It's Not Too Late For Your Prodigal

And he got up and came to his father. But while he was still a long

way off, his father saw him, and ran and embraced him, and kissed him.

Luke 15:20

Here are more testimonies of real prodigals that returned to the Lord. When they admitted their sin, and turned to Jesus, the Father was waiting with open arms to embrace them and welcome them back. Each story is unique and your prodigal's story will be too! It's not too late!

E. Howard Cadle grew up in the home of a Christian mother and alcoholic father. By age twelve, he began to emulate his father, drinking and raging out of control. Soon, he succumbed to the power of sex, gambling, and the Midwest crime syndicate.

"Always remember, son," his worried mother often said, "that at eight o'clock every night I'll be kneeling beside your bed, asking God to protect my precious boy." Her prayers didn't seem to slow him down until one evening, on a rampage, he pulled a gun on a man and squeezed the trigger. The weapon never fired, and someone quickly knocked it away. Cadle noticed it was exactly eight o'clock.

Later, in broken health, he was told by a doctor that he had only six months to live. Dragging himself home, penniless and pitiful, he collapsed in his mother's arms, saying, "Mother, I've broken your heart. I'd like to be saved, but I've sinned too much."

The old woman opened her Bible and read Isaiah 1:18: "Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be white as snow." That windswept morning, March 14, 1914, E. Howard Cadle started life anew. With Christ now in his heart, he turned his con skills into honest pursuits and started making money hand over fist, giving 75 percent of it to the Lord's work.

Cadle used to say, "I shall preach the same gospel that caused my sainted mother to pray for me. And when I have gone to the last city and preached my last sermon, I want to sit at His feet and say, 'Thank you, Jesus, for saving me that dark and stromy day from a drunkards's and gambler's Hell.' "

Prayer will win the victory, and the faithful prayers of a parent or grandparent are among the most potent forces in the universe.

(taken from the book by Robert J. Morgan, Prayers and Promises for Worried Parents, 5-6) You could add children, spouses, relatives, or friends to that list of the faithful prayers of...being "among the most potent forces in the universe."

Adoniram Judson grew upon parsonages around Boston in the 1700's. He entered Brown University at age sixteen and graduated valedictorian of his class. While there, he became best friends with Jacob Eames. Eames was a diet and, in practical terms, an atheist. Ridiculing Judson's faith, Eames challenged him with the writings of Voltaire and other French philosophers. When Judson returned home, he told his parents that he, too, had become an atheist. His mother broke into gentle sobs. His father roared and threatened and pounded the furniture.

Judson, then twenty-one, migrated to New York City to establish himself as a playwright. However, hearing tales from the American frontier, he saddled his horse and headed west. One evening, weary from traveling, he stopped at an inn. The proprietor said, "Forgive me, sir, but the only room left--well, it'll be a bit noisy. There's a young fellow next door awfully sick," too tired to care, Judson took the key.

The night became a nightmare. The tramping of feet coming and going. Muffled voices. Painful groans. Chairs scraping against the floor. Judson felt troubled by it all, and he wondered what his friend Jacob Eames would say about fear, illness, and death.

The next morning, while checking out, he asked about the man in the next room. the proprietor said, "I thought maybe you'd heard. He died, sir, toward morning. very young. Not more than your age. Went to that Brown University out East." Judson stiffened. The man continued, "His name was Jacob Eames."

The West suddenly lost its allure, and Judson turned his horse toward home, Soon, he gave his life to Christ, and shortly afterward, devoted himself to missions. On February 6, 1812, Adoniram Judson was commissioned as North America's first foreign missionary. He, his wife, and companions sailed for Burma on February 18.

Prodigals do come home.

(taken from Prayers and Promises for Worried Parents, 50-51)

Here is one other testimony from Larrell who came out of the homosexual lifestyle and now runs a ministry for those caught in this lifestyle and need the hope Jesus offers.

I will end with a short testimony and prayer from Prayers and Promises For Worried Parents, 95:

John Donne was a prodigal. He was born in London in 1573 and brought up in Roman Catholicism. For many years, he lived a reckless life, but later converted and became a preacher in the Anglican Church. His sermons and prayers are now classics. The author, Robert J. Morgan, adapted one of Donne's prayers for his children:

O, Lord, You have set up many candlesticks and kindled

many lamps for my child, but he has either blown them out

or carried them to guide him in forbidden ways. You have

given him a desire of knowledge, and some means to it, and

some possession of it; but he has armed himself with weapons

against You. Yet, O God, have mercy upon him. For your own

sake have mercy on him. Let not sin frustrate Your purpose

in his life. But let him, in spite of himself, be of so much use

to Your glory that by Your mercy other sinners may see how

much sin You will pardon.