Robert J. Morgan - Prayers and Promises for Worried Parents. Hope for Your Prodigal. Help for You

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Praise for Prayers and Promises for Worried Parents

Most Christians have a family member who is or was a prodigal. By skillfully using pertinent Bible verses and relating remarkable answers to the prayers and faith of parents with prodigals, Robs book offers hope and comfort to readers. I heartily recommend Prayers and Promises for Worried Parents. You will be blessed!

M. A. (Joe) Henderson, executive director emeritus of The Gideons International

One person has described praying as the most neglected work of the Church. Robert Morgan has provided examples of the historical impact of prayers in the lives of believers and the promises that are ours in the Scriptures accessed through prayer. It seems that our children can send us to our knees quickly and keep us there for a long time. Prayers and Promises for Worried Parents is a timely help for burdened parents.

James Flanagan, Ph.D., president of Luther Rice University and Seminary

In Prayers and Promises for Worried Parents, Robert Morgan writes from his own experiences. This book is a great help for parents who are desperate for answers! The book encouraged me to express my heart to God specifically and in detail. My prayer life has been blessed and strengthened as a result.

Reese R. Kauffman, president of Child Evangelism Fellowship, Inc.

Practical. Powerful. Perceptive. Personal. Prayerful. Rob Morgan has crafted a wonderful handbook for all of us with children or friends who are looking for answers in all the wrong places. He teaches all of us that our God listens with great interest to our prayers and gives courage to those who diligently seek Him. Rob carefully takes each of us to the place where prayer and scripture intersect and shows us how to find healing, rest, hope, comfort, and joy, even in the midst of deep and passionate struggle. A must-read for every parent.

Dr. Vernon M. Whaley, dean of Liberty University School of Music

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Copyright 2003 by Rob Morgan

Originally published as Moments for Families With Prodigals in 2003 by NavPress.

All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce this book or portions thereof in any form whatsoever. For information address Howard Books Subsidiary Rights Department, 1230 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10020.

First Howard Books trade paperback edition September 2013

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Designed by Davina Mock-Maniscalco

Cover design by John Hamilton Design

Front cover photograph Getty Images

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Morgan, Robert J., 1952

[Moments for families with prodigals]

Prayers and promises for worried parents : hope for your prodigal, help for you / Robert J. Morgan.

pages cm

Originally published under title: Moments for families with prodigals : Colorado Springs, Colo. : NavPress, c2003.

1. ParentsPrayers and devotions. 2. Ex-church membersFamily relationships. 3. Meditations. I. Title.

BV4845.M67 2013

242.645dc23

2013010178

ISBN 978-1-4767-4067-6

ISBN 978-1-4767-4068-3 (ebook)

Unless otherwise identified, all Scripture quotations in this publication are taken from the New King James Version (NKJV) Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Other versions used include: the New American Standard Bible (NASB) The Lockman Foundation 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977; The HOLY BIBLE: NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION (NIV). Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House, all rights reserved; The Message: New Testament with Psalms and Proverbs (MSG) by Eugene H. Peterson. Copyright 1993, 1994, 1995, used by permission of NavPress Publishing Group; the Revised Standard Version Bible (RSV), copyright 1946, 1952, 1971, by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the USA, used by permission, all rights reserved; The New Testament in Modern English (PH), J. B. Phillips Translator, J. B. Phillips 1958, 1960, 1972, used by permission of Macmillan Publishing Company; the New Revised Standard Version (NRSV), copyright 1989, by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the USA, used by permission, all rights reserved; The Holy Bible New Century Version (NCV) copyright 1987, 1988, 1991 by Word Publishing. Dallas, Texas 75039. Used by permission; the Good News Bible Todays English Version (TEV), copyright American Bible Society 1966, 1975, 1976; the Amplified New Testament (AMP), The Lockman Foundation 1954, 1958; the Modern Language Bible: The Berkeley Version in Modern English (MLB), copyright 1945, 1959, 1969 by Zondervan Publishing House, used by permission; the Williams New Testament (WMS) by Charles B. Williams, 1937, 1963, 1966, by Edith S. Williams, Moody Bible Institute of Chicago; the Holy Bible New Living Translation , (NLT) copyright 1996. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers. Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. All rights reserved.

To Jeff Nichols

My friend and colleague of twenty years.

We have wandered into several valleys together and always found the way out

... with help from above.

Before I was married I had three theories about raising children.

Now I have three children and no theories.

J OHN W ILMOT , E ARL OF R OCHESTER

Praise ye the Father! For His loving kindness,

Tenderly cares He for His erring children.

E LIZABETH R. C HARLES , 1858

A dear, sweet friend of mine has had nothing but trouble with his children. In my estimation, he has been the perfect parent who provided them with everything they needed to grow up and do the right thing, but every one of them, in one way or another, took a wrong turn. He grieved over them and disciplined them and set proper boundaries with them. After years of cleaning up after their messes and making the best of the worst of situations, some of his prodigal kids came home and some of them did not. From all appearances, his heart was broken over these prodigal kids. But, through it all, his love for them did not falter. To all of us who know him, he is a great example of how to deal with our children when they go the way of the world. He wrote a book about his experiences and it has become a bestseller. My sweet friend is Jesus and, of course, His book is the Bible.

I tell you this to assure you that God is aware of your pain and your struggle. He is not distant from your heart or disinterested in your pain. He has been where you are and is experiencing what you are experiencing right now. You may feel alone in this, but you are not. He wants to guide you and comfort you through every impossible situation and miserable confrontation with your child. And, when you feel like throwing in the towel on parenthood, he wants to give you new strength to carry on the task of loving when it hurts the most.