When he came to his senses…

Luke 15:17

Have you ever thought about how or what made the prodigal son come to his senses? We know his circumstances changed. Once he was living a lavish lifestyle full of pleasure and wild living, but then his money ran out. There was a famine in the land. He began to be in need (v.14). So, he got a job feeding pigs. Here he was all alone with the pigs. His friends were gone and he had nothing to distract him. He was hungry. That’s when it happened. He had a realization. God opened his eyes. He saw things for what they really were. Is it possible it happened because of the silence? He finally had time to think. As long as he had distractions and comforts, he didn’t think he was missing anything. He thought he had it all. Life was good. And now everything had changed. In the silence, he had time to think. He had time to reflect and see what his life had become.

We all want our children to have good lives, but have you ever stopped to think that as long as our wayward child’s life is good, they may not see their need for God? They will not see a reason to change anything? Don’t we want most of all for them to come to their senses? To have a sudden awakening? This often happens when God removes those distractions; those things they turn to for satisfaction. They are then left alone and in silence. They are in a position to hear God speak and see what He wants them to see…that life apart from Him is meaningless.

We most likely will struggle to pray that our child’s life has a drastic turn like the prodigal son’s life did. I doubt his father was at home praying such a thing. But maybe we can pray that God silences the distractions; He removes the noise; He strips away the excuses and lies they use and believe that drown out His voice. Let God decide what this means for our prodigals. Pray that God puts them in a position and enables them to hear Him say, “This is the way, walk in it” (Isaiah 30:21). And these words that are living and active will pierce their souls and hit the mark. They will startle them with realization and wake them up.

I often pray while listening to music…songs that lead me into the presence of God; songs that have a message of hope and give me words to pray for our prodigals. One such song is Awake My Soul by Chris Tomlin. I may use it for myself as the songs intends or I may take some of the words and use them to intercede for others. In this song we would ask God to wake the souls of our prodigals; to breathe on them so they come alive; to resurrect their bones and for them to say, “Im nothing without you, You’re the only one who satisfies my soul.”