A Jesus of Their Own Pt. 2: Praying for the Prodigal

Brad:
Welcome back, ladies and gentlemen, to Go Mad with Doug and Brad. Hi everybody. How's it going over there, Jesse?

It is going well over here, Brad. Thank you. Nice, nice.

Now we told you last time, if you did not tune in last time, we said this is a two-parter. Stop right now if you haven't done part one. Go listen to part one and come back.

Don't leave us. Come back. Listen to part two.

We always encourage you, leave a review, share this with friends, whatever you can do to help encourage people to be ambassadors by spreading the word about this. We love that.

Doug:
Don't try to listen to both at the same time. I wouldn't suggest that.

Brad:
You know what? That is challenging. We tried recording them both at the same time.

That was real we gave up on that real quick. So here we go. You guys ever get a gift that is wildly random and yet fantastically awesome and slightly terrifying?

I feel like you're thinking of something specific. Yeah, I am. For some reason I think you have something in mind.

I do. Uh before we dive into praying for prodigals. Last time was about pursuing prodigals and almost thing steps to take beforehand.

Um this is about praying for prodigals. Today, my surprise, my gift has nothing to do with that. Um this is And I have to do the segue.

From test this fantastic. This is from a co-worker of ours. Shout out to Luann.

And I know that there's a camera that catches us.

Doug:
Ah, these are my Doug socks.

Brad:
Oh wow. They are Doug does have a pair of Brad socks that I'm Uh chagrined, I don't believe you're wearing. Well, guess what?

Doug:
You're not guess what? Oh I gotta see. We forgot to use the flash on the picture.

Brad:
So if you're not on YouTube, head over there right now.

Doug:
And if you are on YouTube, we apologize.

Brad:
So anyway, we now have for the podcast, if you'd like to pre-order them, three hundred dollars a pair. Uh we pay you if you'll take it. go.

So all right. We are um we know that honestly as we dive in here, this is one of those topics that can be Really heavy, really serious, and it is an important topic. But our goal in the part one and part two is to make this encouraging for you to encourage you through this time.

And Doug, could you recap the one thing I think we should point out is what we started the last episode with about those parents who are like, I've done it all wrong or whatever else.

Doug:
Yeah, you're not alone in this. Um the enemy really wants you to believe that you are. He wants you to feel shame.

He wants you to disconnect. Get you to disconnect. from the the young person or your child, whatever their age is, that you love so that you'll just give up on this whole thing of investing.

in them. Um, yeah, anybody. I mean, uh here, I've got a segue for the socks.

You had a picture of a prodigal. On your socks. You did.

I had awesome parents. I still do. They were very uh very godly, loving, kind, raised us in a wonderful way.

And yet, and yet I had a period of time in my life where I just wanted to do things my way. Wasn't rebelling, just wanted to do things my way. Yeah.

Um, so as as I uh it hit me, Brad, as as we uh have this conversation, folks might be thinking, Well we're Where were you? Where was this years ago? When I needed it's too late, the people I love are far from God It's never too late.

Amen. It is never too late. Whether your loved one is that's maybe wandering away from the Lord is 15 or 50.

As their parent, grandparent, you can still love and invest in them and pray for them and see them come back to Jesus or Love them invest. Love them invest in them in this way and maybe they'll come to Jesus for the first time.

Brad:
Don't give up. I love that encouragement because Even as we talk about prodigals, the reality is, and we're going to talk about six ways to pray for prodigals. Yeah, we've got six for you today.

There's uh we get that term obviously from the story of the prodigal son. I mean, so there is a use for the term and we know that It it can almost be like people are resistant to that phrase sometimes. It's like, no, I don't have a product.

No, my my channel's wandering a little bit. We don't need to be scared of the term because we're not.

Doug:
We're not big on labels here.

Brad:
Yeah, and it's not it shouldn't be a term of judgment. It shouldn't be a term of shame or whatever else. It's just saying that Your child has wandered, or any of us have wandered too far from Jesus. We're running our lives our way, and we need to get back to him.

Doug:
You nailed it, Brad. Um, you're not alone. Amen.

In this On Eagleswings uh dot com, the first thing that you see there when a a Native American, a young person shows up there You are not alone. It's because it's the first thing the enemy wants you to do. Yeah.

Makes you to think you're worse off. This'll never work. Just whatever you do, stop praying.

Um maybe give the your young person or or the the one wandering, maybe give 'em the cold shoulder for a while. That'll learn 'em. That'll teach 'em.

That usually fares very well. That's right Wait, uh Brad's right. Um the the whole prodigal thing, yeah, it's a word we use for for someone wandering.

We're not we're not big on labels here at Go Mad. Um Spiritually struggling child isn't a label or a category. Um so we're ready?

We're ready. Well, since prayer is our most powerful weapon, yeah, we're gonna jump into the six ways to pray for your prodigal. Of course there are other ways, but um these are a few.

Since prayer is our most powerful weapon in any battle, it's important to consider how to pray for. are prodigals, the ones that are wandering. Um, so let's start here.

I bet when you think about praying for a prodigal, Brad, the first thing that comes to your mind is thorn brushes.

Brad:
I was just chatting with Sarah about that the other. Yes. If I will just consider Hosea and the thorn brushes, but you know what? It's actually you don't see that on many Christian t-shirts. Consider Joseph.

Doug:
Well plus the name, the wife name Gomer. You don't run into a lot of Gomer T. True. Um, but uh it actually is is a perfect example of where our first prayer comes from.

So the prayer is Lord, would you frustrate their sin? What's what's knocking them off the course? Um Hosea praised this fascinating prayer that uh if you look in Hosea 2, he that the Lord will put thorn brushes Around his wandering wife.

So God tells the prophet Hosea how he'll turn the heart of his wandering wife. This is what it says in Hosea 2:6. Therefore, I will block her path.

with thorn brushes. I will wall her in so that she cannot find her way. So maybe pray for the thorn brushes, obstacles, frustrations that would Just that that Lord let let the this young person, this child that I have that I love, i just frustrate them that they wouldn't get joy from the things they wouldn't the the things that they feel like that that They want to do they get tired of them.

Um make the choices they're making unsatisfying. So get this. So I'm fifteen years old.

I'm wandering because I'm a wanderer. But I was I'm fifteen years old wandering. I'm at a conference.

I don't even know how I ended up there, but um I'm cut to the spiritual core by out of the blue, out of left field, by this amazing pastor. He said something along the lines of this. He said, Is whatever you're putting in front of Jesus in your life really worth it?

How much joy has it really brought you? and really challenged uh all us young folks there to to see if we were just uh putting a mask on and and really being a follower of Jesus. I was at a point where the Lord had indeed frustrated my sin.

I'm so glad my parents were praying this way. Dad, mom were were going, like we mentioned in part one, going into their into their bedroom. They were closing the door, getting on their knees and getting before God.

And one of the things they were praying was, Lord, frustrate Doug's Sin they did and he did. And I'm here to tell you about it.

Brad:
What a powerful part of your hope story right there that you lived the answer to that prayer. Lord, frustrate their sin. I love that.

Um, I would say number two there, I we've got Lord frustrate their sin. Number two goes really long with that. Even as you look at the thorn brushes and everything, it's kind of Along those lines, it's Lord, block their exits.

And uh you look at Proverbs 13, 15. The way of transgressors is hard. You want Sin to be hard for someone.

You want sin to hurt for someone. Not that you don't want your loved ones to hurt, but you want sin to hurt enough that they will avoid that. So Blocking their exits, you want to ask God that He will show them things in their lives that show them they need someone beyond themselves.

We know when we talk about these exits. I've been there where it is you're like for me, I mentioned in our last episode that one of the challenges for me growing up that led to some really awful things was lying. And lying was one of my exits.

And lying is sin. And it was just like, yeah, man, how do I get out of this situation? If I don't tell the whole truth or if I make up a story, I'm out of this.

And it was lying over dumb things. I was trying to run away from things I didn't need to run from and everything else. And so I think this is probably one of those that, see, folks, we do have uh these parts of our hope story, because I think this is probably one of those that mom and dad prayed for me was Lord block every exit.

I like how dad phrases this. He says, make their go-tos into no-go's. So the things that they always go to, that no man, that doesn't work anymore. And that's really where the lying and some of the things that were The outcomes of that lying stopped were they s it stopped working.

It was just like no, this I can't do wait, no. And that that verse uh that phrase, be sure your sin will find you out That's a true one. That's really true. And so pray that there will only be one exit for them, and that's the one where Jesus is standing at that door when they throw it open.

They're running out the door and they see Jesus. The way home often begins where there's nowhere to turn but Jesus. So How m I would block their exits.

Doug:
How many uh times have we been there? We've all been there in our life where we get to that point where we are just like, I I I Even though I should have done this a long time ago, I now am crying. I've got nowhere else to turn.

Lord help, Lord help pray. Did the the prodigal that you love will get to that point. I love that.

How about this, Lord? Get their attention. Um, God's good at this, I will tell you.

Uh he we're praying to a God that burns bushes and then the bush doesn't burn. that uh you know talks to people uh out of donkeys. Um now more often it might be a medical thing or financial thing that the Lord might use to get our attention Um he's really good at it though when he wants it.

So I was just talking, just less than a week ago, I was talking with a friend who was really he was irritated. He was telling me the story. He was irritated with his son um, who's away from the Lord because he uh his his son was so sad and upset that his dog had died that he you go, where is this going?

That he uh was not going to work. He was just devastated. Um so he goes on and he's telling this story and then he gets to a point where he cannot bring himself to say the next words.

He said, and he called me. And he said, Dad, I've been thinking about what happens when we die. And I've heard you say that Jesus will say to those that have followed him, Well done, good and faithful servant, Dad I want Jesus to say that to me.

Wow. Someday. It just blew away his dad.

His dad out this was out of nowhere.

Brad:
I'm like, I don't I don't I hadn't heard that yet.

Doug:
That is God used the death of of his dog to somehow get his attention that way and sometimes it is a tragedy.

Brad:
Um sometimes it is. It it it's true. We that people walk through sometimes it's a health scare.

Yep. Or the loss of someone or in this case something a pet that meant a lot to them. It can be something that hurts.

So it's a prayer that's a little challenging to pray because you don't want your loved one to hurt, but you do want them to be with Jesus.

Doug:
Yeah, and and few th exactly, Brad, few things put more of that empty pit feeling in the stomach of a parent or grandparent when it seems like the interest in spiritual things might be waning Um, they don't want to go to church anymore. The Bible's the last thing on their mind. Maybe they're interested in stuff that can hurt them.

A parent can go into panic mode. Um But uh uh they're actively just seems like they're just trying to avoid anything that might remind them of the God that they're running from. But God is really good at designing circumstances.

that'll get their attention. So maybe it's somebody, maybe pray that that it'll be somebody in their world who they'll listen to that God will maybe they have some of the same interest they had or used to have. Um God knows where all his kids are.

And he knows how to position them to get them where they need to be. This is the same God that somehow holds the entire universe with billions of galaxies in his hand and makes sure it doesn't all implode on itself. and yet is still working in billions and billions of hearts and circumstances, m building a tapestry to accomplish his will.

It's an amazing thing. He knows how to build that tapestry in the prodigal's heart that you're praying for.

Brad:
You mentioned something there, Doug, that I think is really important. Um and it just hit me as you were saying this that uh when you are praying that The Lord will put someone in their path that they'll listen to. It's an important prayer as part of that prayer.

Lord, get their attention because it doesn't have to be you. It's I think so many times we think that because we are the moms and dads, because we feel like we have this responsibility, this spiritual responsibility for our family. We when we see them wander, it's like whether it's what did I do wrong or what can I do right to help them get back on course?

The Lord uses other people. It may be a pastor, it may be a random person at the grocery store, it may be the guy that's asking for money on the sidewalk. I you just never know who's gonna use.

Jesse:
Yeah, I I've heard many stories of parents going or or it could be anybody, a grandparent or or a pastor or something, hearing someone that they've influenced. Say, you know, I never got the gospel until this person said it and it all made sense and you're left going I've been saying that for years. And and I'm there and it's and it does seem like God seems to love to use different people to affect uh And uh the question I have to ask myself is if that's my kids or if that's the people who are close to me, am I okay with that? Am I gonna be okay if I'm not the one who makes the dramatic lunge to bring them back to Jesus, but if my faithful prayers for years um are answered through someone else's message. Might take some pride swallowing.

Brad:
It might. So thank you for including that, because that was really really key in there. Um the the fourth way to pray.

So we've got frustrate their sin, block their exits. Get their attention. The fourth one, and I want to clarify something on this because it's a really important word in this prayer.

Lord, remind them of Jesus. Now, it seems simple enough, but There's people you talk to in the world today, and sometimes it's even regional, depending where you live, where you ask them about their walk with Jesus. And it's like, oh Yeah, I I I go to church all the time.

Oh, I haven't, I've wandered from the church. Oh, I haven't, and Jesus gets replaced by The word Christianity, Christianity is not a bad word. It's a good thing.

We're supposed to be representing him. But people replace Jesus with these other religious words, church and everything else. Your prayer needs to be, Lord, remind them of Jesus.

You may be frustrated that they have stopped going to church. That's not what's important right now. I'm not saying going to church isn't important.

Right. But right now for them, they need to get back to Jesus. So we when you look at that There may have very well been a time in their lives.

Church hurt. And and I know sometimes people will push back against that because it's like, well. If the church hurt you, you know you need to deal with that.

You need to just find another church, whatever else it is. But when you have been hurt by another Christian, by someone you've trusted in the church, in the body of Christ, it's a real thing. And you can't don't be dismissive of it.

What you want to do in that situation is when you have the opportunities, when there's an open door, Remind them that it's about Jesus, that it's not about his followers. It's not about those who are saying, I am a Christian. It's about Jesus.

And we are fallen people and we're going to make mistakes. And sadly, we're going to hurt each other at times. That's why we have to remember that it is about Jesus.

And maybe it's not this hurt that's caused them to wander away. It may just be they really have liked the temporary Satisfaction, which isn't a good word for sin, but the temporary feeling sin gives over the eternal perspective Jesus brings. We lose sight of that sometimes.

But it could be the hurt from the church. It could be sin things. So the re- the the the real part of this is Lord.

Remind them of Jesus so they know who he is and his love.

Doug:
That's so good. That's what dad would always tell us. He'd say, look, you're gonna get into all types of these conversations.

Yeah, be ready to give an answer for the hope that you have, but stick. to Jesus. It says in uh second Corinthians four, the God of this world has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they can't see the light of the gospel that displays the glory of Christ.

It's Jesus that the enemy is trying to keep your loved one away from. Brad, I've got a fifth one. We're ready.

Number five, we're cruising through these. We are cruising through these Um now this one's kind of um prayer number three on steroids.

Brad:
Okay, about doing um uh we say it's because of your shirt. Can we say it's kind of the Mr. T version of number three? Not so it's a Mr. T verso much better version.

Another reason to get onto YouTube, am I right? It is such a good shirt. All right.

Anyway.

Doug:
So Lord, get their attention. Let's take it a step further. Lord, and this can be hard to pray.

Do whatever it takes. Do whatever it takes. Psalm 119, it's time for you to act, Lord.

King David, your law is being broken. Um

Brad:
Give that verse again. All right. Because that is I mean that's that's got a lot to it.

Doug:
It's time for you to act, Lord, and maybe this is the exact prayer your law is being broken. What a prayer that is, you're right. Boy, uh Brad, Jesse, would you agree that God has a way of getting our attention when he wants to?

Um definitely. If if if he doesn't get our attention one way, he'll turn up the heat little by little. I've seen this in my own life.

This is how God worked with the Israelites in the Old Testament, how he still operates today. For me, um My parents were were praying this for me. For me, it was the death of what I thought was my ultimate dream when I was in high school.

And uh that was it it had become a god to me and that is uh success in sports specifically football. I was wandering, was willing to do whatever it took to achieve this, including sinful stuff. It was pulling me further and further away from God.

Um, I get an injury that took all those opportunities to away to make a long story short. At the time I was upset with God about it, but now I praise him with all my heart for it. It was God doing whatever it took.

I promise you, I was going down a bad road. And if it wasn't for this injury I wouldn't have if you look at the trajectory of my life, I would never have gotten into ministry. I would have never met my wife.

had my kids gotten into music that that the Lord has used in my life to do ministry so much.

Brad:
Not just in your life, but now in the lives of native young people and others that because of the gift he showed you In that time, and I had a front row seat to that, Doug.

Doug:
Yeah.

Brad:
And it really is true that the Lord used some really hard times for you. it to show you some things that are still with you to this day.

Jesse:
It's such a common theme in the scriptures. Don't despise the Lord's discipline because he disciplines those he loves. It's never him getting back at us.

It's never him putting us in our place. It's always coming from a heart of love and concern and compassion. And like you're describing, Doug, I mean bringing you back to him in a painful way, in a way that hurts, but in a way that you look back on and y you see nothing but love.

Doug:
You're not we're not praying, Lord, hurt the one I love. You're praying, Lord, in your infinite wisdom, you know what's best. Do whatever it takes.

This is eternal stuff we're talking about this way. When I was wandering, my mom said she prayed that prayer this way. Lord, do whatever it takes within your perfect will.

I like that because we have nothing to fear from God's will, Lord whatever it takes to bring them back to you.

Brad:
Wow. I I I hope that you're writing these down as we go, but more importantly, we we hope you're praying them. Uh you could pause after each one and be praying these, but Pray these.

They these are powerful prayers rooted in Scripture. That's why we're not making these things up. These are rooted in Scripture So let's head to number six here.

Doug:
Before we do, it's it's it's too bad, Brad, that we don't have a resource that we could offer that would include a lot of these thoughts. You know what? Shall we do prayer six and then uh share what's tell them right now? So tell them.

Brad:
Well we've got this great resource.

Doug:
It is called Um A Jesus of Their Own. And uh if you would like a copy of it, if you will send $400 with the socks and socks. And we will send the Doug socks. No, but for real

Brad:
If you'll send us an email to wear Brad. GoMadshow at Hutchcraft. com. Go mad show at Hutchcraft. com.

Doug:
If you'll just say I would like a copy. of that booklet and give us a mailing address.

Brad:
We will send it to you for free. Yeah, it is uh n in fact one of the bonus things you would see in there Beyond these prayers, there are ways to pray for the parents and grandparents. Oh man.

We won't be able to dive into that here today, but there are those extra things of, okay, so I'm praying for my young people, for my children, my grandchildren. Ways to pray for you as a parent and grandparent as well. So please reach out, get this resource.

Are you telling me there's bonus features? There is. It's bonus content.

There we go. That is some great bonus feature. All right.

So number six, way to pray. Is this and we we touched on Jesus and the lost sheep last time from Luke 15. Yeah, it is Lord, bring them home.

Please, Lord. When I was Jotting a couple things down about this. Um, and it's happening a little again.

I start getting a little misty just because I I don't have children that are in the the this spot right now. But we know good friends. I know I was in that place.

I know these things were You just feel that passion of Jesus who went after the lost sheep. He the ninety-nine are over here and he goes after the one. And he says, when he returns, when the shepherd returns with the lost sheep, rejoice with me.

I have found my lost sheep. sheep and that is where some of that emotion started to come because because I've lived it As you've been sharing, Doug, you lived it where there was a moment where Jesus said, and where our mom and dad said, Rejoice with us, because I have found my lost sheep. And uh you're praying them home to their relationship with him.

Not make sure your prayers are targeted, as we've been saying all along, of getting them back to Jesus. It doesn't mean they're going to live out their faith within Jesus the same way you would think they should. It's not about them making all the decisions you think they should.

It's not about, as we said before, them going to church. It's about them being home. in this relationship with Jesus.

And then that means home with you because you have this shared bond. In Luke 7, we read about the funeral procession procession coming out of the city. A widow's lost her husband already, and she's lost her son.

And I you see this uh depicted in different places, and it's always powerful because he speaks words. He sees the dead boy and the grieving mother and says I'm going to speak the words that bring life. Then these the tender, hopefully words, Jesus gave him back to his mother.

Pray them home. Pray, Jesus, would you bring them home? I would love to have that prayer answered.

Bring them back to His or her mother, his or her father.

Doug:
God is still doing that miracle. Hey, there's um there's people listening today um whose hearts are broken. Um that that a child, that a grandchild that they love so much, that they have prayed for so much, is wandering.

Don't don't please don't forget that God is still doing this kind of miracle day after day, hour after hour, minute after minute. Brad, you brought up rejoice with me. Um, I have found my lost sheep when uh that lost sheep is found.

And we're gonna pray together. I'm gonna ask Jesse here if uh to to wrap us up and pray. But um That's as we pray together, that's what we're praying.

That um you will have a time of rejoicing. You that are listening uh where your heart is heavy. Because your lost sheep is found.

And we're going to believe together that each one that is in each mind and heart, of every person that's listening, will be brought back. To Jesus or maybe brought to him for the f in the uh first place.

Brad:
Amen. Jesse Could you wrap us up and and pray for those who we've been talking with this whole time? For sure.

Jesse:
Yeah, let's pray. Father, um We come to you feeling all of our need for the people in our lives that we care about, for the children in our lives that we care about, and we know there are so, so many. Whose hearts are broken and it feels like broken beyond repair.

You are the kind of God who puts us back together. Jesus, you're the most compassionate person who's ever lived. Help us to believe that, to believe that your heart for the people that we love is full of more love than we could ever muster up for them.

We want to see you work in the lives of the people and the children that we love. And we're asking you to do what only you can do, to break through, to speak, to heal, to restore Help us in the meantime, day by day, step by step, to trust you, to hold on to you, to fall at your feet. We need your help.

Thank you. And in Jesus' name. Amen.

Brad:
Amen. Amen. Remember, please do email us gomadshow at Hutchcraft.

com. Uh, we'd love to get this resource in your hands because there is so much uh we've Doug and I have talked from a lot of personal experience. There's so much great stuff in there from my dad's heart that you want to make sure you check out So uh until next time, we we hope you've enjoyed this part one and part two.

Part two. We'll see you next time. And until then, go mad