It’s hard to watch those you love make self-destructive decisions. It’s at least as difficult to keep yourself from intervening while trusting God to do what only He can do. While our hasty actions are well meaning, they tend to only make things worse. On the other hand, history records countless testimonies of the power of prayerful patience.
To aid your intercession, I’ve handcrafted seven strategic prayers based upon related scriptures. These are each designed to be personalized with the name of your loved one.
7 Personalized Prayers
“Father, _________ is walking in darkness with no interest in what’s right. I ask You to bring him/her to trust in Your Name and to rely only on You.” (See Isaiah 50:10.)
“Lord, Your Word assures that you created _________ with a plan for good works. But right now, he/she is running from that plan. Please remind _________ of his/her assignment and bring him/her back on the path of Your purpose.” (See Ephesians 2:10.)
“God, _________ is in bondage to his/her flesh and cannot find the way out. I ask You to reveal his/her sin as exceedingly sinful, lead him/her to repentance and give him/her freedom from these struggles.” (See Romans 7:13.)
“Father, your Word says You desire that all are saved and come to knowledge of truth. I ask for this to become a reality for _________. Please reveal Yourself to him/her in a powerful way that brings him/her salvation, deliverance and a desire for what’s right.” (See 1 Timothy 2:4.)
“Lord, I am confident in Your promise that You finish the good work that you begin. And so I pray for _________ and the work you started in him/her. Remind _________ of Your call on his/her life; lead him/her to return to You to see it through.” (See Philippians 1:6.)
“God, _________ is bombarded with wrong thoughts and unrighteous behaviors. I ask Your Holy Spirit to interrupt evil actions and cleanse his/her mind of wickedness with reminders of whatever is pure, true and right.” (See Philippians 4:8.)
“Father, _________ is surrounded with wrong relationships that are leading him/her astray. I ask You to bring these bad influences to an end. Please surround _________ with godly people who speak life into him/her and influence him/her to follow You.” (See Proverbs 13:19.)
A Prayer for You
“Father, I admit that it’s difficult to watch _________ make destructive decisions; and I so badly want to intervene. But Lord, I surrender my will to You and place my trust in You to open his/her eyes and bring him/her to truth in just the right timing. Help me to remain patient and encouraged while I wait for You to do what only You can do.”
[Get these prayers as bonus bookmarks included with Kyle’s four-part teaching series, People Problems.]