Restoring Fractured Families

“Remember the LORD who is great and awesome, and fight for your brothers, your sons, your daughters, your wives and your houses.”—Nehemiah 4:14

Satan doesn’t always attack us head-on. He knows it’s often more effective to launch his fiery darts toward those we love—whether that means our children, our grandchildren, or our spouse. Nothing is more painful than watching our loved ones suffer from the devil’s attacks or their own wrong choices.

However, you can be confident God will faithfully answer your prayers for your family. His promises are given not only for you, but also to your family, even if they’re presently “afar off:” “The promise is to you and to your children, and to all who are afar off” (Acts 2:39).

Of course, winning the hearts of your loved ones will require not only your prayers, but your godly example as well. Proverbs 22:6 promises, “Train up a child in the way he should go, and even when he is old he will not depart from it.” This certainly doesn’t mean you must be perfect, but you need to recognize that your life will inevitably have an impact, either positive or negative.

Joshua knew that his decisions would affect not only his own life, but also his family: “As for me and my house, we will serve the LORD” (Joshua 24:15). Because he had determined to follow the Lord with his whole heart, he trusted that his family would ultimately do likewise.

Household Salvation

If you have family members who aren’t presently walking with the Lord, I encourage you to lay hold of the numerous examples in God’s Word. For example, when the Philippian jailer asked Paul and Silas what he had to do in order to be saved, they replied, “Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved, you and your household” (Acts 16:31).

What a beautiful example of God’s desire to transform not only your life, but your entire family. So if your loved ones are presently bound by Satan’s snares, don’t give up. Keep interceding and doing spiritual battle against the enemy.

Perhaps you’ve heard the story of a widow named Monica, who wrestled in prayer for many years for the salvation of her wayward son. It seemed that the more she prayed, the worse his situation became. He lived in blatant immorality and even spent several years in a cult. Despite her efforts to share the Gospel with him, his heart seemed completely hardened.

Finally, at age 33, Monica’s son was converted and baptized. The son, who became known as Saint Augustine, became one of the most influential theologians in church history. Monica went to be with the Lord shortly after Augustine’s conversion, but God had been faithful to answer her prayers.

Family Miracles

On a regular basis, the prayer ministers in our International Prayer Center see breakthroughs when they intercede for the needs of families. This shouldn’t really be surprising, since many of Jesus’ miracles were in direct response to the pleas of desperate people who sought His help for their children and loved ones. Here are just a few examples:

• Healing Jairus’ daughter – Mark 5:22-43
• Casting a demon out of a mute boy – Mark 9:17-29
• Healing a nobleman’s dying son – John 4:46-53
• Healing the demon-possessed daughter of a Gentile woman – Matthew 15:21-28
• Resurrecting the son of the widow of Nain – Luke 7:11-15

These stories contain a wonderful message for us today: God delights in answering our fervent prayers for our children and family members. Whatever difficult situations your loved ones face—sickness, sin, rebellion, or addiction—the Lord wants you to confidently bring your intercessions to Him. Through your prayers and godly example, you can impact your entire family and leave a powerful legacy!

Along with our prayer ministers here at Inspiration Ministries—I am praying for you every day. God is faithful, and He will help you not only win your own spiritual battles, but also bring spiritual deliverance and victory to your loved ones.

God bless you!

David Cerullo