or you haven't been one. It's very difficult to place yourself in their skins and and people can be judgmental without even meaning to an end.

If you're not careful you know you can feel as if the parent of a prodigal. For example, God is condemning you and your prodigal and that can keep you from praying. There's a lot going on there cancer particles often feel alone and I really do.

You can feel like you're the only one in the world going through this with the truth is there are so many that that's something obscene is administered to the parents of Chronicles all over the country. You see people listening to others in the room and sing while I I have no idea someone else is going to exactly the same thing. I have and that really helps to know because then you can pray for each other in a fresh way and you can carry each other's burdens talks more about praying the word of God for particles.

What are some of the other things that help with her so many passages you can pray you know you can pray the 23rd Psalm and what you're doing it just, you know, pray Lord I want you to be my son's Shepherd. I want you to to to do this. You don't just print your way through it or there are so many passages like first Corinthians 13 the love chapter, Lord, please let this love grow in their lives in and God will meet you there and encourage you when you pray his word like that. So read and pray, read and pray. Yes yes pray this, the prayers of Scripture like Ephesians 314 and 21 and as you pray it, insert your child's name, you know, just go there. Wherever your reading and God moves your heart. Take that verse and turn it into prayer using the power praying that way. I know because you know I talked with your son just recently entirely through God's mercy and and we write about that Jeff and I in the new book. Hope lies ahead. And by the way, that just wanted audio version and you know he he would tell you that he wouldn't be alive if not for our prayers.

James what you say to the person who says you can't name it and claim it.

Your kids, your prodigal's were going to make their own choices and they have to come to God of their own free will.

I agree with that as a matter fact I got a note from a reader about that. Just this past week.

She was basically saying how can I pray for this, knowing that some of pray for their kids and and they haven't come home and what you say that in my response was that we have to pray with faith. After all, what's the alternative. We know it's not naming it and claiming it but James 17 warns us against praying and doubting that whatever were praying for will happen you know and I can tell you that in my own experience. God has been so merciful even to my weakness when I pray.

Jesus said, even a small amount of faith like a mustard seed can move mountains and if I can just say I don't have much, but I have that got a little bit and I Can Pl. in God's hands. That's when miracles happen, so I have a responsibility to pray God gave me this loved one for reason puts them on my heart for a purpose.

I need to give myself to bat for him and and to pray with passion for that you may be the only one the only one praying in in a prodigal's life and if you don't pray who will so if if I don't see something happening worth the very opposite of what I'm asking for seems to happen. I'm not keep praying. I'm gonna pray as long as I live because it could even be after him in heaven that I see the answer come James.

I was feeling this is to be helpful for a lot of people. Would you close out our time by praying for our particles. Let's do it.

Lord you know you know all of the Lord your arm is not too short to save health blessed and safe. Bring them. We ask this in faith in Jesus name, amen. Hear more from Pastor James by visiting the website James Banks.org or by visiting these church in Durham, North Carolina. May God bless you and encourage you to pray