"I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is like the working of his mighty strength" Ephesians 1:18 (NIV)

Mind-boggling devastation filled the screen. I just couldn't wrap my mind around everything that had taken place by the earthquake in Haiti. Such suffering and pain. I went to sleep with the images firmly planted in my mind and heart.

When I awoke in the morning, I began to pray before my feet hit the ground: prayer for miracles, supplies and those who would arrive in that precious country to serve and minister to the broken. A picture of a crying baby being pulled from the rubble came to mind. After over 48 hours of no food, no water and being trapped under a collapsed house, the 18 month-old was rescued. It was truly a miracle.

My prayers moved from the Haitian crisis to praying for a loved one who has gone astray. The one I love has much in common with the newly rescued baby. He too is trapped. Trapped by the weight and destruction of bad decisions and flawed thinking patterns. What seemed like a common path many were taking led to a place of destruction.

What this precious baby and my loved one do not have in common is the desire to be free. The baby sensed something was wrong. Where was her family? Where was food and water? Why wasn't someone coming to her rescue? Such thoughts occupied her tiny immature mind. My loved one has yet to discover that he indeed needs rescuing. He has yet to recognize the weight of selfishness, unforgiveness and self-destruction pressing on him.

Do you have one you desperately love who is heading toward destruction and doesn't realize it? Do you have days when the rubble of sin seems too heavy- too much to be removed? And you just can't see how God is going to break through?

Help is arriving in Haiti. Armies, doctors, nurses and relief workers from around the world are helping. Rescue is taking place. People's lives have been saved, and in time, the destruction will be removed.

Rescue is available for our loved ones, too. Prayer is the place to begin as we hope that in the middle of their own destruction, they will see their need for rescue. When that realization becomes clear, like the tiny baby in Haiti, our loved ones will cry out for help. We know our God will be there to hear and rescue. He may use others to help them. He may call them to push away some of the debris. But more than anything, we know He wants them free.

Dear Lord, some days I grow weary of praying for my loved one. I am so glad that You don't. Please open their eyes to see the destruction they are in and give them the desire to break free. In Jesus' Name, Amen.

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Related Resources:

Divine Prayers for Despairing Parents: What to Pray When You Don’t Know What to Say by Susanne Scheppmann

Confessions of an Adulterous Woman: Lies that Got Me There, Truths that Brought Me Back by Lyndell Holtz

Redeeming Love by Francine Rivers

Visit Lynn’s blog

Read one praying mother’s story The Night I Lost All Hope

Application Steps:

Is your loved one a child? A husband? A friend? Find another godly woman who will partner with you to pray daily for this person; preferably one who has had victory in her life with a loved one in this area.

Pray for divine appointments in this person's life and others who will share compassion, love and Jesus' heart with them.

Get a notebook or journal. Write your loved one's name on the front. Begin to journal prayers, verses, etc., specifically related to your loved one. Fill in their name and use the word "you" i.e. "Today I prayed Ephesians 1:18-19 for you. It says…." Print prayers sent to you by others and put them in the journal. Believe that one day you will give this journal to your loved one as a testimony to what God has done.

Reflections:

Were you ever someone else's wayward loved one? If so, what did the Lord do to bring you to Himself?

Are you the wayward love one? If so, do not be afraid to call out from underneath your rubble. Those around you already see it. They see you and more than anything they want you to be free and to help you to get there!

Power Verses:

Psalm 106:8, "Yet he saved them for his name's sake, to make his mighty power known." (NIV)

Zephaniah 3:17, "The LORD your God is with you, he is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, he will quiet you with his love, he will rejoice over you with singing." (NIV)

© 2010 by Lynn Cowell. All rights reserved.