Trust the One Who Is Completely Faithful

April 22

Have you ever wondered why, after raising children in the nurture and wisdom and admonition of God, they sometimes choose to walk away from Him and go their own way?

The heaviest burden for a parent to carry regards the choice his or her own children and grandchildren make about their eternal destiny.

Indeed, children are a heritage from the Lord as the scripture tells us (see Psalm 127:3), but they are also the greatest weight on a parent's heart.

There are countless parents whose children were raised in a local church but today are spiritually AWOL. Why?

Here are often-undetected root causes why family members may avoid church. There are social reasons. Some feel uncomfortable meeting new people, are not sure how to dress and feel awkward when asked to hold the hand of the stranger next to them.

There are also neurological reasons. People suffer from a variety of disorders that may cause them to feel uncomfortable in a service. Some neurological disorders like Autism cause difficulty in sitting and are disturbed by loud music or noise.

Some have economic reasons for not attending because they believe the church is always asking for money.

But the ultimate reason for many avoiding a Christian gathering is spiritual. First, according to John 12:40, the adversary has blinded the eyes and hardened the hearts of some, preventing them from receiving a knowledge of Christ and being converted.

This reason involves unbelief. It is impossible to receive any spiritual or, for that matter, physical and financial blessing or breakthrough if a person abides in unbelief. Their wrong thinking prevents it.

Wrong thinking creates what we call strongholds. The word stronghold was used by the Greeks when speaking of a castle or a military fortification that was built to prevent access. In Paul's writings strongholds are mental blocks, erroneous thinking, that prevented spiritual break-throughs.

The adversary will use a person's wrong thinking to build up a mental stronghold, hindering them from going to the very place where their mental and spiritual chains can be broken. Believers must also deal with wrong thinking and never allow human reasoning to exalt itself above the knowledge of God, but to pull down mental strongholds (see 2 Corinthians 10:4-5).

When parents wonder how they should pray for their prodigal son, daughter, or at times grandparents are concerned about their wayward grandchildren, believers should share with them the following suggestions as to how to pray for their salvation:

First, thank God for giving the children to them. Then, declare that anyone who carries the family name or who is linked to the family, will be in the kingdom of God, that none will be lost.

Ask God to protect them from harm, danger, and any disabling accident, and assign an angel to be with them.

When someone in the family struggles, let the prayers for them become more aggressive, rebuking their unbelief and negating the power of the adversary, demanding him to get his hands off that which has been anointed unto Christ.

Command that the veil be removed from the eyes of their unbelief so God can bring the wayward ones to repentance and restoration.

It is also important to discover if there is a root source to their resistance to God—a hurt, an offense, a misunderstanding—that should be dealt with.

Parents should also pray in advance for the friends their children have, beginning at an early age, as many of their choices as teenagers will emerge out of peer pressure.

At times it takes very intense and consistent intercession to initiate a life-changing breakthrough in family members. Often when a parent or any believer engages in intense intercessory prayer coupled with a prayer burden, the seeker will receive an assurance before they see the actual breakthrough.

The Greek word for assurance in the New Testament means a complete and peaceful confidence in a matter (see 1 Thessalonians 1:5; Hebrews 6:11, 10:22).

Once this inner assurance is received, it releases a calming effect that settles your mind and spirit, as God's still, small voice prompts your perception that everything will ultimately be according to the promise and you can move from asking God to thanking Him in advance as in Isaiah 32:17.

There have been times when believers have prayed for individuals whose situations were so bleak that it required a supernatural intervention, a miracle, to bring them back from the brink of death or destruction. However, when prayer was offered under the anointing of the Spirit, a peaceful calm erased the doubts and confusion.

Never cease to pray for your lost family members and begin thanking God when you sense an assurance. Remember, the peace of assurance will precede the actual breakthrough, often by days, weeks, months or years!

May we stand on the words of Paul which say, “I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that He is able to keep that which I’ve committed to Him, II Timothy 1:12.

When faith and assurance combine, you will be at rest, even in the midst of the most severe storm ... for even Christ could sleep through a storm knowing He was going over to the other side (see Luke 8:22-25).

God's assurance that He is and will continue to be moving in the behalf of your prayers will bring mental, physical, and spiritual rest to you because you have placed your trust fully in the One who is completely faithful.