Despite being reared to know and love God, sometimes our children choose another path. Because we know how dangerous it is to know the truth and walk away, we fear for our children.
We know that the pull of evil is so strong, and the flesh is so weak that our children can easily get sucked into a lifestyle that brings heartache and destruction. The enemy of their souls is extremely crafty, and he can easily deceive them into thinking that bad is good and good is bad.
What can we as Christian parents do?
Stormie Omartian, in her book The Power of Praying for Your Adult Children (2009, Harvest House Publishers), has this to say, "If you have adult children who have been captured by evil influences and destructive behavior, and they keep relapsing back into it once they are free, refuse to give up and stop praying."
Scripture says the same in Romans 8:25, "If we hope for what we do not see, we eagerly wait for it with perseverance (emphasis mine). This reminds us that we do not have to sit idly by while we hope for a breakthrough, but that we can be actively involved in helping to bring about that breakthrough in our children's lives.
One of our greatest weapons against the wiles of the devil when he sinks his hooks into our children is to wage spiritual warfare against him through prayer and fasting. "For we wrestle not against flesh and blood," Paul says in Ephesians 6:12 ,"but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness." We do not have to sit idly by and hope our children have a change of heart, we can persevere in faith through prayer.
Prayer is a powerful weapon. Second Corinthians 10:4 describes this spiritual warfare as "mighty in God for pulling down strongholds."
Stormie encourages us, "Sometimes it may seem that the more you pray, the worse it gets. But you can't back down. If the enemy has turned up the intensity, you need to turn up the fervency. Often the battle becomes more intense the closer you get to victory" (140).
Take heart, praying parent. We do not have to do this alone. Romans 8:26 reminds us that "the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses. For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered." This is encouraging! When we reach a point where our heart is breaking, and we think we cannot cry another tear or utter another prayer on our child's behalf, the Holy Spirit of God comes alongside us and prays with us.
God knows that we are frail, that we lose hope, and that we despair. Knowing this, He has made provision for us. He has sent the Comforter to come beside us, to lift our burden and to make it His own. He not only helps us bear the burden of our wayward children, He prays for them according to the will of God. (Romans 8:27)
"What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?" (Romans 8:31).
As you pray for your wayward child, "do not fear, only believe." (Mark 5:36)
"I would have lost heart, unless I had believed that I would see the goodness of the LORD In the land of the living."(Psalm 27:13)
I encourage you to trust God today as you fervently seek God's will in the life of your child. Press on. The victory is near!
Just what I need today. My adult daughter has walked away from God and my heart is torn in two. Thank you for this encouraging article.
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