Praying For Prodigals

Encouraging prayer, God offers an open invitation for his people to talk with him at any time 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 now we're doing a bit of a long distance and they James the airport in Dallas today. So what are you doing there while I'm on the way to Little Rock Arkansas word tomorrow Saturday seminar on praying for prodigal to the church there. You do this kind of thing fairly frequently. You travel around the country speaking to those Protocols in their lives, encouraging in them in prayer and also add that he that you love to do this right.

I really do because you know when you're the parent of a prodigal, it can seem like hope is in short supply, but never the case of God and when we pray together and gather around his word, we find strength that we never knew was there. So this is really an important thing for the parents, prodigal's to do you know this really from a personal experience, you and your wife Carrie have lived that life of watching and praying actually groups for prodigal to come home and you seen God do amazing things and answers that yes we have told the story many times before, but for those maybe you don't know what are our son wrestled with an addiction to opiates and here when for several years and you know then the Lord set them free and youth pastor, something I never would've imagined but God and and Jeff and I love to travel and speak together and share what got us down.

So sometimes we do that together today I'm just going going that on my own. You and Jeff also just finished a block right together. Hope lies ahead, I think is a title which comes out in April of next year. Right. That's right. It was a great project to work on because we we walk through that whole time. You know when he was on a prodigal path. Each of us sharing a chapter giving a kind of split screen approach of the road into addiction and then what God did to to bring them out of it and it you know it's it was hard to write but you know where I hope this will help a lot of people. So let's talk more about uniting in prayer for prodigal's like you do with these conference rights.

That is got to be a powerful thing really is knowing his book pressuring Fred fired him similar talk about a prayer meeting where the whole church interceded for his daughter Chrissy and God use that to bring her home to him and she literally returned to God, but very weak and Jesus taught very clearly that our prayers together are a powerful thing and just, you know, just imagine what when you the parable prodigal. You cry out to God, and you often feel alone and you need others to come alongside you and and and to join you in your prayers. And this is where the members of the body really build each other up and also learn from each other. You know you draw from the faith of that of the person. For example, you know that parenting went through the same thing years ago and found God's way through it and give such solid encouragement just from the way they pray. I'm reminded of something you told me this telegram said once you love one prodigal you love all pockets yeah I love that that's been my experience to know people pray for each other with such understanding and loving, compassionate, awesome, and you know no one can pray for prodigal like mom or dad and you really got it working this and people come away. Encouragement power to keep going no matter what they're facing. Seen God do such powerful things as a result, James would really recommend this for the person who's praying for prodigal with absolutely you know whether or not they can go to a seminar find a prayer partner, someone who you know is going to be faithful and pray just for that, dear one, you know that you're praying for every day several times a day and ideally another parent of the same gender who has a son or daughter about the same ages as your own, and check in with each other every week so you can give each other updates and you know it also helps to know that that someone else is carrying the burdens. So do you recommend that folks were doing this.

Pray aloud together.

Most of the time not to be doing that.

Of course, because you're praying on your own, but when you get together to give each other updates definitely do that definitely pray together. Remember, this is about talking so much and giving each other advice you don't want to give much advice unless the other person asks for it.

God makes it really clear so this is about prayer more than anything else and you keep, you know like keep your focus right right.

Keep your focus on God, not on your problems and asking for for only you know what only he can do in and be sure to pray with faith. You know, when you pray together. All we start by emphasizing him. You know, praising him for the fact that is greater than anything you face and keep your prayers brief and to the point. All this makes me think of a path for us right.

The guy who was always wrestling in prayer for the Colossians.

All told them.

It also makes me think of government progress where people are all walking on this road together and sometimes come alongside write-off encouragement and support yeah yeah and that's also a great definition of the Holy Spirit in the New Testament you know someone who comes alongside and you know the other thing that I think about James as I know, having been your church. Many times these church in terms you guys literally take these prayer request from prodigal parents across the world and have a board for them right there at your church yeah we do. I mean we know we lift them up at our prayer meetings and we got another separate prayer team that you know, pray for them and this is such an important thing to us because we got to do it. We've got to help each other and love each other with our prayers presence than good to be with you on the road to the celestial city, not Dallas or Little Rock but those lands so let's wrap up by praying for the conference and also for listeners. Jesus, thank you for what I just allowed in James and Jeff's life that that that that they would have this opportunity to pray with others and have breakthrough so that they could continue to give hope to those of us who still have prodigal's out there, and I pray that someone out there has some encouragement today to reach out to grab hold of somebody else's hand lock shields of faith with that person and begin to raise their son or daughter bring more shields of faith into their circle and and perhaps even reach out to peace church, wherever you leap in Lord, we thank you for James in this passion that you've given the prayer prayer man in Jesus name I pray, amen.

Hey man hear more from Pastor James by visiting the website James Banks.org or by visiting peace church in Durham, North Carolina.

May God bless you and encourage you as you pray