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followthelamb
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 A Mother's Persevering Prayer (for parents of prodigals)

"It is in Christ Jesus that God has revealed how completely the power of sin and Satan has been broken. It is in Christ Jesus that God has shown us what it is possible for His grace to do. It is in Christ Jesus, too, we must seek for the answer to every question of a parent’s heart. And as it is His earthly life in which we have revealed all that the unseen Father and He now too in His exaltation, are willing to do for us, so there we must find what a parent may hope for from His mighty saving power on behalf of a wandering child.

As we study this carefully, we shall be surprised to find how many of the most precious and encouraging words of Christ in regard to faith have been spoken to parents in reference to their children. `Fear not, only believe;’ `All things are possible to him that believeth;’ `O woman, great is thy faith: be it unto thee even as thou wilt.’ Such words, which have countless times been the strength and comfort of the penitent seeking pardon, or the believer pleading for some spiritual blessing, are in the first place the parent’s property; the blessed assurance that there is no case in which a child, now in Satan’s power, is beyond the reach of a Savior’s love and a parent’s faith. Let us see how wonderfully this will come out in the well known story of the Syrophenician mother, as we think of her daughter’s misery, her prayer’s refusal, her faith’s perseverance, and her rich reward.

Her daughter’s misery. `My daughter is grievously vexed with a devil: How many a mother is there who has to pray this prayer for a child possessed with an evil spirit far more terrible than that of which we read there. In this case it was more sickness than sin, it was the power of Satan in the body more than the soul. But, alas! how many of the grown-up children of Christian parents there are who are under the power of Satan, given up to pleasure or worldliness, to self-will or to sin. Let our story encourage them to believe that, however hopeless their case appears, there is One who is mighty to save, the parent’s Friend, the children’s Redeemer. Let them come to Him with their need, and cry out in prayer, `My child is grievously vexed with a devil.’ Let them make full confession of their child’s lost estate.

Beware of excusing their sin by the thought of what is good or loveable about them, or by laying the blame on circumstances or companions. Bring them to Christ, and say it out that they are lost, under the power of Satan, that they have deserved and are on their way to be with him forever. Hide not their wretchedness. Ask not only that they may be saved and made happy and taken to heaven. Ask nothing less than that they may turn from the power of Satan unto God, that they may be translated from the power of darkness to the kingdom of God’s dear Son. Ask that they may be born again, changed from being the children of the devil and enemies of God to be His friends and children. Honor God by confessing their sin fully and clearly, and acknowledging His righteous judgment; ask distinctly and definitely for a full salvation.

Her prayer’s refusal is the second lesson this woman has to teach us. Christ appeared to turn a deaf ear to her prayer. At first He did not answer her a word. When He did speak, His answer was worse than His silence; it cut off all hope. He was not sent to the heathen. A second answer, given as she had come nearer and had again worshiped Him, saying, Lord, help me! appeared to heap contempt on her misfortune: she was not only a heathen, but a dog. A true picture of what passes in the heart of many a pleading parent! They hear of Christ’s love and power, and begin to pray with great urgency. But He answers not a word: there is no sign of thought or change on the part of the lost one. Still they pray, and it is as if the power of sin grows stronger, and the loved one only wanders farther off. Conscience begins to speak of parental sin and unworthiness. Others, who are holier, and have more power with God, may be heard: how can we expect that God should work a miracle for us? And the parent settles down in a quiet despondency, or a vague hope that tries to shut its eyes to its own wretchedness. Oh, the dark, heartrending uncertainty as to the salvation of that child!

Her faith and perseverance. It is for this specially that the mother’s example is held up to us. She refused to be denied. She met silence and argument and contempt alike with one weapon — more prayer, more trust. She had heard of the wondrous Man and His compassion; she saw it in His face; she heard it even in the voice that refused her; she would not believe He could send her away empty. She hoped against hope; she believed against appearances, and, what is more, against His very words; she believed and she triumphed. And now, mother! you who are pleading for your prodigal child, you have her example. And not only her example, but a thousand words of promise, and a revelation of the Father’s will and the Savior’s power and love such as she never had. Let her faith and perseverance put your unbelief to shame. In the face of all appearances and all doubts, let your faith rise and claim the promise of an answer to prayer in the name of Jesus.

Yield yourself to the Holy Spirit to have everything searched out and brought to the light that you must confess and cast out. Trust not to the fervency of your desires or the wrestling urgency of your petition; seek your strength in God’s promise and faithfulness, in His power and love. Let the soul, in restful deliberate confidence in Jesus, praise Him for His promise and His power to save. In this confidence let nothing shake you from the continuous and persevering prayer of faith. The prayer of faith is always heard.

The wondrous blessing she obtained is for us too. There was not only her daughter’s deliverance from this grievous trouble; there was something almost better — a spiritual blessing — our Lord’s delighted approval of her faith: `O woman, great is thy faith! be it unto thee even as thou wilt.’ Yes, it is in the earnest, believing supplication for a child that the parent’s heart can be drawn out toward the Lord, can learn to know and trust Him aright, can rise to that insight into His love which is most pleasing to Him, and bring down into the soul the consciousness of His good pleasure.

Mother, who are pleading for loved ones far from the fold, come nearer, come nearer to Jesus. He is able, indeed, to save them. He waits for your faith to take hold of His strength, to accept their salvation. Oh, let not your child perish, because you refuse to come and take time with Him, until His love has inspired you with faith. Mother! come nearer, tarry with Jesus in prayer, trust Him: your child can be saved.

Blessed Lord Jesus! I, too, like the Syrophenician woman, have a child grievously vexed with a devil. Like her I come pleading, `Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David.’

O Lord! I would confess the sin of my child. You know it all: unconverted, and an enemy to You by nature, he has rejected Your love, to choose the world and sin. I confess my sin, too, Lord! You know how bitter the thought is, that, had my life been less in the world and the flesh, purer and holier, more full of faith and of love and of You, my child might have grown up differently. Lord! in deep sorrow I confess my sin; oh, let not my child perish, Son of David! have mercy on me.

Blessed Lord! I put my trust in You. I look in faith to Your Almighty power; the things that are impossible with man are possible with God. I look in faith to Your promise to hear prayer. Lord, I believe You hear me; help my unbelief. I lay this perishing child at Your feet, and plead Your love. Savior! I do believe in Your love, and claim deliverance for my child. In this faith I will praise You for Your grace. I will tarry at Your feet day by day in the rest of faith, praising You, and looking out for Your fulfilment. Make haste, O my Lord, for Your name’s sake. Amen."

- Andrew Murray


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SI Moderator - Brandy Gordon

 2016/12/2 22:07Profile
leyoung
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Joined: 2016/11/15
Posts: 282


 Re: A Mother's Persevering Prayer (for parents of prodigals)

Thank you for posting. I get so weary praying for my children but this helped me to refresh my hope.
Sis L


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Leslie

 2016/12/3 10:08Profile









 Re: A Mother's Persevering Prayer (for parents of prodigals)

So encouraging! Thank you for sharing. With God all things are possible. It is impossible to please God without Faith.

 2016/12/3 12:25









 Re:

Brilliant, thank you...I posted this on Facebook and it has resonated with many people.

Keep this in mind when you post these things that even if few people respond you are being used of the lord when it is then spread a wider audience on social media.

One man wrote this on my facebook page:
"This post shows up in my feed shortly after having cried out to God, and I beg Him to show me how to pray for my son's salvation differently! I'm humbled as always and oh so grateful to our Heavenly Father who loves us so!"

So you see how God used you in this sister? Amazing!!!

 2016/12/3 17:30









 Re:

I wrote down this vision I had many years ago and have shared it many times with prodigal parents.............

Luk 15:24 for this my son was dead and is alive again, he was lost and is found.

Have you ever prayed for a loved one for a long time? You pray and trust in the Lord and you actually see that person getting worse, going from one bad decision to another. You talk to them and you share with them and you try to council them and convince them that everything they need, the answer to their deepest problems lie with the Lord Jesus.

The deeper the trouble they get into, the more desperate we become some times in sharing Jesus. And yet, the greater their need, the greater their rejection of you and the truth that you hold out to them. You see them going down and you know in your heart that this beautiful light that is within you would be the answer to their seeming hopelessness and despair, and still they reject you. I would like to encourage every brother and sister that is in that category today.

This morning I saw an image of my son, call it a vision, call it a dream, be very cynical and call it wishful thinking if you like. Yet in my vision I saw my son standing beside me at a bible study. I was introducing the men to my son.

I was telling them how I had held him up in the air when he was less than a week old and that I had dedicated him to God, even although I myself had walked away from God at that point.

I was sharing how at the age of seven my son gave his heart to the Lord. And up to the age of 13 how we would walk to a home group together in the warm summer evenings and talk about the Lord and how exciting the prospect of Him perhaps coming back soon. I shared how that my son went into middle school and was bullied. How he went of the rails and I lost my son.

We did not speak any more, just scream at each other. How he ran away at 16 and I found myself outside a house in , where he supposedly had stayed a few nights, challenging the man inside to come out and fight with curses. How this was the lowest point of my Christianity and that I had, for a moment, reverted back to a life that I had long ago left behind because everything was spinning out of my control.

How I got back home and fell to my knees, completely broken and cried out to God. How the Lord whispered to me , “let Him go Frank, give him to me, you just speak life into him.” How the Lord asked me this question “What would have happened if the prodigal Father had not let the prodigal son go?” Giving me no answer, but the answer came from the Spirit within. I shared how my sons life got worse after I handed him over to Jesus.

So many times tempted to doubt the Lord but never gave into the doubt. So many times having to ignore what was happening in the natural and trust the Lord that He was in charge and that there was movement in the spiritual.

Then in my vision I was standing on an airfield. It was WW11. Thirty planes had went on the bombing mission, 23 had came back, six had been reported to have been destroyed, and the last one was unaccounted for.

The last one was my son. I stood on the airfield with many, just staring into the skies above. Straining to see any sight of the bomber. There was nothing. One by one the people that were looking walked away until I looked around and I stood alone in the field. I kept straining my eyes, yet there was nothing.

At a certain point a friend came out and looked at his watch, he said “Frank, they would have ran out of fuel 20 minutes ago, cmon, its time to go.” I told him to go on in, I would be there soon. When he left, the silence and the loneliness overwhelmed me. I just fell to my knees and cried out to God.

Now it wasn’t even humanly possible for my son to return. And as I lay there on the grass, I heard a very faint noise. My intellect told me that my mind was playing tricks on me. Yet, the noise got a little louder. I looked up but I could not see anything. There was clouds and darkness and nothing.

Yet the noise remained, I strained my eyes again, hoping against hope, faith fighting against unbelief and there it was, only a speck in the distance, but it was certainly a plane. It was my plane , it was my son, and against all the odds and even the laws of physics, here comes the plane.

It is battered and torn and only one of the props was working, but it was his plane and he was coming home. All those who had left the field were now back and were screaming and shouting with joy. Miraculously, even although all hope had been lost and all had given up, including myself, here came my son and the plane landed even although it was almost completely destroyed by the flack.

Now I am back at the mens meeting. And I say “This is my son who was dead but is alive again , he was lost but now is found.”

So many times we have to come to the end of ourselves and that is where the Lord steps in. And when He does, then all the glory will be His.

Perhaps you find yourself alone in the field of life today? Can I encourage you, you are not alone. Yes there will be times when every one you know will not stand with you, that things seem impossible, that you have come to the end of yourself, but do you know who you will meet when you arrive “at the end of yourself,?” yes, Jesus.

Keep staring at the skies for that field is a field of hope. Our God is bigger than all that we can see. He sees what we cannot. Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. All things are possible. Rest in hope, rejoice in hope, let expectancy do its work. He is pleased with our faith, and He is pleased when we come to Him and believe that all things are possible, it is in this diligence that we will find our reward.......bro Frank

 2016/12/3 21:30
mama27
Member



Joined: 2010/11/20
Posts: 1482


 Re:

I too, get so weary of praying for my children. This really blessed me. Thank you to all who shared.

 2016/12/3 23:58Profile





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