Prayer and Prodigals

Subject:  The Link Between Our Prayers and Our Prodigals Salvation

by Rick Welborne

Luke 15:1132 (NKJV) 

11 Then He said: "A certain man had two sons. 

12 And the younger of them said to his father, 'Father, give me the portion of goods that falls to me.' So he divided to them his livelihood. 

13 And not many days after, the younger son gathered all together, journeyed to a far country, and there wasted his possessions with prodigal living. 

14 But when he had spent all, there arose a severe famine in that land, and he began to be in want. 

15 Then he went and joined himself to a citizen of that country, and he sent him into his fields to feed swine. 

16 And he would gladly have filled his stomach with the pods that the swine ate, and no one gave him anything. 

17 But when he came to himself, he said, 'How many of my father's hired servants have bread enough and to spare, and I perish with hunger! 

18 I will arise and go to my father, and will say to him, "Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you, 

19 and I am no longer worthy to be called your son. Make me like one of your hired servants." ' 

20 And he arose and came to his father. But when he was still a great way off, his father saw him and had compassion, and ran and fell on his neck and kissed him. 

21 And the son said to him, 'Father, I have sinned against heaven and in your sight, and am no longer worthy to be called your son.' 

22 But the father said to his servants, 'Bring out the best robe and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand and sandals on his feet. 

23 And bring the fatted calf here and kill it, and let us eat and be merry; 

24 for this my son was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.' And they began to be merry. 

1. The reason the son (the prodigal) came to his senses.

A. Do you suppose the father was bombarding heaven every day for his son?

--I am so afraid that we have lost the art of intercession…the art of travail in prayer.  When we have a prodigal on the edge of destruction, violent prayers are needed.

Matthew 11:12 (NKJV)
¹²  And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffers violence, and the violent take it by force.

--There needs to be the attitude in prayer…Satan, you will not have my son or my daughter.  You will release them and they will be free.

--Heaven should be stirred with prayer that is powerful and effective.

James 5:16 (NIV)
¹⁶  Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective. 

B. Do you just suppose he had others praying for him?

--Stop being embarrassed that you have prodigals in your life…unless you are an anomaly, we all have prodigals.

--Get over your pride and ask others to pray.  They are not prodigals because of you, they are prodigals because of their bad choices.

--Could we have done better, of course, but they still had the choice to walk away.  Ask God to forgive you, ask others to pray with you, and let’s get them back. 

C. Do you think there were times in corporate worship that his name was brought up?

--Tonight we need to call out their names and agree for their salvation.

Matthew 18:19-20 (NIV)
¹⁹  "Again, I tell you that if two of you on earth agree about anything you ask for, it will be done for you by my Father in heaven.
²⁰  For where two or three come together in my name, there am I with them."

--God is with us…Jesus is for us…Holy Spirit is filling us…let us agree that from the north, south, east, and west they will be released and come home to the Lord.

D. Do you suppose along with the prayer that the Holy Spirit was using the circumstances he was going thru to wake him up?  

--Broke, busted, and disgusted! We should not always bail out our prodigals when they are in trouble.

--Do not be shocked that as you pray for them that things will tend to get worse…do not panic God is at work.  This portion of scripture scares us but hear the principle to be implemented.

1 Corinthians 5:4-5 (NCV)
⁴  When you meet together in the name of our Lord Jesus, and I meet with you in spirit with the power of our Lord Jesus,
⁵  then hand this man over to Satan. So his sinful self will be destroyed, and his spirit will be saved on the day of the Lord.

--This reminds us of an Old Testament principle that when God’s people turn their back on Him He turns them over to their enemies…why?  So they will repent and come home.

--The most important news of all is this…they will be saved on the Day of the Lord!

E. Do you suppose he got his fill of what the world had to offer...pig slop!  He hit bottom!

--Unfortunately, there are some who do not learn from others mistakes…they, for whatever reason, ignore the consequences they see others go thru.

--The big lie…I can handle it…I won’t be addicted…I won’t mess up…I won’t go thru what they are going thru!

Famous last words.  Satan laughs at our naivety. 

--Another big lie…the devil wants us to believe that we are being left out…we are missing out on life that is fun and full.  Adam and Eve bought into this lie.

John 10:10 (NKJV)
¹⁰  The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.

Proverbs 14:11-12 (NIV)
¹¹  The house of the wicked will be destroyed, but the tent of the upright will flourish.
¹²  There is a way that seems right to a man, but in the end it leads to death. 

2. The revelation that woke him (the prodigal) up.

Luke 15:17 (NIV)
¹⁷  "When he came to his senses, he said, 'How many of my father's hired men have food to spare, and here I am starving to death!

--Here is the problem with most prodigals…they have forgotten who their Father is.  They have forgotten that life was so much better when they served God.

--They have forgotten that, even though mom and dad were not perfect, they had my good in mind. 

--A big part of our prayer for them tonight and every day is that they will come to their senses. There needs to be an awakening in their hearts and lives.

--One time I had to clarify to a parent who was concerned about praying for the prodigals to come home… they said I want them saved but not to come home with me. Ok, let’s say they come home to the Lord.

--As we pray for the prodigals, God can reveal to them that even the least in God’s Kingdom have it better than they do…they have food to spare and here I am starving physically, spiritually, and emotionally.

--If we keep bailing them out, why do they need to change and how will they ever come to their senses…James Dobson calls this tough love…Our Marine Jeremy!

3. The repentant heart that brought him (the prodigal) home.

Luke 15:18-24 (NKJV)
¹⁸  I will arise and go to my father, and will say to him, "Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you,
¹⁹  and I am no longer worthy to be called your son. Make me like one of your hired servants." ' 

²⁰  And he arose and came to his father. But when he was still a great way off, his father saw him and had compassion, and ran and fell on his neck and kissed him.
²¹  And the son said to him, 'Father, I have sinned against heaven and in your sight, and am no longer worthy to be called your son.'
²²  But the father said to his servants, 'Bring out the best robe and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand and sandals on his feet.
²³  And bring the fatted calf here and kill it, and let us eat and be merry;
²⁴  for this my son was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.' And they began to be merry.

--I will arise and go…the same will that made him walk away is now being implemented to bring him home. 

--I have sinned against God and you…true repentance recognizes the hurt and pain that was caused.

--There seems to be a big argument about this…true repentance meant he knew he was not worthy. I am no longer worthy.  Our worthiness is what God puts on us not what we put on ourselves.

--The beauty of this story is the Father is waiting, He is watching, and He is wanting for them to come home. When they do it is time to celebrate!