A Prayer for When Your Family Loses Their Faith
By Molly Law
“We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to our own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all.” - Isaiah 53:6
I recently had a conversation with one of my sisters about our other sister. My other sister mentioned she sort of liked crystals and believed in phenomena such as getting feelings or premonitions about death. This threw me for a second. My sisters and I grew up in the same household, with the same faith, and the source of salvation.
When I voiced my concern to my sister, she said that if someone can find peace through any means then why take that away from them? She, herself, said she was saved because the Bible says that nothing can take that away from her, yet her relationship with the One who saves is virtually dormant. While I know this is true and believe that my sisters are still saved as they declared their love for Christ with their hearts (Romans 10:9), I found myself becoming increasingly scared, sad, and hurt that they are not experiencing a loving and close relationship with Jesus Christ.
I can empathize where my sisters are coming from. Like I said, we were raised in the same church and same Christian high school. In that environment, we were taught that our actions were directly connected with our faith and salvation. It was a legalistic culture that heavily preached toxic messages, especially around abstinence and purity culture. As an adult, I know the damage and toll that took. I’m still healing and reconciling what I was taught with my relationship with the Lord now. Whereas I have been hurt by that and another church community group, I still love and have an active relationship with my Savior.
This conversation with my sister also convicted me. Deep down, I have always known that my faith was stronger than my sisters, but I was secure in the knowledge that they knew and loved the Lord — and because of my mother, they were in Christian spaces. But as we grew older and led our own lives, I forgot to check in on their spiritual health. I turned inward and only focused on my faith and life. I trusted they still carried the faith we grew up with.
As my heart still aches knowing they are not close to the One I know as my Father, Friend, Comforter, and Prince of Peace, it makes me think about how this would affect my outlook of spreading the gospel to everyone around me. Would I be propelled to share the gospel with everyone if it hurt just as much as it does to know that my sisters don’t have an active relationship with the Lord?
As a follower of Christ, I have been called to spread the gospel, to be a fisher of man — that means within my own family and the world around me. I’ve been suppressing that call, even ignoring it, but hearing my sisters admit they have drifted away has awaken that call within me, and I pray that it will for all of us today.
Let’s pray:
Dear Lord,
I pray for everyone who does not know you. I pray that you will pursue their hearts and bring those who love you to share your love with them. I pray that I can be that person — to be placed in a path of someone who needs you.
Be with our families who may know of you but do not know you. I pray that we can be your light and begin to plant that renewal and see you grow it. I pray that we do not ignore our calling to share the gospel message of salvation. I pray that we do not forget the fate of everyone who does not call on your name.
I also pray that even though we know that someone is saved that we do not become complacent. I pray that we come along their faith journey so that we can disciple one another. Although we are called to share the message of salvation, does not mean we leave and abandon them after they are saved. We are also called to disciple and be part of a community of believers.
Lord, we pray for our families and friends, and those around us who do not know you, or who knew you, but have become apathetic, or have gone astray. I pray that we can be the light to bring them to you — to bring them back to your love and comfort.
We love and trust you with all of our hearts, our Father, our Savior.
In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Photo credit: ©GettyImages/ Maskot
Molly Law is the former Editor of C.com. She has a Master of Arts in Publishing Studies from the University of Stirling, UK, where she studied and lived for a year in Scotland. She has a Bachelor of Arts in English Professional Writing from Gardner-Webb University. Her editorial career includes Senior Editor of a bimonthly magazine for the nonprofit ACA and Editorial Assistant at Luath Press in Edinburgh, UK. She enjoys reading 18th-century British Literature, creative writing, and traveling.
Editor's Note: We're proud to announce we've just launched a new nighttime companion to Your Daily Prayer: the Your Nightly Prayer devotional. You'll soon be able to subscribe to receive Your Nightly Prayer via email, or as a podcast, but for now you can find it on the website at crosswalk.com/devotionals/your-nightly-prayer. We hope it's a relaxing and soothing way to wind down your day with rich meditations on who God is.
Related Resource: Jesus Calling - Stories of Faith
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