WHEN YOUR CHILD WALKS AWAY
CHAPTER SEVEN
Where Is God in All of This? You may have asked it by now — maybe out loud, maybe in the quiet of a sleepless night. I tried to raise them well. I tried to disciple them. I tried to keep them in church. So where is God in all of this? He is not absent If you have ever woken up at three in the morning thinking, “I am worried about my child,” let me remind you that someone else is already awake. The psalmist says that God neither slumbers nor sleeps. He is always actively watching over your child and calling them back. “He will not let your foot be moved; he who keeps you will not slumber. Behold, he who keeps Israel will neither slumber nor sleep.” — Psalm 121:3–4 Your most important work is prayer If all of this is true — that your role has shifted, that your child’s heart is the real battlefield, that only the Holy Spirit can do this work — then your most important work, the work you have the most leverage in, is prayer. Do not pray only the simple request: “Please bring them back.” Pray in a biblical pattern. “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.” — Philippians 4:6 Supplication carries the idea of being brought low. Learn to come with humility. Do not be afraid to lament. Do not be afraid to weep. Do not be afraid to call out to God passionately. Bring everything — the small things and the large — because everything is under his control. And include thanksgiving. Find a way to thank him for who he is before you bring the request. Thanksgiving is what keeps prayer from becoming one long complaint. God’s pattern in Scripture When you scan the Bible for how God handles people who are running, a pattern emerges.
Word of Life Fellowship • 18
Made with FlippingBook - Online Brochure Maker