Authors O'Rourke and Sauer show parents how to pray specifically for their prodigals and stay centered on God during their time of heartache.

He’s learned from his mistakes…but can he prove he’s changed? When Sawyer Roth is hired to work on his childhood ranch, he knows he has a damaged reputation to repair. Tess Malone, the new ranch owner’s daughter, is the hardest to win over. But as Christmas approaches, Tess and her toddler son find a way into Sawyer’s heart. He lost everything the last time he put his trust in love. Can he risk it all again? Mills & Boon Love Inspired — Heartfelt stories that show that faith, forgiveness and hope have the power to lift spirits and change lives.

The statistics are sobering: between 80 and 90 percent of kids who have grown up in the church are leaving the church after age eighteen. Children slipping away into a culture that tells them the Bible isn't true, sin is no big deal, God isn't real, or there are many ways to get into heaven. Whether parents may blame themselves or the culture, the result is the same: lost souls. But our God specializes in lost souls and the gospel is as powerful as it ever was. With wisdom that comes from personal experience, Jim Putman and his father, Bill Putman, offer brokenhearted parents and loved ones hope for their prodigals. A prodigal son himself, Jim has also found himself in the role of the prodigal's father when his own son rejected the faith. This family's powerful story of restoration, along with solid biblical truths and practical advice, will inspire, motivate, and equip readers to go after their lost sheep with acts of love and service.

Loving a prodigal is a long and desperate journey, filled with fear, worry, anger, self- recrimination. You wait for the phone call--will it be from jail or the hospital? You plead with your loved one. You search for help. You feel the shame. You cry out to God, "How long, Lord?" Author Judy Douglass knows these lovers of prodigals well. She is one herself and has created a large and growing community with others. When You Love a Prodigal is a collection of 90 essays--90 days of perspective on what God offers to you as you love your prodigal. At the end of each brief essay, response questions will help you process how God intends to use the wilderness journey to mold your spiritual life. You can work through it day by day, or you can read it straight through. Judy has traveled this road with her own prodigal--reading, learning, praying, and seeking God. Over and over he continued to give her wisdom, he sustained her, he covered her with grace, and he filled her with hope. May you, too, be strengthened and filled with hope as together you discover how God will take you through your own valley.

Loving a prodigal, or being one, is hard. This book lets you know that you are not alone and that there is hope in Jesus. Author, pastor, and praying father James Banks and his prodigal son returned, Geoffrey Banks, each write from their perspective, sharing their story of redemption and encouraging you through the struggle.

The New York Times bestselling author of The Prodigal Prophet uncovers the essential message of Jesus, locked inside his most familiar parable. Newsweek called renowned minister Timothy Keller "a C.S. Lewis for the twenty-first century" in a feature on his first book, The Reason for God. In that book, he offered a rational explanation of why we should believe in God. Now, in The Prodigal God, Keller takes his trademark intellectual approach to understanding Christianity and uses the parable of the prodigal son to reveal an unexpected message of hope and salvation. Within that parable Jesus reveals God's prodigal grace toward both the irreligious and the moralistic. This book will challenge both the devout and skeptics to see Christianity in a whole new way.

When you’re the parent of a prodigal, you know you can never pray enough. But how do you persevere when you’re tired and discouraged? Prayers for Prodigals offers encouragement for parents to “come boldly before the throne of grace” and intercede daily for their children through a series of inspirational prayers. The book also includes fourteen brief meditations, which are drawn from Scripture and the writer’s and others’ personal experiences with prodigal children, such as Ruth and Billy Graham and Monica, the mother of Augustine. This unique book inspires parents in a sustained, daily prayer effort for their prodigal children.

How do you live for Christ in such personal turmoil? How do you live with a grown child whose destructive choices have turned him into a person so unlike the adorable offspring into whom you poured much of yourself? Ultimately, how do you bear the pain if that prodigal never returns? Here, Dr. Craig Svensson shows he is no stranger to such deeply devastating circumstances. He sensitively, engagingly, and compassionately directs readers to Scripture to create a biblical framework for addressing the trauma of having a prodigal in the family. A powerful and heartbreaking story that is real, raw, and yet full of gospel centered hope. I believe God will use this marvelous book to draw prodigals to himself and comfort and sustain parents who find themselves on this difficult journey. Pastor Steve Viars, D.Min, Senior Pastor of Faith Church, Lafayette, Indiana, Craig Svensson has written a very moving and very needed book with a unique perspective for parents of prodigal children. Bob Kellemen, Ph.D., VP/Academic Dean at Faith Bible Seminary, Lafayette, Indiana, ...an indispensable book for those enduring the sorrow, grief, and confusion of dealing with prodigal children. Pamela Gannon, RN, MABC, ACBC certified Biblical Counselor at Grace Bible Church, Adjunct faculty at Montana Bible College, Bozeman, Montana, With wisdom born from experience and careful consideration of biblical truth, Dr. Craig Svensson offers compassionate hope and help to parents facing the difficult reality of a wayward child. Brent Aucoin, Ph.D., Pastor of Seminary and Soul Care Ministries, Faith Church, Lafayette, Indiana, As only one who has previously walked this tragic path can, Dr. Svensson humbly and hopefully offers true biblical counsel, comforting even while he challenges the reader to love and serve like Jesus in heartbreaking situations. Jocelyn Wallace Inaugural Executive Director at Vision of Hope Residential Treatment Center, Lafayette, Indiana. Book jacket.

“Where was God when ____? How could God allow ____? Why?” These are the questions that flood our hearts and minds when the unimaginable happens. When things go horribly wrong and the world seems to be unraveling, how do you believe in God’s goodness? How do you cling to hope? Chad Veach directs readers away from clichéd Sunday school answers that fail to offer real comfort or provide faith-building insights. Instead, he draws from God’s promises in the Bible and from the story of his own daughter’s diagnosis of a devastating and debilitating disease to reveal simple, purposeful steps for dealing with pain. Resting in God’s love, remembering his past faithfulness, and realizing the distinction between having faith and clinging to hope are just some of these steps. Veach reminds us that because we know who God is, we know there is hope.

Offering hope, help, and encouragement to hurting parents of prodigal daughters, author Janet Thompson shares out of her own experience as a prodigal daughter and as the mother of a prodigal daughter. And the key to the help she offers is prayer. While you, as a hurting mom or dad, may know that you need to pray for your daughter, this walk-along-beside-you book will take you gently by the hand and show you how. In it you will find candid stories of other parents of prodigals -- and even the stories of prodigals themselves. Don't wait until you have a prodigal situation. Any parent will benefit from this book's incredible insights, prayers, and stories. Praying for Your Prodigal Daughter is about hope, help, and support from others who have walked a similar road. Chapter Topics Include • Setting Boundaries • Surviving in Marriage • Resolving Conflict • Making it All About Her • What Did We Do to Cause This?