God Speaks to Our Prodigals in the Silence
(Photo by Jessica F on Unsplash)
When he came to his senses...
Luke 15:17
In my book, The Father's Heart for Prodigals, I write a prayer challenge entitled In the Silence. Here is what it says:
Have you ever thought about how or what made the prodigal son finally come to his senses? We know his circumstances changed. Once he was embracing a lavish lifestyle full of pleasure and wild living, but then his money ran out. There was a famine in the land and he began to find himself in need (Lk 15:14). So, he took a job feeding pigs.
Here he was all alone with the swine. His friends were fgone and he had nothing to distract him. He was hungry--and that's when it happened. He had a realization; God opened the boy's eyes and he saw things for what they really were.
Is it possible this occurred because of the silence? He finally had time to think. As long as he had distractions and comforts, he didn't realize he was missing anything. He thought he had it all! Life was good--and now everything had changed. In his solitude, he had time to think, time to reflect and see what his life had become.
We all want our children to have happy and fulfilling 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 have 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 the 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 loved one has to go as low as the Prodigal Son did before having a turnaround. But we need to ask God to intervene--to remove the noise, and strip away the excuses and lies they use to drown out His voice.
We must let God decide what this means for our prodigals. Pray that the Lord puts them in a position which enables them to hear His voice saying, "This is the way, walk in it" (Is 30:21)--and that these words that are living and active will pierce their souls and hit the mark. May our prodigals be startled with this realization and wake up!
I often talk to my Heavenly Father while listening to music...songs that lead me into the presence of God; lyrics that have message of hope and give words for me to pray for our prodigals. One such example is the song, Awake My Soul, by Chris Tomlin. I may use it for myself as the song intends, or I may take some of the words and use them to intercede for others. As we sing along, we can ask God to touch the hearts of our prodigals; to breathe on them so they come alive; to resurrect their bones and for them to say, "I'm nothing without You, You're the only One who satisfies my soul."