Hope for Prodigals

Probation!One of the best things that happened to our son was to be put on probation for two years for a minor incident.  The consequences were much greater than the offense.But it was an answer to prayer that we could never have anticipated.  We had prayed that he would receive some real-life accountability for some of his poor choices in his late teens.  Two years of probation put the fear of jail in him.  Every time he was tempted to make another bad choice, he stopped to think about the possibility of getting caught.That was one of many answers to prayers prayed on a June 2 Worldwide Day of Prayer for Prodigals.  For the past 7 years, every June 2, many hundreds of people from around the world have joined together in a day of prayer for those who are walking away from God.The objective of this day is to come together before God to petition Him for the redemption, restoration, deliverance of those we love. Most often these prodigals are our children, but they might also be grandchildren, a spouse, parents, relatives, friends, coworkers or anyone we care about.Our theme this year is GRACE.  In the weeks leading up to June 2, we will be looking at the GRACE God offers those of us who love prodigals, and our prodigals.  Our theme verse:   Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need. (Hebrews 4:16)And you can join us.  We are compiling a list of first names for whom prayer has been requested, which will be posted on our Prayer for Prodigals site.  You can submit as many names for prayer as you desire.  Feel free to tell many others about this special day. In just six years this has grown to include thousands of pray-ers around the world.You don’t have to join our prayer community to pray, or to submit names.  But to access the list, to post specific requests or to browse through our many resources, you will need to join PrayerforProdigals.com.For June 2, you can download and print out the list of hundreds of first names. Specific requests will be available at the Prayer Center, but we will use this list on this day. You can pray by yourself or gather with others in your church or neighborhood. You can pray for all the list or a few of the list. You can pray for an hour, several hours or all day. You can choose to fast or not.Whether or not you have a prodigal in your life, I hope you will join us in praying for the return of those on a destructive path.  And if you do love a prodigal, you will find encouragement and help and hope in our community.Write us at prayerforprodigals@gmail.com to submit a name/request or to join our community.What about you?  Do you love a prodigal we can pray for?C2012 Judy Douglass