Treasures from the Wilderness 2: Praying without Ceasing

Once a month I write a letter to the wonderful Prayer for Prodigals community I am part of.  Often those letters, though specific to those who love a prodigal, apply to any or all of us in the challenging circumstances of life. 

We have now entered into spirit and heart preparation for the June 2 Worldwide Prodigal Prayer Day. Each week we will be going to God’s Word with open spirits and hearts to hear from Him, to be ready to enter into the battle for the souls of the wanderers we love. Our theme this year is Treasures in the Wilderness. 

Dear Lover of Prodigals,

I know you pray. I am sure you pray often for your love done.

I also pray.

As a new believer, I was blessed to learn that prayer was a conversation with God, not just a list of requests. It has for many years now been a vital part of my walk with God.

But I want to give a special thank you to our son for taking us into a much deeper and more consistent life of prayer without ceasing.

In our ministry we pray often. Certainly most of us are fairly consistent in daily times with God. Twice each year we devote a full day to prayer. We pray before, during and after our many meetings and gatherings. We pray for the world—that every person would have an opportunity to hear about and receive Jesus and to grow asa disciple and true follower of Him. We believe in and practice prayer.

But our Josh pushed us to desperation. We didn’t know how to help him through the hard things that had happened to him, or lead him to make better life choices. Nothing we tried seemed to make a difference.

So I prayed.

I found myself often on my knees, even on my face, beseeching God to step in, to intervene, to give us wisdom and patience, to capture Josh’s heart and mind.

I lamented for all the pain he had experienced and for my inability to help him through it. I confessed my own sins, my failures, my lack of faith. I thanked God for entrusting this boy/man to us even as I called onGod to give us all we needed to guide him and love him well.

I prayed God’s Word back to Him, reminding Him of His assurances and promises. I claimed the many provisions God offered in His Word.

I asked Jesus to stay close to me and to our son. I called on the Holy Spirit to fill me, to anoint my words, to live in and through me, to give me courage and discernment and power in every situation.

Prayer became breath to me—an ongoing, intimate conversation with the God I was growing to know and love so much more deeply.

Our son is in such a better place now. He is not so desperate, so I am not so desperate. But “praying without ceasing” has become away of life for me. No, not always, but mostly.

So I give thanks for this wonderful treasure from the wilderness journey we had with our son. What a gift!

With gratitude,

Judy

What about you? How are you learning to pray without ceasing?

C2019 Judy Douglass

If you would be interested in requesting prayer for a prodigal loved one, or being a part of our wonderful praying community, respond in comments or write to me at PrayerforProdigals at gmaildotcom.

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