But as for me, I will look to the Lord; I will wait for the God of my salvation; my God will hear me. (Micah 7:7 NIV)
Indeed, the Son of Man has come to seek and to save people who are lost. (Luke 19:10 GW)
Last week I was talking with a dear friend whose 31-year-old son is in a complicated season of life. I won’t share the details, but our conversation led me to reflect on a parable Jesus told.
In the story, a man loved his two sons so deeply that when the younger son asked for his share of the inheritance, the father gave it to him. The son squandered everything, eventually returned home, and—despite his reckless living—was welcomed back into the family. You probably know this story as the Prodigal Son, though the NIV titles it the Lost Son.
In the parable, the son was lost to his father—and in my friend’s life, her son feels lost as well.
Jesus told this story to show how deeply the Father loves wayward children—both the Israelites of His day and the prodigals of our own. That love is most clearly seen in the father’s response when his son returns: “While he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him” (Luke 15:20, NIV). How did the father know the son was still far away? He had been watching.
Whether the son had been gone two days, ten months, or five years, the father watched and waited, hoping to see him coming down the road toward home. If you have ever waited for a loved one in this way, you know that the waiting can last days, months, or even years. We all know people who have prayed for decades for someone they love to come to faith in Christ. I even heard of someone who is fasting ice cream—his favorite food—until his sister becomes a believer. Sometimes, the waiting is long.
One of the challenges of reading any story, including a parable, is that we know how it ends. But when you are living the story, you may hope for a good ending without knowing when—or how—it will come. All you can do is wait and pray. What if the father of the Lost Son waited months, years, or even decades for his son to return?
When you read the parable, you never hear about the mother of the two sons. But you do see a father who waited. How long did he wait? Jesus doesn’t tell us—only that “when he came to his senses,” the son decided to go home.
How long does it take someone to come to their senses? Only God knows.
In the meantime, a mother waits, prays, and trusts that the son she loves will one day come home. She knows he is never beyond the reach of a watching Father so she rests in the expectation that God is at work, even in the waiting.
Father God,
We come to you today grateful that you are watching over the prodigals, that your love never leaves them, and that your timing is perfect. Today we pray for all those who are waiting for a lost loved one to come home. We pray that as they pray, wait, and watch, you would strengthen their faith, give them great hope, and encourage them in their love. We pray in the name of Jesus for the hearts of the lost to be turned toward you. Where there is anger, bitterness, unforgiveness, or fear, we pray that you would bring healing and release to these areas. Where there is a spirit of pride blocking resolution and restoration, we pray that hard hearts would be led to humility and repentance. Where the voices of the enemy are lying to the spirits of the lost, we pray and declare NO MORE: you will not take these that are Beloved in the Lord. They will be restored to the love of family and friends, and the fullness of life serving in your Church. We ask these things in the strong name of Jesus Christ, AMEN.
The Parable of the Lost Son
Jesus continued: “There was a man who had two sons. The younger one said to his father, ‘Father, give me my share of the estate.’ So he divided his property between them.
Not long after that, the younger son got together all he had, set off for a distant country, and there squandered his wealth in wild living. After he had spent everything, there was a severe famine in that whole country, and he began to be in need. So he went and hired himself out to a citizen of that country, who sent him to his fields to feed pigs. He longed to fill his stomach with the pods that the pigs were eating, but no one gave him anything.
When he came to his senses, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired servants have food to spare, and here I am starving to death! I will set out and go back to my father and say to him: Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me like one of your hired servants.’ So he got up and went to his father.
But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him, and kissed him.
The son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’
But the father said to his servants, ‘Quick! Bring the best robe and put it on him. Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. Bring the fattened calf and kill it. Let’s have a feast and celebrate. For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’ So they began to celebrate.
Meanwhile, the older son was in the field. When he came near the house, he heard music and dancing. So he called one of the servants and asked him what was going on. ‘Your brother has come,’ he replied, ‘and your father has killed the fattened calf because he has him back safe and sound.’
The older brother became angry and refused to go in. So his father went out and pleaded with him. But he answered his father, ‘Look! All these years I’ve been slaving for you and never disobeyed your orders. Yet you never gave me even a young goat so I could celebrate with my friends. But when this son of yours who has squandered your property with prostitutes comes home, you kill the fattened calf for him!’
‘My son,’ the father said, ‘you are always with me, and everything I have is yours. But we had to celebrate and be glad, because this brother of yours was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’” (Luke 15:11–32 NIV)