I want to encourage homeschooling moms and dads who have wayward children. You taught them from the Bible, used Christ-honoring curriculum in your home, and did the best you knew how to help them develop deep faith and a fervent love for Jesus. Yet, now that they are adults and are out from under your care, they have turned their backs on the Lord and have rejected all the values you tried to instill in them. Maybe they are still at home, perhaps in their teen years, but you see where things are headed.
Don’t give up on them. You may not be able to reason with them, but you have a more powerful tool — the same one believing moms and dads have been using for centuries: unrelenting prayer.
Sometimes parents get the idea that homeschooling is the perfect, fail-proof way for turning out kids who excel in everything under the sun, including becoming the next world-changers for Jesus. We get the notion that if we just home school our children right, all must turn out well, or else it is our fault. After all, we can’t even blame the public school system for turning our kids in a wrong direction, so we end up blaming ourselves when things go wrong.
Throughout history, though, godly parents have sometimes seen a child go a different direction than what they had hoped for. They loved them, spent lots of time with them, and were diligent in teaching them spiritual truths, but in spite of their best efforts, the child rebelled and chose to go down the wrong path.
However, the story isn’t over as long as they are alive and we still have breath to pray. In fact, those prayers still live on with power to influence our sons and daughters even if we die before seeing their results.
Hudson Taylor eventually became a missionary to China through whom over 25,000 people came to know Jesus before his death. When we consider the spread of the gospel in that nation via those converts, the total number who were impacted by him could be estimated as in the millions — all because his mother relentlessly prayed for him to give his life to Jesus. His mother continued faithfully praying for his impact on the mission field after his salvation.
John Newton was a well-known preacher and author of the hymn, Amazing Grace. However, before that, he was a grossly immoral, blaspheming sailor and slave trader. The prayers and godly instruction of his mother, who died when he was only six years old, were the foundation of his eventual salvation. She also prayed earnestly for him to become a minister, which he eventually did.
Augustine lived many centuries before Newton and Taylor, yet the common thread between their lives is a praying mother who would not give up on her son. Augustine also lived a reprobate life, but attributed his conversion to his mother’s prayers. He became a theologian, preacher, and defender of the faith through his writings. His mother’s prayers eventually brought about the salvation of her husband and mother-in-law, too.
These are just a few famous examples of how a praying parent can make all the difference in a rebellious child retracing his steps homeward to our heavenly Father. We will never hear most of the stories of countless other prodigal children’s conversions, but we can be assured they are happening. It is not limited to praying mothers, either. A praying father has God’s ear and His willingness to answer every bit as much.
The common denominator is persevering prayer which lays hold of God’s throne and refuses to give up. Jesus told us in Luke 18:1, “Men ought always to pray, and not to faint.”
We are continually encouraged throughout the Bible to pray with the expectation that God will answer. It is His desire more than ours that our beloved children come to know Him. Consider this powerful promise from 1 John 5:14, 15:
And this is the confidence that we have in Him, that, if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. And if we know that He hears us, whatever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of Him.
Do you need a few Bible verses to help you pray for your rebellious child? Why not look these up and use them as you pray?
Joshua 24:15
Acts 16:31
Isaiah 43:5-7
Luke 15:24
Isaiah 44:3, 4
Isaiah 49:24, 25
Verses about God answering our prayers — The LORD Answers My Prayers
Would you like to read more about the people mentioned in this article? Here are some links to get you started:
Hudson Taylor:
The Power of a Praying Mother
The Life and Ministry of James Hudson Taylor
James Hudson Taylor: Founder of China Inland Mission/OMF
John Newton:
The Power of a Mother’s Prayer
The Hidden Strength of a Weak Mother
Saved by Amazing Grace: The Story of John Newton
Augustine:
Augustine Couldn’t Outrun Mother’s Prayers
St. Augustine’s Mother Monica … The Power of Mothers and of Prayer
Monica: A Mother’s Prayer
If you need a tool to help you point your children toward a fervent love for Jesus, our Character Building for Families books can assist you immensely! We have other books to help you raise your children for Him, too.
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