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As parents we have sometimes felt like we have been jumping through someone else's hoops.  Too often our children as they become adults, make choices that make us feel like we have been a total failure when trying to bring them up to honor, respect, and most of all love God.

We invite you to explore with other parents things that have and have not worked.  The Bible is the basis of our hope in all things, including praying for our prodigal children.  I invite you today to take another look at the story of the father and the prodigal as told by Christ in Luke 15: 11-32.  In truth Christ was giving us a picture of the Heavenly Father, but just for a minute let's look at a second application which I believe is just as applicable and very relevant to parents of prodigals.

We are not told anything about the home life before the prodigal decided to leave home.  There may have been sibling rivalry making life difficult.  We are not told whether the prodigal was the younger or older of the two sons.  We presume that the father was doing all the right things because Christ, in his principal application, is referring to the Heavenly Father who is perfect in all ways. However, the parable leaves many issues to our imagination, probably because it was not, nor is it relevant to the ultimate "take home message."

We do know that, for whatever reason, one son felt that life at home was unbearable and that he needed to get out and see the world.  After the son left home, the story only alludes to what the father did.  At the end of the story we see the father (when taking the second application and considering this to be an earthly father) looking down the road, focusing on where his son had last been seen, looking for his son to return.  He did not go out searching for the son.  He did not send out the private detectives to follow every move his son made so he could be ready to step in and intervene on his son's behalf.  I suspect he spent a lot of time in prayer to the Heavenly Father (who is more effective than private detectives anyway!) asking him to take care of his son and bring him home again.

We have done some things right and some things very wrong in bringing up our children.  But, in general, most parents have done the best for their children that they knew how to do at the time.  God loves our children much more than we do for they are first, His children. The Bible says, "All your sons [and daughters] will be taught by the Lord and great will be your children's peace" (Isaiah 54:13, NIV); "My eyes will watch over them for their good, and I will bring them back to this land ... I will give them a heart to know me, that I am the Lord" (Jeremiah 24:6-7, NIV). We have this assurance: "He knows that you are doing the best you can, and He will increase your power.  He will Himself do the part of the work that the mother or father cannot do; He will work with the wise, patient, well-directed efforts of the God-fearing mother." (Review & Herald, July 10, 1888).

 So we start out in the same position as the father in Christ's story.  For many of us one or more of our children have chosen to "go out and see the world."  We, as parents, need to spend the time in prayer to the Heavenly Father who watches out for ALL prodigals (including parents ... for we all are prodigals from the Heavenly Family) and let Him draw our children back to Him.  In Christ's story the prodigal son did return and there was great rejoicing throughout the entire household of the father ... well, except for the "obedient" son who had not obeyed from a heart of love but of duty.