It’s day three of Prodigal Prayer Week at AFA/AFR. If someone you love has walked away from God, never give up hope! Prayer changes things and that is what this week is all about.
Today’s prayers come straight from a former prodigal herself. Laura Perry lived over eight years as a transgender man before God radically altered her life. She knows first-hand what it’s like to be transformed by God’s amazing love and she has taken the time to search the Scriptures for some impactful passages that helped her on her journey. Pray these Scriptures over your prodigal and believe God to draw them to Himself!
Laura’s Prayers for Prodigals
Fill in your prodigal’s name in the blank. Don’t forget to start your prayer time in worship and thankfulness to Him.
- Ephesians 3:17-21
Lord, I pray that your Word will dwell in _____________’s heart richly, that you will recall to mind Scriptures that they have been taught. May they no longer be rooted and grounded in their own greed and selfishness but in your love. May they be able to comprehend what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height of your love, and may they see that your love passes all understanding. May they no longer believe the lie of the Devil that you are not love, but may they be overwhelmed by your love. Lord, you are able to do exceedingly, abundantly above all that we ask or think and we ask now that you would do that in _________________’s life.
- Isaiah 53:4-6
Lord, I know that _____________ is really broken and hurting. They do not know why you have allowed suffering and disappointment in their life. Help them to see that you bore their grief and carried their sorrows, that you were stricken and afflicted for their sake. Help them to see not only the sins of those committed against them but their own sin. Help them see that their sin wounded Jesus and that He was bruised for their own iniquities. But help them also to see that because of the stripes He took for them, they can be healed through Jesus. Lord, ________________ is a sheep that has gone astray, but all of us had at one point. We all went our own way, and you laid the iniquity of us all on Jesus. Help ___________________ to humble himself/herself before you and to admit that they have gone astray. Give them a heart that will yearn to return to you.
- Hosea 2:6-8, 14-20
Lord, I pray that you would hedge up __________________’s way with thorns, and build a wall in front of them that they will not be able to find the paths away from you that they are searching for. May they not be able to catch the pleasures and idols of this world that they are seeking after so desperately, may they always be just out of reach. May they not be able to find the peace they are searching for in the empty things of this world and the false promises of the Devil. I beseech you that you would allure __________________ into the wilderness and speak comfortably to them. Give them a vineyard there that they may drink, and the valley of Achor (trouble – where Achan had sinned) for a door of hope. May the places where they have committed great sin be used as a place where you will speak to them and reach out to them. May you turn what the Devil intended for destruction into their salvation, that __________________ will sing there and praise you there and it will be witness to the lost around them. May they have such a radical encounter with you that they will never forget it, that they will call you Ishi (husband) and no more call you Baali (master). Take the names of false gods and idols out of their mouths that they will not even remember or desire them. Make a covenant with them there and break the bow and the sword of their enemy there. We ask you to so completely destroy the enemy of their lives there that the enemy will regret the day he drew them into the darkness. Betroth ___________________ unto you forever in righteousness, in justice, lovingkindness, and in mercies. Betroth them unto you in faithfulness that they may know you, Lord.
- Hosea 13:7-10, 14
Lord, be unto ________________________ as a bear whose cubs have been taken from her. As with claws like a bear, tear the caul of their heart that keeps it hard, proud, and unrepentant. May they instead be given a heart of flesh that will turn towards you and be humble before you. Lord, _________________ has destroyed himself/herself, but help them to see that their help is in you alone. Destroy their pride and their rebellious spirit, but may it lead to their repentance. Help them to see that you will be their King and their salvation, that they cannot find help anywhere else. Help them to see that there is no one else who can save them. Help them to see and understand that you will ransom them from the grave and redeem their life, no matter what they have done and how they have sinned against you. Help them to see that you gave yourself over to the hands of death in their place and conquered it and overcame it, that they might have eternal life. Help them to see that you went to the grave so that they would not have to be destroyed.
- Hosea 14
Lord, have mercy on ______________. May they return to you and confess that you are their Lord and their God. May they no longer be fallen in their iniquity. May they no longer feel helpless and hopeless in their sin, but may they instead come to you and ask you to take away all their iniquity and ask you to receive them in your grace. Help them to see that though they don’t deserve your forgiveness, your mercies are new every morning and that your faithfulness is great. Help them to see that all of the things they have trusted in to save them or to help them have failed them. Expose those things as frauds as when you knocked over the idol of Dagon or when you proved yourself against the prophets of Baal. As it was then, make it clear that these things he/she worships are not their savior. May they no longer trust in the work of their own hands, but in you alone for salvation. Heal their backsliding and show them that you love them freely. Turn your anger away from them for your mercy’s sake. Be as the dew to them that refreshes and renews the dry, thirsty ground. May the soil of their heart be rejuvenated and may life spring forth from it once again. May __________________ one day bear so much fruit that others will be blessed by their life and will return to the Lord also. I pray that they will cast away their idols and desire them no more. May they say that the ways of the Lord are right and may they confess that they will walk in them.
- Colossians 2:8-15
Oh Lord, _____________________ has been spoiled through empty philosophy. They have been deceived by vain things after the traditions of men and things of this world and have forsaken the things of Christ. Remind them that Jesus Christ is God in the flesh and that He is their only salvation and hope. May they turn to Jesus and be complete in Him, that they will see the emptiness of the things they are pursuing and how those things have not completed them. Show them your power. May they come across testimonies of others who have come out of the same sins or lifestyles that they are trapped in. May you circumcise their heart with the circumcision not made by hands. May they one day be dead to their sin and raised with Christ in baptism. May they put off the deeds of the flesh, that you may make them alive in Christ. May you blot out the handwriting of ordinances against them and nail them to your own body on the cross. And may you spoil and completely defeat the enemies of ___________________’s soul that has so ravaged their life. Make a show of the enemy openly and triumph over these enemies in such fashion that the enemy will be humiliated and afraid and surrender.
- Colossians 3:1-4
Lord, I know that _________________ is seeking the things of this world. But I pray that they would be willing to die to their sin and be risen with you. May they seek those things which are above, where you Jesus are seated on the right hand of God. May they set their affections on things above and no longer on the things of this earth. May they be willing to die to self that their life will be hidden with Christ in God, that when Christ appears, they will also appear with Him in glory.
- Psalm 139
Oh Lord, you have searched ___________________ and you know him/her completely. You know when they sit down and when they rise, and you know their thoughts before they think them. Clear a path before them that they will be able to find you again. You are acquainted with all their ways and you alone know exactly how to reach their mind and win their heart. Lord, you know every word they speak, remind them that you see them and hear them. Convict them and remind them that nothing they do is hidden from you. I pray that they get a glimpse of you that is beyond their understanding and it is too wonderful for them to even comprehend. Remind them that they cannot hide from you anywhere on this earth. Even when they say, “surely the darkness shall cover me”, show them that even the night is light about them. Expose their false fig leaves they cover themselves with and remind them that all of their deeds are known and laid bare before you. Remind them that even their darkest hours are like the day to you and it is not too dark for you to see.
Help _______________ to know and see that they are fearfully and wonderfully made and that your works are marvelous. Help them know and understand that deep within their soul. Show them how precious and how great your thoughts are towards them. Show them how you constantly pursue them. I pray that your love for them and your voice calling to them would be irresistible. Just as they are still in your thoughts when they wake as if they had not slept, I pray they would wake with thoughts of you. I pray they would be consumed with thoughts of you that would push out the thoughts of all the darkness they have embraced and the lies they have believed. Search their heart Oh God, expose their heart to them. Show them the wickedness of their heart and lead them instead in the way everlasting.
- Psalm 1
Lord, I pray that ______________________ would be like the righteous and not the wicked. Help him/her to no longer walk in the counsel of the ungodly, to no longer stand in the way of sinners or sit in the seat of mockers. Give them an insatiable desire for you and for your Word that their delight would be in the law of the Lord. Though they have contemned it and disdained it, may they now meditate on it day and night. May he/she be like a tree planted by the streams of water, continually abiding in your presence, that they would bring forth their fruit in season and their leaves will not whither. May whatever they do one day for your kingdom prosper as they abide in your Word. May they not be like the wicked that blow away like the chaff in the wind. But may their roots grow down deep that they will be firm and steadfast, unmovable and unshakable. May _________________ stand in the congregation of the righteous that they will not perish with the ungodly.
- Romans 1
Oh Lord, I cry out to you on behalf of _______________. It seems that he/she has been given over to a reprobate mind. They reject all truth and trample it underfoot, and it seems they can’t even make good decisions for their life anymore or have reasonable discussions. It seems like everything they do is harmful to their life. I pray Lord that you would begin to reverse their reprobate mind and heal them. Lead them to repentance.
May they no longer hold the truth in unrighteousness, but may they long for the truth. May they search for the truth like a man searching for a stream in the desert. Remind them of the truth of you that they know deep down, that you have revealed to them. Remind them of specific instances in their life when you manifested yourself to them. Remind them that they know deep down that you are real and that they will stand before you without excuse. May they no longer disdain you, but may they now glorify you. I pray that you would put someone in their life that would show them your glory, that would exalt you and cause a desire in him/her to want to see and experience your glory too. May they no longer be selfish and unthankful. Put something in their life, Lord, that they will be thankful for, something that they will know came from you. May their heart no longer be foolish and darkened. May they repent of how they confessed to being wise but admit that they instead became a fool. Show them the folly of their own thinking, humble them in such a way that their pride would be broken.
Break down the idols in their life that they would no longer glorify and worship false gods of their own making. Expose their shame and help them to see that they are naked and in need of covering. Strip away their fig leaves and show them that they need you to cover them. Grieve their hearts over the wickedness that they have done and may they repent of all unclean acts they have done with their bodies and unclean thoughts they have entertained with their eyes and with their mind.
May they no longer change the truth of God into a lie, but may they hunger and long for the truth. Give them a desperate desire for the truth and may they cast away those that are lying to them. Grieve them over the sin they have committed with others. Break off unhealthy relationships from their lives and give them a repentant heart for the sin that they have led others into. May they no longer worship and serve the creature, but may they long to be your servant. May they no longer desire that which is against nature, but desire to be in line with your creation.
May they no longer disdain the knowledge of you and repent of how they cast you out of their thoughts. May they fill their mind with your Word and with your truth. May they not be filled with all manner of sin, unrighteousness, and uncleanness. May they no longer be a hater of God, despiteful, proud, boastful, and an inventor of evil things. May they no longer be without understanding, a covenant breaker, and without natural affection. May you heal their unnatural longings and replace them with longings for you and your presence. May you heal their reprobate mind and bring them back into your grace.
- Matthew 11:28-30
Lord, ______________________ is burdened down by sin, even though they pretend they are not. Help them to come unto you. Show them that you will give them rest. Help them to take your yoke upon them and lay their yoke of sin down at the cross. Teach them and help them to learn of you and to walk in your yoke with you, going where you go, doing what you do. May ____________________ find rest for their soul in you. Show them that the enemy has lied to them. It is not the world’s yoke that is easy and light. Help them to see that the yoke they have taken upon themselves has been an unbearable burden. Make them desperate to be rid of it. Make them to mourn and weep over their sin as the children of Israel cried out to God in their bondage. And may __________________ truly find rest for their soul. Help them to see that your yoke is easy and that your burden is light.
- Proverbs 3:1, 3-7, 12-13
Lord, help ____________________ to not forget your law any longer. Recall it to their mind. May it haunt them day and night and continually invade their thoughts. May their heart be inclined to keep your commandments and not to desire disobedience, that they may have long life and peace, which you desire to give them. Let them not forsake mercy and truth. You have written your law upon their heart, remind them of what their conscience tries to bear witness to them. I pray they would be unable to suppress it and it would keep bubbling back to the surface of their thoughts. May they forsake their own way and understanding and put their faith and trust in you with all their heart, may they no longer lean on their own understanding. Help them to see that making their own paths has failed and has not led to the freedom, happiness, and peace it promised. May they acknowledge you in all their ways and trust you to direct their paths. May they no longer be wise in their own eyes and prudent in their own sight, but humble them and show them how utterly foolish they have been. May the fear of God come unbearably upon them, that they would not even be able to stand before you, but that they would fall on their face in repentance. May they depart from evil and flee from iniquity as Lot ran from Sodom without looking back. Lord, I know you love ______________________. I pray you would correct him/her. May he/she find wisdom and get a true understanding.
- Jeremiah 29:11-14
Lord, ______________________ is in bondage and you have allowed them to go into captivity because of their own rebellious heart. But you also delivered your people out of captivity. I pray that you would deliver _________________. You know the thoughts that you think towards them, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give them hope and a future. Lord, may they call upon you and come unto you and pray to you, and may you turn your ear towards them and listen to them. Lord, I know that your ear will turn away from the prayer of the wicked (Proverbs 15:8, 29), but I pray that you would have mercy on ______________, humble their heart and hear their cry. Remember that they are but dust. I pray that they would seek you and search for you with all their heart that they would find you.
- Isaiah 55:1, 3, 6-7
Oh Lord, give ______________ a great thirst for you. Help them to become so desperate for you that they will humble themselves and recognize they don’t have a single penny to buy your love or mercy, that they cannot earn a single day in your presence. And yet, say to them as you did to Israel, come buy wine and milk without money. Help them to see that they have labored long and hard to buy things that have not satisfied. Tune their ears to your voice and give them a desire to listen to you now. Give them a repentant heart and grieve them over how they turned their ears away from you. Help them to desire only that which is good spiritual food for them, what is right and true in your Word, and may they renounce the lies they have believed and embraced. May they delight themselves in the richness of your Word. May they not only hear but really listen to you. Give them a desire to obey you, Lord. May they seek you while you may be found and call upon you while you are near. Let them forsake their wicked ways and their unrighteous, selfish thoughts and return unto you. Help them to trust that you will have mercy upon them and that you will abundantly pardon them.
- Isaiah 29:15-16
Lord, help ________________ to see that though they have sought desperately to hide from you and to keep their deeds in the dark, that you know everything they have done. They say that you do not see them. Pierce their heart with the truth that you do see all, and that nothing is hidden from you. Remind them that you know them more intimately than they know themselves. Help them see that they have turned the truth upside down. Rather than acknowledging that you are the Potter and they the clay, they have declared themselves to be the Potter. In anger against you, they have shaken their fist at you and said, “You made me not,” and “you had no understanding.” Remind them of the truth they know deep down that you did make them. Help them see that embracing who you made them to be is the only way they can find peace. Help them see how the identity or the things they are using to medicate their brokenness are not bringing them peace. Help them to turn to you in repentance.
- Psalm 40
Oh Lord, I pray that you would help me to wait patiently for you. Hear my prayer for ________________, incline your ear unto me and hear my cry for him/her. Show them the horrible pit they are in and give them a desperate desire to get out of it. Smite their heart and grieve them over the sin they have committed that they will call out to you desperately to save them. Bring them up out of the miry clay and set their feet on the solid rock of Jesus Christ that their feet may not slip, and they will not stumble again. Put a new song in their mouth that will be praise unto you our God. May many see it that it will be a testimony and a witness unto your power, that many souls will be saved as a result of the miracle you perform in ___________________’s life. May he/she make you their trust and may they no longer be proud in heart, but humble. May they no longer turn aside to lies. May they see and acknowledge your wonderful works and desire for you to work in their life. Show them Lord that your Word is not only rules but that the entire book speaks of Jesus Christ, that they may know the lengths you went to in order to reveal our Savior. Take away their delight to do evil and give them the delight to do your will. May your law burn within their heart. Remind them of your law and bring it to mind. Put up billboards and signs with your Word that will recall it to their mind. Help them to see your righteousness and faithfulness, hide it not from them. Help them see how small they are in comparison to you and your greatness, that they may be humbled in heart. Deliver him/her out of the bondage he/she is in. Make haste to help them. Let their enemies be confounded and ashamed and let them be driven backward and cast out of their sight. Break ties with all of those who enslave them in darkness. Let the enemies of their soul be so ashamed that they will no longer attempt to draw them back into the darkness with them. Give ____________________ great joy and may they rejoice in seeking you and be glad in you. May they love your salvation and declare it to all nations. May you be magnified and glorified in _____________________’s life. Help them to say that you are their help and their deliverer.
