The Mystery & Minstrel: Musings on God and Life

“Wandering Children”

By Susanne Scheppmann

Key Verse:

“The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and produces wonderful results.”
  James 5:16 (NLT)         

Devotion:

Our children are wandering from the faith. We ask, “Why?” The answer to this question is not simple. Even the experts realize the reason our children wander from the faith is multifaceted.

However, the truth is this; our children are straying from Christianity rapidly as soon as they move into their twenties. According to a recent George Barna study, “In total, six out of ten twenty somethings were involved in a church during their teen years, but have failed to translate that into active spirituality during their early adulthood.” Again, there is no concrete answer to the questions of why our children wander. 

But I know this statistic held true in my own life. I became a Christian at the age of 15. I was so on fire for Jesus. I truly loved Him from the depths of my soul--with all my heart, mind and strength. But then in my mid-twenties I walked away from my faith. Why?

For me, it was because I could not understand the pain of the suffering of life. If God was good, how could He allow all this junk in my life? I remember going to my pastor's wife (who will remain unnamed) for help. What did she do? She criticized me for my lack of faith, my sinful nature, blah, blah, blah. I did not return to her for counseling. I turned to my friends who seemed to understand my confusion. Sadly, because they weren’t walking strong in their own faith, they inadvertently led me further away from God. So for seven years I walked in a desert of destructive sin. 

Finally after years of frustrated living, Jesus drew me back to Him. It wasn't a big church event. It wasn't a friend who witnessed to me about my sins. It was the Spirit of God who nudged me back to be a devoted follower of Christ. It wasn't mystical. It was not supernatural. (It occurred in a Volkswagen Jetta in the parking lot of Knott’s Berry Farm.) It was just Jesus reconnecting with His lost lamb because of the prayers—prayers of my mother.

I do believe wholeheartedly that my mother's prayers were answered. Her prayers never wavered. Her love never failed. She persevered when the future looked bleak for her eldest child's faith walk. Never underestimate the power of a parent's prayer. Our key verse declares, "The prayer of a righteous person has great power and produces wonderful results.” If you are a parent of a wandering child, hold fast to this verse in your mind and pray for your child.

God hears. He answers. I know this to be true because I was child who wandered, but was brought back by the fervent prayers of a praying parent.

Prayer:                                                                                                                                                             

Dear Lord, give me the strength and the faith to keep on praying for my child. Help me to understand that it might take years but that You are a God who hears and answers the prayers of a praying parent. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

Application steps: 

Determine to pray for your child for at least one minute every day. Ask God to touch your wandering child’s heart. Determine not to give into despair and doubt. At the close of your prayer recite today’s key verse to yourself.

Reflections: 

Do I blame myself for my child’s wandering?

Have I given up on the effort of praying for my child?

Power verses:

1 Timothy 1:16, “But for that very reason I was shown mercy so that in me, the worst of sinners, Christ Jesus might display his unlimited patience as an example for those who would believe on him and receive eternal life.” (NIV)

Luke 15:4-6, “What man among you, if he has a hundred sheep and has lost one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the open pasture and go after the one which is lost until he finds it? “ When he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing.
"And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and his neighbors, saying to them, 'Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep which was lost!'” (NASB)

Luke 15:20, “So he got up and went to his father." But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him.” (NIV)

© 2010 by Susanne Scheppmann. All rights reserved.