Charlyne recently asked readers of her daily devotional to share the prayers their children are praying for their prodigal mom or dad. Here are some of the replies:
“God, make my dad Your problem, because You are the one who solves all problems.” (PA)
Dear God, please heal Grandad’s heart and let him come back home to live with GranDee. In Jesus’ name, AMEN!” (OK)
“Dear God, Please help Daddy dome(sp) back home.” (age 2-IL)
“Touch mommy’s heart God, bring her back with your mighty and holy Spirit.” (ages 5 and 7- NE)
“Dear Lord, I pray that you will change Daddy’s heart and make him want to come back home.” (SC-age 8)
“Dear Jesus forgive me of my sins, and please help Daddy to come home soon in Jesus name I pray amen.” (age 8-IN)
“Dear Lord, please help Daddy to come home, and forgive me of my sins in Jesus name I pray amen.” (age 12-IN)
“When we sit down to eat dinner and it is (my daughter’s) turn, she thanks God for the food, but she ALWAYS adds at the end “please help Dad to come home.” I can’t ever remember her forgetting in the past four years! The neatest thing about this is that it encourages me to pray boldly in front of my kids!” (LA)
(Spelled as received) “Jesus and God have been working in my dada heart to bring him home because he has been taken away along time ago because along time ago my mom was praying for everybody else so satan was able to git to my dad now my dad is comeing back to the lord hes coming back to us too.” (age 9-HI)
“God, please help our Daddy find his way back home to us.” (CA)
Lord make Dad come home, but before he coming home make him come to You. (Portugal)
“Please put a special blessing on my daddy.” (Age 6-TN)
“Dear God, Please bring Daddy back home to love Mommy again. Amen” (age 3-NY)
“Father God bring my father home to his rightful place show him his place in our home and cover him with Your blood in the name of Jesus. amen (FL)
“Dear Jesus, Please help Daddy walk in Your ways and come back home, dear Jesus, amen.” (age 7-IL)
“Dear Jesus, Please put mommy and daddy back together…… right this second! And help all mommy’s friends go find their own wife.” (age 5 -CA)
“Daddy come home. Daddy love mommy again. Daddy love his children again. Daddy love Jesus. And everybody love Jesus. And help me to obey my Mommy and Daddy.” (Age 6-MI)
“Dear God, Help me overcome temptations in my life and help Grandma get money to keep the house.” (CA)
“I pray that you bring my dad home, I really miss him. (age 9-MI)
“Jesus, please make my daddy’s heart like a marshmallow. Jesus, please forgive my daddy’s heart.” (age 4-TX)
“Dear Lord, please bring daddy home soon because we love him and miss him, in Jesus name Amen.” (age 5-OK)
“My son prays nightly for his daddy. He does not ask for God to bring his daddy home, He thanks him because he has been taught that it is already done in Jesus name and all that is left is to thank God for it; ‘Lord, thank you for bringing my daddy home. Thank you for changing his heart. Give him dream of his family because no weapon formed against our family will prosper.”(age 8-CA)
“Our son has been praying for nearly three years for his mother to spend more time with us, to turn back to God, to come home. His most poignant words have been these – ‘Dear God. Please help Mom come back to You so that when we are in Heaven, we will all be together.” (Age 12- NV)
A Bobservation
For three days I have been receiving replies to Charlyne’s request for the prayers of stander’s children (and grandchildren). Each one has struck me like a jab in the belly. My three children (ages six, thirteen, and sixteen) could have been praying the identical prayers when Charlyne and I divorced. I will never fully understand why my own selfish needs were so important that I did not listen to my kids, my wife, and my Lord. Father, please forgive me.
If you have left your family, either emotionally or physically, I beg you to spare those who love you all the hurt and to pack up and go home today. As one who has been there, I can promise you that the shame that you think will accompany going home just will not be there. Your covenant mate, your kids, and your Lord will look on you as their hero, just because you did what was right. That you will be, because you are saving a family.
Secondly, I can also promise you that the thrills that you will experience back at home far exceed the temporal “stuff” that you and I have experienced out in the “far country” of life. Things will be diffrent back at home, if Jesus is placed first. He will forgive you, if you will only ask, and help you and your mate to make it.
I will always recall that on July 7, 1987, I went home. Today would be a grand time to always recall that you went back to your marriage. How do you do it? Just go home. God will work out all the rest. May He bless you as you consider doing what we both know deep inside is right.
Bob Steinkamp
