What to Do When You've Been Praying for the Same Person for Years

There's a particular weariness that comes from praying for someone you love who remains far from God. In this episode, discover why the silence isn't absence, and what God asks of you when you can't see what He's doing.Calum Mackenzie grew up in Scotland watching his father transform overnight after reading the Gospel of John. His dad had been a violent man who drank and made the house unsafe. Then he encountered Christ, and everything changed. Calum saw it happen with his own eyes.And he wanted nothing to do with it.By the time he left home, he'd decided God could keep his religion to himself. He spent the next 22 years trying everything else, running hard and going nowhere in particular. His family prayed for him the entire time, without a single visible sign that anything was changing.Twenty-two years.There's a particular kind of weariness that comes from praying for the same person for years. You've prayed the same prayer so many times you've lost count. You've watched someone you love make choices that break your heart, and kept loving them anyway. And somewhere in all of it, the question starts to press in: is anyone listening?That weariness is real, and it doesn't get talked about much in church.My wife Katharine and I know something about it. After our oldest son graduated from high school, he strayed from God and began drinking. For a few years, we prayed for him consistently, asking God to do whatever it took to bring him back. There were stretches where nothing looked different. But we kept praying. Eventually, our son repented and returned to God. Today, he's a deacon in our church and a worship leader. I don't tell you that because the ending was quick or easy. I tell you because I want you to know the waiting is hard, and God is still working in it.First Peter 3:1-2 speaks directly to this. Peter is writing to wives with unbelieving husbands, but the principle reaches further. When someone you love refuses to respond, his counsel isn't to push harder or say more. It's to live faithfully and trust God with the outcome. Because your job was never to fix them. What you can do is keep the door open and trust that the same God who pursued you is still pursuing them.Through Calum's story and the steady counsel of 1 Peter 3, this episode takes an honest look at the particular exhaustion of long-term intercession, and what it means to keep praying when you can't see what God is doing.BY THE TIME YOU FINISH LISTENING, YOU'LL DISCOVER:Why God's silence in unanswered prayer is often evidence that He's working somewhere you can't see yetWhat 1 Peter 3:1-2 says about the role of faithful living when words and arguments have stopped workingA practical challenge for releasing the outcome without abandoning the prayerThe silence isn't absence. God is still working. And He honored 22 years of prayer for Calum. He sees the name you've been praying too.Share This Episode:https://www.dailydevotionsforbusylives.com/222Need Prayer? Leave me a voicemail:https://www.dailydevotionsforbusylives.com/voicemailWant to keep these devotions coming? Please consider supporting this podcast.https://www.dailydevotionsforbusylives.com/support/Rate and Reviewhttps://www.dailydevotionsforbusylives.com/reviews/new/Connect with BartFacebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/dailydevotionsforbusylivesWebsite: https://www.dailydevotionsforbusylives.comFeeling spiritually drained? Start here. Download your free copy of my eBook Making Time for Jesus here.Mentioned in this episode:Join Our Private Facebook CommunityIf you're looking for a place to connect with other Daily Devotions listeners and pray for each other, I'd love for you to join our private Facebook community group. Come find us at https://www.dailydevotionsforbusylives.com/group