A Prodigal's Heartfelt Prayer for Her Prodigals

Introduction

Recently someone asked me if I would assist in leading an informal, online chat that pertained to a book titled Prayers and Promises, by Robert J. Morgan. Because the topic of prodigals is close to my heart, I knew immediately the answer was yes. This article shares notes from that presentation.

It’s no accident that I met an interesting lady less than a year ago who has a remarkable success story. I will share a bit about her and her book as it shines hope into all our stories.

It is my desire that this blog will help you by sharing Scriptures, examples of success, and helpful prayers while waiting for God to move. Walk with me and discover how prayer and caring for the needs of others will bless you on this journey.

I am a Prodigal

What is a prodigal? Part of Webster’s 1828 Dictionary definition is, given to extravagant expenditures; profuse, lavish; wasteful; not frugal or economical. I don’t view myself as wasteful of money or resources in general, but I squandered something more valuable—decades of the life God gave me. I wasted years in rebellion and self-sufficiency instead of following Him.

When I was a child and even into adulthood, I was a victim of various types of abuse as many of us have been. I won’t get into those details, but I will say I didn’t trust God to take care of me. I made bad decisions, repeatedly and found myself in worse situations than before.

Like the prodigal son, I found my way back to God. I was thirty-five before I realized I needed to trust God in all things and let go of what I thought was control of my life. I relinquished certain activities and people in my life that kept me from following Him more fully. God placed believers in my life that encouraged me to read His Word, pray, and develop a relationship with Him. He continually reinforced my steps toward Him by bringing opportunities for me to serve. I am thankful that God pursued me, loved me, and worked on me for a long time. In this lengthy prayer journey for our prodigals, this gives us hope.

It isn’t easy to trust. There are days I find myself trying to take back the issues I have surrendered at His feet. Once I realize it, I ask Him to forgive me and lay it down again. I can’t identify exactly how many times I have been on my face at His feet pouring my heart out. But I do know that each time I felt His presence like a warm blanket covering me; and I didn’t want to leave that spot. Grateful for His grace, I want to tell everyone who He is and help them find their way to Him or their way back to Him.

Prayers and Promises - Rest

Prayers and Promises reminds us that God is in control. The book constantly points us to pray for our prodigals. There are a few points I will share with you from the Rest and Hope sections of the book.

What is rest? Part of the definition from Webster’s 1828 Dictionary is quiet repose; a state free from motion or disturbance; a state of reconciliation to God. In God’s Word he tells us we can come to Jesus when we need rest.

Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest.

 Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me,

for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 

For My yoke is easy and My burden is light. —Matthew 11:28-30 

Psalm 62:1-2 says, Truly my soul finds rest in God; my salvation comes from him. Truly he is my rock and my salvation; he is my fortress, I will never be shaken. When we become weary, stressed, or lose hope over our prodigals – let’s find rest in Him.

What does “resting in God” look like in your life when you're overwhelmed by your prodigal’s journey? For me, as I mentioned before, it is laying my face at His feet. It is crying tears that come without hesitation or feelings of judgement. It is surrendering everything that is hurting my heart. Any burden that I am carrying or concern for my prodigal(s), I leave it with Him. I find immediate peace, joy, hope, and freedom from these burdens. When I don’t have any words, or run out of words, I become quiet and let the Holy Spirit intercede for me. These heartfelt prayers bring me closer to my Father.

Now in the same way the Spirit also helps our weakness;

 for we do not know what to pray for 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. —Romans 8:26-27 (NASB)

This chapter reminded me that we need to trust God, remember that He is at work, that He does not slumber or sleep, and lastly that His. Plan. Will. Not. Fail.

There are many prayers offered throughout the book. Robert Morgan suggests that we use scripture to write prayers of our own. I elected Psalm 119 to create my own prayer for my prodigals. You are free to use it and insert your prodigal’s name(s)

Prayer for Prodigals from Psalm 119

Let my prodigal(s):

Walk in the law of the Lord. (vs1)

Seek You with all their hearts. (v2)

Treasure Your Word and not sin against You. (v11)

Open their eyes. (v18)

Let Your testimonies be their delight and their counsel. (v24)

Trust in Your Word and Your Truth. (v42,43)

Learn discernment. (v66)

Be revived according to Your lovingkindness. (v88)

Be kept away from evildoers. (v115)

Uphold them and keep them safe. (v117)

Let no iniquity have dominion over them. (v133)

Let them have great peace and love Your law so they do not stumble. (v165)

Let their souls live to praise You. (v175)

In Jesus’ name, Amen.

There were many references to Scripture throughout Prayers and Promises. All of them are significant and helpful, but these are the three that were most meaningful to me.

• Psalm 130–the Lord gives forgiveness and hope, and He hears us.

• Mark 10:27–everything is possible with God.

• Romans 5:3-5–tribulation produces perseverance, character, and hope.

After reading this book, I realized that God may very well be using this time of waiting to change me in some way, teach me something valuable, or place me somewhere He wants me to be—at His feet more often. Maybe He is doing the same for you. Let’s keep praying those heartfelt prayers.

It’s important for us to be aware that we have an enemy who whispers in our ears that we have failed our prodigal(s). While none of us are perfect, we love them, and we continue to pray for them. Don’t let his whispers discourage you or build a barrier between you and God. Keep praying. And then KEEP PRAYING... and then REST in the ARMS of GOD.

Even as I typed this, the devil whispered to me and tried to steal my joy. You know what I did about it? I prayed the prayer I wrote above. I reread the scriptures that give me hope, and I immediately asked two close friends to pray for me because of this persistent attack. Straight away, my burdens were lifted, and my heart was light.

Prayers and Promises – Hope

This brings me to the section on hope. Webster’s 1828 Dictionary defines hope as confidence in a future event: the highest degree of well-founded expectation of good. When we have confidence in the Lord, we are to expect good outcomes…the best outcomes!

How has hope in God sustained you during the most difficult moments with your prodigal(s)? The hope I have in the Lord leads me directly into conversations with Him and to the truth in His Word. Those two resources bring me peace that I can’t procure anywhere else.

Isaiah contains my life verse that helps me overcome hard situations, including my fear of my prodigal’s future. I repeated this Scripture many nights in my mind until I fell asleep. In Romans, we learn that we can have hope through the Holy Spirit’s power. Wow, He’s mighty. Are we allowing Him to spend time with us daily to share His capacity with us? Do you have other verses that help you have hope? I encourage you to copy these verses, or others you may know, on paper or take a picture of them and save them on your phone. You can even set up a daily reminder in your phone for the scripture to pop up.

For the Lord your God takes hold of your right hand

and says to you do not fear I will help you. —Isaiah 41:13

Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing,

so that you will abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. – Romans 15:13

To keep or restore hope follow these steps:

• Memorize and believe Scripture.

• Pray and trust God.

• Continue to pray.

• Ask others to pray.

• Pray for others.

• Know that God can providentially orchestrate events to accomplish His purposes.

  
  

Be patient with your prodigal(s). Maturity, recovery, and rehabilitation are processes that take time. Philippians 1:6 says – being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ.

There was an example shared in the book that demonstrates a mom who did not give up. Her daughter became a satanist. She loved her daughter, so she prayed relentlessly. Then she prayed more. She asked her friends to pray. She reminded them to pray more. In God’s perfect timing He orchestrated events that brought this young woman back to Him. Her daughter gave up this lifestyle and submitted to the Lord. Hallelujah.

Interesting Lady

Last year, in Florida, at my first writer’s conference, I met Carol Kent, who is an international speaker and author of more than thirty books. I completed her speaker certification class this year and saw her again at the Blue Ridge Mountains Christian Writers Conference a month ago. Each time she glows with the love of Jesus for everyone around her.

One of her books, titled When I Lay My Isaac Down, is about circumstances that could have ripped her faith to shreds. She and her husband, Gene, received a call one night just after midnight to inform them that their son, Jason, had been arrested for murder. I won’t get into the whole story –buy her book! I will say that she and Gene, instead of wallowing in misery for life, like I might have, held onto their faith, and created a ministry for God called Speak Up for Hope.

The Kents witness and take care packages to the prisoners. They do the same for prisoners’ families. All the while they give glory to God. It is remarkable how God used them in this situation. Learn more about their ministry and their story here: https://speakupforhope.org/

This link will take you to a touching letter written by a mother, whose son is in prison, and who received a hope box from Speak Up for Hope. https://speakupforhope.org/boxes-of-hope/  If you or someone you know is in prison who needs encouragement, please contact Speak Up for Hope. This link will take you to their contact page. https://speakupforhope.org/contact-us/

When we get discouraged, let’s think about the confidence we can have, knowing God can use us and our prodigals to reach others for His kingdom. That’s uplifting.

Prayer

Father God, I pray that You will reveal what we need to know, when we need to know it, and when we don’t know—help us find our rest and hope in You. Help us trust You. Thank You Father. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

About the writer

I created a website this year called Praying Prodigals www.praying-prodigals.com. It is my hope that those who have lost their way, have never found their way, or are praying for someone who is a prodigal, will find encouragement from stories, blogs, music selections, and voice recordings. If you have a prayer request for a prodigal, send a message to https://www.praying-prodigals.com/contact

© Lisa Pritchard, 2025