Day 7, Friday, October 6, 2023:

Dear LORD, our loving Heavenly Father, this evening we want to uplift Your precious children who have been estranged from their families and those who are trapped in and are struggling with addictions.

LORD, help us to strive to understand their weakness. We know little of the heart trials that have bound them in chains of darkness causing them to lack resolution and moral power. Their minds are clouded, and they don’t know what steps to take. They are often misunderstood, unappreciated, and full of distress and agony. They cannot find You, LORD, yet they have an intense longing for forgiveness and peace.

LORD, help us not to utter one word that will cause deeper pain! Instead, let us speak tender words of encouragement and hope. Give us compassion so that we may help them to grasp Your hand.

Lord, help us not to become discouraged when they do not respond to our efforts, but remind us of the price that You paid to save these precious souls from the tempter’s power.
LORD, by Your divine power, set them free. LORD, only You can uplift the most sinful and place them where they will be acknowledged as children of God.

Please, send Your Holy Spirit to minister to them, to give them hope, to awaken their clouded minds and to set them free from bondage.

And LORD, strengthen our faith and give us Your unconditional love, so that when we reach out to them, their broken hearts will become whole, and their minds will be brightened as they learn to have confidence and trust in You.

LORD, deliver these, Your dear children, from darkness and the shadow of death, and break the chains of obsession that bind them to evil habits, associations, and practices. Send Your Word straight to their hearts, and healed them, and delivered them from the destroyer. Bring them back to the family altar and give them Your peace.

Humbly, LORD, we ask You to show us clearly: “What have we done or said in any way that may have turned our children—Your children—away from You?”

Reveal to our hearts and minds what we have not done or not said that we need to make right?
Show us where we have been at fault; we confess, repent, and turn away from our sin, and ask You, LORD, to free us all from any bitterness, judgmentalism, grudges, or any offense that You reveal has gotten in the way of Your Holy Spirit working in our lives.

O Lord, rescue Your lost sheep, for You know that the sheep that has strayed from the fold is the most helpless of all creatures. It must be rescued by the shepherd, for it cannot on its own find its way back.

It is the same with the soul that has wandered away from You, O God; they are as helpless as the lost sheep, and unless Your divine love comes to their rescue, they can never find their way to You, O God.

LORD, You remind us in Your Word that the shepherd who discovers that one of his sheep is missing does not look carelessly upon the flock that is safely in the pen, and say, “I have ninety-nine, and it will cost me too much trouble to go in search of the straying one. Let him come back, and I will open the door, and let him in.” No, Father, Your Word does not say that. Your Word communicates the message that no sooner does the sheep go astray than the shepherd is filled with grief and anxiety. He counts and recounts the flock. When he is sure that one sheep is lost, he does not retire for the night to sleep peacefully in his bed. No! He leaves the ninety and nine within the fold and goes in search of the straying sheep.

The darker and stormier the night and the more dangerous the way, the greater is the shepherd’s anxiety and the more intense his search. He makes every effort to find that one lost sheep.

With what relief he hears in the distance its first faint cry. Following the sound, he climbs the steepest heights, he goes to the very edge of the precipice, at the risk of his own life. He searches, while the cry, growing fainter, tells him that his sheep is ready to die. At last, his effort is rewarded; the lost is found.

And at that critical moment, he does not scold the sheep that has strayed because it has caused him so much trouble. He does not drive it with a whip. He does not even try to lead it home. In his joy he takes the trembling creature upon his shoulders; if it is bruised and wounded, he gathers it in his arms, pressing it close to his chest, that the warmth of his own heart may give it life. With gratitude that his search has not been in vain, he bears it back to the fold.

Thank You, LORD, that You have presented to our imagination no picture of a sorrowful shepherd returning without his lost sheep. The parable does not speak of failure but of success and joy in the recovery. Here, Father, we cling to Your divine guarantee that not even one of the straying sheep of Your fold is overlooked, not one is left helpless and without hope. Every one that will submit to be rescued, Christ will rescue from the pit of corruption and from the briers of sin.

LORD, we see how You love our children much more than we do, and we claim Your promise in Isaiah 49:25, where You guarantee: “I will save your children.”

Thank You, LORD, thank You for the encouragement You have given to all parents who have children that have wandered from You. Thank you for this inspired statement:

“When the storm of persecution really breaks upon us, . . . many who have strayed from the fold will come back to follow the great Shepherd” (Testimonies for the Church, vol. 6, p. 401).

Thank You for giving us parents this blessed hope, for we pray and claim all these promises in the name of our loving LORD and Saviour, Jesus Christ. Amen

Day 6, Thursday, October 5, 2023:

Father, we pray specifically this evening for our adult children. Though they are not “children,” our adult children—whether they are 21, 51, or 71—they are still “our children”—the children of their parents.

Lord Jesus, You have promised: “If My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land” (2 Chronicles 7:14).

LORD, You have invited us to ask and it shall be given to us, and You have also instructed us to believe that we will receive what we ask for in prayer. We ask You in all humility, in the name of Your Father, to instruct and teach us how to pray for our adult children so that You may lead them in the way they should go. Bless us not to belittle them in anyway but to be kind and compassionate and to listen respectfully and sensitively to their hearts, not offering unsolicited advice, because unsolicited advice is often perceived as manipulative criticism.

As parents with adult children, we want to respect their personal freedom to choose, which You offer to all Your children, and we wait patiently for You, O LORD, to draw their hearts to Your great heart of love and truth. Your Word promises us that You incline Your ear to us, You listen to us and hear our cry. If our adult children have strayed from You, Lord, lift them up out of the darkness, the mayhem and destruction, out of the miry clay, and set their feet upon the solid rock, Christ Jesus our Lord, and establish their way. Put a new song in their hearts, even praise unto our God: so that many will see it, and pay attention, and will have their hearts drawn as well to place their trust in the Lord.

Lord Jesus, we have faith that You relentlessly pursue each one who is “dead in trespasses and sins” (Ephesians 2:1), working to break the spell of the evil one and set the captive free.
Only You, O God, can raise the dead, so we are like Ezekiel standing in a valley of dry bones, which You, O LORD, identify as Your people, who say, “Our bones are dry, our hope is lost, and we ourselves are cut off!” (Ezekiel 37:11).

You have promised: “O My people, I will open your graves and cause you to come up from your graves, … Then you shall know that I am the Lord… I will put My Spirit in you, and you shall live, … Then you shall know that I, the Lord, have spoken it and performed it” (Ezekiel 37:12-14).

O Father, how we wait and long for their return! There’s no time to wait, no time to lose especially now that so many of Your children are detouring from You, LORD! It hurts our hearts too much to see them moving away; wondering and worrying, we question: What will happen to them and to their children? Where will they go? What’s going on inside of them? They are hurting, LORD! Please, LORD, You must help them; You must stop the destroyer from having his way with them. You must do whatever is best in Your divine wisdom, O LORD, to turn our children’s hearts and minds back to Jesus.

LORD, when we hear Your gentle voice calling us to wait, teach us to wait patiently! It’s too tough for us, LORD, to wait patiently. Please, enable us to stop pacing back and forth in our minds, clock watching, checking in on progress, teach us to trust You—really trust You! Really trusting You so that we can be at peace, surrendered to Your wisdom, Your timing, Your ways. Remove the knots in our stomachs; release the pressure in our heads; relax the nighttime tossing; and ease the constant unrest in our minds. LORD, it’s so tiring, so exhausting living like this, so teach us and touch us with Your strength and wisdom to know how to wait, to trust. We can’t, apart from You, LORD, we can’t—but with You, we can do all things. Give us that gift of waiting patiently. Please, give us all the patience, all the trust, all the waiting power we need, LORD—patience to wait on Your beautiful timing; trust to know You do all things well; waiting power to let You do what You need to do in our children’s lives and within us. In Your Time.

God, show us how to love our adult children the way You do. As they are independent of our parental care, give us discernment. And as our adult children navigate these shifting, very challenging times, help us to be respectful of their choices and wise with our responses. Help us to cooperate with You as You are doing the work in their lives that only You can do so that they will become all that You have created them to be. Please, LORD, guard their hearts, remind our grown-up children of their early training, and bring them back before the doors of probation close. Where our training of our children has not been according to Your will, forgive us, O LORD, and teach us the right way that we may learn with humble and teachable hearts and go back to our children to confess where we have done wrong and by Your divine grace and wisdom to make it right.

LORD, restore our families because of Your unfailing, steadfast love and mercy. We are weary with our groaning for our lost and wayward children; every night we soak our pillows with tears,
We drench them with our weeping. LORD, we hold onto the assurance that You love our children much more than we do, so we are sustained by Your promise found in Isaiah 49:25, where You guarantee: “I will save your children.”

Thank You, LORD, thank You for the encouragement You have given to all families who have children who have wandered from You. Thank you for this inspired statement:

“The love of God still yearns over the one who has chosen to separate from Him, and He sets in operation influences to bring him back to the Father’s house. . . . A golden chain, the mercy and compassion of divine love, is passed around every imperiled soul” (Christ’s Object Lessons, p. 202).

LORD, we will do whatever it takes to win our adult children to Jesus and to make them feel welcome in His church.

LORD, we ask You to give us wisdom and strength and patience to actively live our prayers; actively to reach out to our children; actively to make our churches and homes warm and welcoming, non-judgmental centers of love and care.

Thank You for hearing and answering our many prayers and for giving us the blessed hope that comes from believing the promises within Your Word and Your works, for we pray and claim all these promises in the name of our LORD and Saviour, Jesus Christ. Amen.

Day 5, Wednesday, October 4, 2023:

Father, we pray specifically this evening for our teenage children.

Lord Jesus, You have invited us to ask and it shall be given to us, and You have also instructed us to believe that we will receive what we ask for in prayer. We ask You in all humility, in the name of Your Father, to instruct and teach us how to lead our teenage children in the way they should go. Bless us not to belittle them in anyway but to be kind and compassionate and to listen respectfully and sensitively to their hearts.

In this world of darkness—this media-saturated society—where people’s eyes can’t help being drawn to evil continually, our teenage children are especially under attack. The evil one is attempting to influence them to lose their identity and confuse them about who they are. Please, put Your hedge of protection around all our teenage children and imprint on their hearts and minds that they are all Your beloved children—You are their Creator, Saviour, Father, Redeemer, Friend, Lord, and Master—the only One they can fully trust to teach them the truth and save them eternally and rescue them from the enemy of souls.

Father, we all face the challenge of technologies that, while providing some benefits and conveniences, also increasingly occupy our time while altering our minds. Inspiration teaches us that: “All our actions, good or bad, have their source in the mind. It is the mind that worships God and allies us to heavenly beings” (Child Guidance, 360). By beholding, we become changed, or in other words: What we look at, will change us. What we listen to will alter our thoughts and feelings. LORD, impress this truth upon the hearts and minds of our teenage children: “But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord” (2 Corinthians 3:18 KJV).

Father, Your Word reminds us that relationships truly are a gift. The friends we choose will influence us. As the scriptures repeatedly warn: “The righteous choose their friends carefully, but the way of the wicked leads them astray.” Proverbs12:26. And those who “walk with the wise become wise, for a companion of fools suffers harm.” – Proverbs 13:20 “Do not be misled: ‘Bad company corrupts good character.’ ” 1 Corinthians 15:33 So, we pray that You will surround our young people with honest, upright, and faithful Christian friends who will support them in their walk with You. Father God, we thank You that You made us to be in relationship with others, and we pray for our young people to experience great care and support from those around them. May they be encouraged by friends at school and online, and may they also show Your love and care to their entire friendship circle.

We especially want to pray for our teenage children and their susceptibility to social media. Widespread addiction to devices and media, especially social media, has left too many of our teenage children anxious, irritable, lonely, stressed, depressed, sleepless, and unhappy with their lives. LORD, we see this, and we ask You to draw near to them, calm their minds, decrease their sense of loneliness, reduce their stress, increase their peace, fulfill their emotional needs, teach them contentment, and give them Your peace.

Quietly using screens and phones for entertainment has become the dominant activity of our teenage children. They are living in and are held captive to a digital Babylon, where chaos and confusion reign. There is a crisis of authority in their lives because on digital media authority figures and authoritative answers are increasingly viewed with suspicion. With their immediate, unlimited access to alternative answers, our teens are more interested in questioning than in understanding what is right. Scripture warns us of this condition taking hold of minds: “In the last days…people will be…always learning but never able to come to a knowledge of the truth” (2 Timothy 3:1,2, 7 NIV).

LORD, You know that our teenage children are suffering from a profound sense of alienation from institutions and traditions that can give structure and meaning to their lives. They are pushed by the tyranny of NOW and are being overloaded with contradictory opinions and choices. Help them, LORD, help them to see clearly, to apply the salve of the Holy Spirit to their minds, so that they can see and understand the reality of their condition, and of Your kingdom of love.

Father, our teens have been deceived by the enemy of all souls to believe that humor is the best weapon, that snarky is cool and cynical is smart. There is an emoji for every mood and a gif for every moment. Contempt, like sulfuric acid, is corroding their relationships.

LORD, the statistics inform us that the typical teenager now spends nearly 20 times more hours per year using screen-driven media than taking in spiritual content. Clearly, we are living in this digital Babylon that makes our young people satisfied and enchanted with the notion that God is non-existent or at best passive in their world, that Christianity is an oppressive system, and that religious institutions are composed of a bunch of self-serving hacks. The message to the church of Laodicea confirms this reality, so Father, as parents, church members, and church leaders, we ask You to open our hearts and minds to Your Holy Spirit teaching us to learn from the messenger to Your children in the church in Laodicea, the message from Jesus Himself–-the consistent, reliable, faithful and true Witness.

Jesus knows our choices. He knows that we are neither on fire with love, nor do we appear cold with selfishness, but He wishes that we were either on fire for His kingdom, or clearly opposed to it! But because we are a lukewarm mix of cold hearts practicing selfish methods while appearing to be on fire for His kingdom, we misrepresent Him and make Him sick to His stomach. Because of this condition of being lukewarm, You, Lord Jesus, say that You will vomit us out of Your mouth.

Please, open our eyes to see the deceptions: how we claim to be spiritually rich and full of heavenly treasure, thinking we have the truth and are in need of nothing, but are so self-deceived that we don’t realize that we are devoid of Your character of love. Lord Jesus, You warn us of our true condition: that we are decrepit, pathetic, feeble, miserable, contemptibly inadequate, with diseased imaginations, believing that we are something we are not. We are bereft of true godliness, with minds so closed, clouded, and blinded to the truth of our condition that we can’t even comprehend truth. We stand naked and exposed in the eyes of God.

LORD, please, rain down Your Holy Spirit and fill our hearts, open our eyes to see how the love of self excludes the love of Christ, that those who live for self are lukewarm, neither cold nor hot. The warmth of our first love for Jesus has expired and turned into a selfish egotism. Because Your love in the heart is expressed in the actions, if our love for You is dull, the love for those for whom You have died will degenerate. There may be a wonderful appearance for enthusiasm, rituals, and formal ceremonies, but this is no more than the substance of a self-inflated religion, and You, Lord Jesus, represent this show of religion as nauseating to Your taste.
Thank You, LORD, for revealing to us how self-exaltation is such a dangerous element. It tarnishes everything it touches. It is the offspring of pride, and it works so ingeniously that, unless guarded against, it will take possession of the thoughts and control the actions.

Lord Jesus, please, come to dwell in our hearts, because when You dwell in our hearts, our souls will be so filled with Your love, with the joy of communion with You, that we will be permanently glued to Him; and in the contemplation of Your character, self will be forgotten. Love for You will be the spring of action. When we feel the compelling love of God, we will not ask how little we should give to meet Your requirements; we will not ask for the lowest standard, but we will aim at perfect conformity to the will of You, our Redeemer. With earnest desire we will surrender all and manifest an interest proportionate to the value of the object which we seek. “A profession of Christ without this deep love is mere talk, dry formality, and heavy drudgery” (Steps to Christ, 44).

Thank You, LORD, that You call to our hearts: “I am here now! I am standing at the door to your hearts, knocking.” You offer to commune with us to fill our hearts with truth and love, and if any hear Your voice and open their hearts, You will come in and commune with them, and they with You. Everyone who prevails by receiving Your truth and love into their hearts, and lives in harmony with Your methods of love until the end, You promise will sit enthroned with You–just as You overcame, and sit enthroned with Your Father. Open our minds and the minds of our young people to the full truth as it is revealed in the character of Jesus so that they will understand what the Spirit reveals to the churches.

LORD, we hold onto the promise that You love our teenage children much more than we do, for Your Word reveals this truth when You ask: “Can a mother forget the baby at her breast and have no compassion on the child she has borne? Though she may forget, I will not forget you!” You have declared that even if we forget, You will not forget or ever abandon Your children, LORD, for You have promised: ‘See, I have engraved you on the palms of My hands’ (Isaiah 49:16).

Thank You for this eternal evidence of Your unselfish love for Your children, for the scars of the cross You will bear in Your body throughout the ceaseless ages of eternity.

We are further fortified by Your promise found in Isaiah 49:25, where You guarantee: “I will contend with your opponent, and I will save your children.”

Thank You for hearing and answering our many prayers and for giving us the blessed hope that comes from believing the promises within Your Word and Your works, for we pray and claim all these promises in the name of our LORD and Saviour, Jesus Christ. Amen.

Day 4, Tuesday, October 3, 2023:

Father, we pray for our young children: those from birth to twelve years old. In this world of darkness, where men’s hearts are evil continually, our children are under attack. The evil one is attempting to influence them to lose their identity and confuse them about who they are. Please, put Your hedge of protection around all of our children and imprint on their hearts and minds that they are all beloved children of God—You are their Creator, Saviour, Father, Redeemer, Friend, Lord and Master—the only One they can trust to save them eternally and rescue them from the enemy.

Father, please, opened our ears and given us the capacity to hear and obey Your Word, for one sentence of Scripture is of more value than ten thousand of man’s ideas or arguments, for it is written, man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God.

LORD, Your Word, the Bible, has much to say about little children. In the book of Mark, it is recorded: ‘When people were bringing little children to Jesus for Him to place His hands on them, the disciples rebuked them; however, when Jesus saw this, He was indignant. He said to them, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. Truly I tell you, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.” And He took the children in His arms, placed His hands on them and blessed them.’ – Mark 10:13-16. LORD, as fathers and mothers, we ask You, when we place our hands of blessing upon our children, it will be Your hands blessing our children, speaking words of hope, healing, confidence, and encouragement into their lives, to empower them by speaking well of them. Help us not to curse our children, but to bless—not to take power and confidence and hope away from them—but to strengthen them with Your Words of assurance to brace them for the challenges of life by placing their feet on the only firm foundation of faith in Jesus, their most faithful Friend, Lord, and Saviour.

Thank you, Jesus, that You have lived here as one of us, and You know what it’s like to be a child and to feel everything that children feel. When on earth, You were always possessed of one purpose: You lived to bless others. Thank you that we as adults have everything we need to encourage, nurture, and provide for our children and to teach them how to live to give.

We pray for children around the world that You would be in their lives and that they would grow up knowing they are loved by You—their Heavenly Father, Friend, Saviour, Comforter, and Guide. Bless them, we pray, that each one would give their hearts to You and be able to change the lives of others with Your love working within them. Oh, that You would bless the little children indeed, and increase their desire to know You, that Your hand would be upon them and Your Holy Spirit within them to give them wisdom and strength, and that You would protect them from all harm and danger, that You would keep them from the evil one, that they may not experience a life of pain and suffering.

Your Word tells us that “Children are a heritage from the Lord, offspring a reward from Him.” – Psalm 127:3.

We ask You to place love for Your Word in their hearts that they will know what is right and choose to live their lives accordingly, leaning on Your everlasting strength and wisdom and joy.

Thank You, LORD, for giving us little children, for they teach us so much. “Through the praise of children and infants You have established a stronghold against Your enemies, to silence the foe and the avenger.” – Psalm 8:2

God, children are truly a gift from You, but we acknowledge that raising them is too hard for us to do apart from You. So, when we as parents feel exhausted, please, remind us that You are with them. And when we feel overwhelmed, please, give us the strength to endure every situation we must face. You have called each parent to parenthood, so please, protect their families, and help them to raise their children to love Jesus and to trust Him always.

Jesus, You once took a little child in Your safe and secure arms, and You taught us: “Whoever welcomes one of these little children in my name welcomes Me; and whoever welcomes Me does not welcome Me but the One Who sent Me.” – Mark 9:37

Also, when Your disciples came to You and they asked, “Who, then, is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” You called a little child to You, and placed that child among them. And You said: “Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore, whoever takes the lowly position of this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. And whoever welcomes one such child in My name welcomes Me.” – Matthew 18:1-5

And, LORD, You went on to warn: “See that you do not despise one of these little ones. For I tell you that their angels in heaven always see the face of My Father in heaven.“ – Matthew 18:10. Thank You, Father, that You keep Your eye on our little ones to bless them and to keep them safe and secure day by day.

LORD, I pray that, we who are fathers will not exasperate our children; but instead, that we will bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord, as it says in in Your Holy Word, the Bible (Ephesians 6:4).

LORD, we hold onto the promise that You love our children much more than we do, so we are sustained by Your promise found in Isaiah 49:25, where You guarantee: “I will contend with your opponent, and I will save your children.”

Thank You, LORD, thank You for the encouragement You have given to all parents who have children that You will save our children.

Thank you also for this inspired statement:

‘Oh, that we could all realize the nearness of heaven to earth! When the earthborn children know it not, they have the angels of light as their companions… A silent witness guards every soul that lives, seeking to win and draw him to Christ. The angels never leave the tempted one a prey to the enemy who would destroy the souls of men if permitted to do so. As long as there is hope…men are guarded by heavenly intelligences’ (Prayer, p. 255).

O LORD, thank You for sending Your angels of light to deliver our children from darkness and the shadow of death, and to break the chains of obsession that are fashioned to bind them to evil habits, associations, and practices. Send Your Word, and healed them, and delivered them from the destroyer. Bring them back to You when they stray and give them Your peace.

Thank You for giving us this blessed hope, for we pray and claim all these promises in the name of our LORD, Saviour, and eternal Friend and Comforter, Jesus Christ. Amen.

Day 3, Monday, October 2, 2023:

Father, we pray for our Community of Faith—the Church—Your Church—Your appointed agency for the salvation of men. It was organized for service, with the mission of carrying the gospel to the world. The members of Your church are those You have called out of darkness into Your marvelous light to shine Your character into our homes and into our communities. Your church is the fountain of the riches of the grace of Christ; and through Your church will eventually be made visible, even to “the principalities and powers in heavenly places” the final and full display of Your eternal, steadfast character of love and grace. Through centuries of persecution, conflict, and darkness, LORD, You have sustained Your church. It is Your fortress, Your city of refuge, which You hold tightly in the palm of Your hand in this revolted and rebellious world.

Thank you, LORD, for the promises recorded in the Scriptures regarding Your church. You have confirmed: “My house shall be called a house of prayer for all people.” – Isaiah 56:7. Thank you for giving us this ministry of prayer from which the power and wisdom for all other ministries flow. All our religious practices and plans, no matter how attractive, costly, or apparently clever, let us remember that whatever prevents us from making Christ our entire dependence is an abomination in the sight of God.

In Isaiah 43:10-11 You identify Your people in these words: “You are My witnesses…and My servant whom I have chosen, that you may know and believe Me and understand that I am He. Before Me there was no God formed, and there will be none after Me.”

You only are the Lord, and there is no Savior besides You. You have declared the end from the beginning—You know the future as well as the past, and You offer salvation to whosoever believes in Your Son, our only Saviour, Jesus Christ. And so, we proclaimed that You are God, and there is no strange god among us; therefore, we are Your witnesses that You are God.

We ask you, LORD, to open the blind eyes, to bring out the prisoners from the prison, and them that sit in darkness out of the prison house of addictions, deception, and corrupting influences.
Humbly, LORD, we ask You to show us clearly: “What have we done or said, as a church family, to turn our children away from You?”

Reveal to our hearts and minds what we have not done or not said that we need to make right?
Show us where we, as a church, have been at fault; we confess, repent, and turn away from our sin, and ask You, LORD, to free us all from any bitterness, judgmentalism, grudges, or any offense that You reveal has gotten in the way of Your Holy Spirit working in our lives.

LORD, we, as a church, will do whatever it takes to win our children to Jesus and to make them feel welcome in His church. LORD, as a church, we ask You to give us wisdom and strength and patience to actively live our prayers; actively to reach out to those we have been praying for; actively to make our churches warm and welcoming, non-judgmental centers of love and care; actively and intentionally giving more opportunities for our young people to lead; actively and whole-heartedly listening to everyone of God’s children, no matter what age they may be.

LORD, we hold onto the promise that You love our children much more than we do, for Your Word reveals this truth in the form of the question and answer: “Can a mother forget the baby at her breast and have no compassion on the child she has borne? Though she may forget, I will not forget you!” You have declared that even if we forget, You will not forget or ever abandon Your children, LORD, for You have promised: ‘See, I have engraved you on the palms of My hands’ (Isaiah 49:16).

Thank You for this eternal evidence of Your unselfish love for Your children, for the scars of the cross You will bare in Your body throughout the ceaseless ages of eternity, and when one will ask You, ‘What are these wounds in your hands?’ Then You will answer, ‘These are those with which I was wounded in the house of my friends’ (Zechariah 13:6).

We are further fortified by Your promise found in Isaiah 49:25, where You guarantee: “I will contend with your opponent, and I will save your children.”

Thank You, LORD, thank You for the encouragement You have given to all families who have children who have wandered from You and away from the family altar. Thank you for this inspired statement:

‘Heaven is waiting and yearning for the return of the prodigals who have wandered far from the fold. Many of those who have strayed away may be brought back by the loving service of God’s children’ (In Heavenly Places, p. 10).

As a church, we wait patiently for You, LORD; and Your Word promises us that You incline Your ear to us, You listen to us and hear our cry. Bring our children up out of the horrible pit, out of the miry clay, and set their feet upon the solid rock, Christ Jesus our Lord, and establish their way. Put a new song in their hearts, even praise unto our God: so that many will see it, and fear, and will trust in the Lord.

O Father, how we wait and long for their return! There’s no time to wait, no time to lose especially now that so many of Your children are detouring from You, LORD! It hurts our hearts too much to see them moving away; wondering and worrying, we question: What will happen to them? Where will they go? What’s going on inside of them? They are hurting, LORD! Please, LORD, You must help them; You must stop the destroyer from having his way with them. You must do whatever is best in Your divine wisdom, O LORD, to turn our children’s hearts and minds back to You.

LORD, when we hear Your gentle voice calling us to wait, teach us to wait patiently! It’s too tough for us, LORD, to wait patiently. Please, enable us to stop pacing back and forth in our minds, clock watching, checking in on progress, teach us to trust You—really trust You! Really trusting You so that we can be at peace, surrendered to Your wisdom, Your timing, Your ways.
Remove the knots in our stomachs; release the pressure in our heads; relax the nighttime tossing; and ease the constant unrest in our minds. LORD, it’s so tiring, so exhausting living like this, so teach us and touch us with Your strength and wisdom to know how to wait, to trust. We can’t, apart from You, LORD, we can’t—but with You, we can do all things. Give us that gift of waiting patiently. Please, give us all the patience, all the trust, all the waiting power we need, Lord—patience to wait on Your beautiful timing; trust to know You do all things well; waiting power to let You do what You need to do in our children’s lives and within us. In Your Time.

Thank You for hearing and answering our many prayers and for giving us the blessed hope that comes from believing the promises within Your Word and Your works, for we pray and claim all these promises in the name of our LORD and Saviour, Jesus Christ. Amen.

Day 2, Sunday, October 1, 2023:

Father, we pray for our families. Society is composed of families, and what happens in the home is at the heart of Your church, for the restoration and uplifting of humanity begins in the home.

LORD, You are the God of families: the God of the Eden family, the God of the family that entered the ark, the God of the Patriarchal family—of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph. You are the God of John the Baptist’s family; You kept Your promise to his parents, Zacharias and Elizabeth, giving them a child who would go before You in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, to make ready a people prepared for the LORD.

LORD, we confess that our family altars are, as in the days of Elijah, broken down. Please, LORD, forgive us and heal us and give us Your strength and wisdom and patience to rebuild our family altars so that Your fire—the fire of the Holy Spirit—may come down and consume the sacrifice.

LORD, we offer ourselves to You as a living sacrifice, to be fully at Your disposal—to be available and willing to obey You, LORD, in whatever You ask or command—to be holy and pleasing in Your sight, for this is our true and proper worship.

Humbly and honestly, LORD, we ask You to show us what we have done that we should not have done; what we have said that we should not have said; what we have not done that we should have done; and, LORD, what we have not said that we need to say? Where we have not been loving, show us, LORD, and teach us how to love, as You love—unconditionally!

As families, search us, O God. Thoroughly, LORD, search each one of us, and know our hearts;
Test us and know our anxious, troubled thoughts that are so burdened with the regrets of sins we’ve committed and righteous acts we’ve omitted; LORD, see if there is any wicked or hurtful way in us, and lead each family member in the way everlasting.

Direct Your burning and shining light into the dark recesses of our families’ hearts and minds and souls, and lead us to Jesus, to walk in all His ways.

We humbly ask You, LORD, to show us where we, as families, have been at fault; we confess, repent, and turn away from our sins, and ask You, LORD, to free us all from any bitterness, judgmentalism, grudges, or any offense that You reveal has gotten in the way of Your Holy Spirit working in our lives.

LORD, as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD and do whatever it takes to win those of our own family who have gone astray, to turn their hearts back to Jesus and to make them feel welcome in His church. Not compromising, but speaking the truth in love, by Your divine strength and wisdom working within us, to win our children to Jesus and to make them feel wanted at the family altar.

With all the promises of Your Word, O LORD, we hear Your voice speaking to us individually, speaking as directly as if we could listen to Your sweet voice, because it is in these promises that Your Son, Jesus Christ, communicates to us His grace and power. These promises in Your Word are leaves from that tree which is for the healing of the nations. We receive and assimilate these promises into our hearts, for they are the strength of our character—the inspiration and sustenance of our life. One sentence of Scripture is of more value than ten thousand of man’s ideas or arguments, for it is written, man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God.

We feed on Your promise in Leviticus 26:44 and 45 that when our children be in the land of the enemy, You will not cast them away, neither will You despise them, to destroy them completely, and to break Your covenant with them: for You are the LORD their God. And You have promised that You will for their sakes remember the covenant of their ancestors, their parents, and their extended family…that You might be their God because You are the LORD—their Lord. Remind our children of their early training and bring them back before the doors of probation close. Where our training of our children has not been according to Your will, forgive us, O LORD, and teach us the right way that we may learn with humble and teachable hearts and go back to our children to confess where we have done wrong and by Your divine grace and wisdom to make it right.

LORD, we ask you to have mercy on our families and on our children and be gracious to us, O Lord, for we are weak, faint, and frail; You know that without Your Spirit, we are but dust.
Heal us, O Lord, for our very bones are grief-stricken and suffering.

Our souls are greatly dismayed. Return, O Lord, rescue our souls; restore our families because of Your unfailing, steadfast love and mercy. We are weary with our groaning for our lost and wayward children; every night we soak our pillows with tears, we drench them with our weeping.

LORD, we hold onto the promise that You love our children much more than we do, so we are sustained by Your promise found in Isaiah 49:25, where You guarantee: “I will contend with your opponent, and I will save your children.”

Thank You, LORD, thank You for the encouragement You have given to all families who have children who have wandered from You, and away from the family altar. Thank you for this inspired statement:

‘The love of God still yearns over the one who has chosen to separate from Him, and He sets in operation influences to bring him back to the Father’s house. . . . A golden chain, the mercy and compassion of divine love, is passed around every imperiled soul’ (Christ’s Object Lessons, p. 202).

LORD, deliver our children from darkness and the shadow of death, and break the chains of obsession that bind them to evil habits, associations, and practices. Send Your Word, and healed them, and delivered them from the destroyer. Bring them back to the family altar and give them Your peace.

Thank You for giving us this blessed hope, for we pray and claim all these promises in the name of our LORD and Saviour, Jesus Christ. Amen.

Day 1, Sabbath, September 30, 2023:

“I start with myself, O LORD, because it’s me. It’s me. It’s me, O LORD, standing in the need of prayer!

Where I have not been loving, show me, LORD, and teach me how to love, as You do—unconditionally!

Search me, O God. Thoroughly, LORD, search me, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts that are burdened with regrets of sins I’ve committed and righteous acts I’ve omitted.

Forgive me for where I have exasperated my own children—Your children!

LORD, see if there is any wicked or hurtful way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.

Direct your burning and shining light into the dark recesses of my heart and mind and soul, and lead me to Jesus, to walk in all Your ways.

Heal me, Lord, and I will be healed; save me and I will be saved, for You are the only One I praise.

Lay my pride in the dust that I may be humble before You, for You are my strength, my wisdom, and my trust.

My flesh and my heart have failed, but, LORD, You are the strength of my heart and my comfort forever.

Jesus, You have promised: “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives.” LORD, give me Your peace.

Honestly, LORD, I ask You to reveal: “What have I done, said, not done, or not said that I need to make right? Touch and teach and enable me to set things right—to confess and repent with an honest, truly humble, and contrite heart.”

Humbly, LORD, I ask you to show me where I have been at fault; I confess, I repent, and I turn away from my sin, and I ask You, LORD, to free me from any bitterness, judgmentalism, grudges, or any offense that You reveal has gotten in the way of Your Holy Spirit working within my life.
LORD, this is my prayer: I will do whatever it takes, speaking the truth in love, by Your divine strength and wisdom working within me, to win my children to Jesus and to make them feel welcome in His church.

I wait patiently and expectantly for You, Lord; Your Word promises that You incline Your ear to me, and You hear my cry. You raise me up out of a horrible pit, out of mayhem and out of destruction, out of the miry clay, and You set my feet upon a rock, steadying my footsteps and establishing my path.

You, O LORD, put a new song in my mouth, a song of praise to You, my Saviour, my LORD, and my God; many will see and will with great reverence be drawn to trust confidently You, O Lord.

Blessed and prosperous are all who make the Lord their trust.

Thank You for Your endless fountain of grace and hope to go on, to keep getting up, and to experience transformation of my mind and heart, body and soul, family relationships and friendships.

Many, O Lord my God, are the wonderful works of Your almighty hands, and Your loving thoughts toward us are endless and eternal; there is none to compare unto You. If I would declare and speak of Your wonders, they would be too many to count.

Sacrifice and offering You do not desire, nor do You delight in them; burnt offerings and sin offerings You do not require. The sacrifice You desire is a broken spirit. You will not reject a broken, contrite, and repentant heart, O God.

You have opened my ears and given me the capacity to hear and obey Your Word, for one sentence of Scripture is of more value than ten thousand of man’s ideas or arguments. It is written, man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God.

I delight to do Your will, O my God; Your law is within my heart.

So, LORD, I realize that you love our children much more than we do, so I claim Your promise in Isaiah 49:25, where You guarantee: “I will contend with your opponent, and I will save your children.”

Thank You, LORD, thank You for the encouragement You have given to all parents who have children that have wandered from You and away from the family altar. Thank you for this inspired statement:

“When the storm of persecution really breaks upon us, . . . many who have strayed from the fold will come back to follow the great Shepherd” (Testimonies for the Church, vol. 6, p. 401).
Thank You for giving us parents this blessed hope, for we pray and claim all these promises in the name of our LORD and Saviour, Jesus Christ. Amen.”