Dear Truro Family,
At the end of our 10 AM service last Sunday, we prayed for members of our families who are wandering from the Lord. There was a sense that the Holy Spirit was speaking to those who are worried about the roots of loved ones, encouraging us to “trust the soil,” and to trust that “God’s got them.”
I know how difficult it is when those we love make unwise decisions that lead them astray. It’s hard to watch the prodigal son or daughter leave home. And yet Jesus has promised that those whom he has given eternal life can’t be plucked from his hand (John 10:28).
For those in our families who have not yet put their trust in Christ, our prayer for them is that they will. But how might we pray for those who – at one point – put their faith in him, but have wandered? Three suggestions:
1. Pray Psalm 139 for them. Insert their name into the Psalm and pray it in faith for them.
2. Pray the promise of their baptism over them. They have been sealed by the Holy Spirit and marked as Christ’s own forever.
3. Groan in (and with) the Holy Spirit for them. The Holy Spirit intercedes for the children of God with groans too deep for words (Rom. 8:26). So, get on your knees and groan. This may be the deepest kind of intercession there is.
Above all, trust God. Trust the soil. Trust that he’s got his children. And if the thief on the cross was given until his final breath to trust in Christ, then we can hold out hope for the long haul as well. You may find this clip from Alistair Begg below helpful.
Your brother,
Jamie