{"version":"1.0","provider_name":"Church Answers","provider_url":"https:\/\/churchanswers.com","title":"When You\u2019ve (Almost) Lost Hope for Your Unbelieving or Prodigal Loved Ones | Church Answers","type":"rich","width":600,"height":338,"html":"<blockquote class=\"wp-embedded-content\" data-secret=\"XX0rpb53SI\"><a href=\"https:\/\/churchanswers.com\/blog\/when-youve-almost-lost-hope-for-your-unbelieving-or-prodigal-loved-ones\/\">When You\u2019ve (Almost) Lost Hope for Your Unbelieving or Prodigal Loved Ones<\/a><\/blockquote><iframe sandbox=\"allow-scripts\" security=\"restricted\" src=\"https:\/\/churchanswers.com\/blog\/when-youve-almost-lost-hope-for-your-unbelieving-or-prodigal-loved-ones\/embed\/#?secret=XX0rpb53SI\" width=\"600\" height=\"338\" title=\"&#8220;When You\u2019ve (Almost) Lost Hope for Your Unbelieving or Prodigal Loved Ones&#8221; &#8212; Church Answers\" data-secret=\"XX0rpb53SI\" frameborder=\"0\" marginwidth=\"0\" marginheight=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\" class=\"wp-embedded-content\"><\/iframe><script type=\"text\/javascript\">\n\/* <![CDATA[ *\/\n\/*! This file is auto-generated *\/\n!function(d,l){\"use strict\";l.querySelector&&d.addEventListener&&\"undefined\"!=typeof URL&&(d.wp=d.wp||{},d.wp.receiveEmbedMessage||(d.wp.receiveEmbedMessage=function(e){var t=e.data;if((t||t.secret||t.message||t.value)&&!\/[^a-zA-Z0-9]\/.test(t.secret)){for(var s,r,n,a=l.querySelectorAll('iframe[data-secret=\"'+t.secret+'\"]'),o=l.querySelectorAll('blockquote[data-secret=\"'+t.secret+'\"]'),c=new RegExp(\"^https?:$\",\"i\"),i=0;i<o.length;i++)o[i].style.display=\"none\";for(i=0;i<a.length;i++)s=a[i],e.source===s.contentWindow&&(s.removeAttribute(\"style\"),\"height\"===t.message?(1e3<(r=parseInt(t.value,10))?r=1e3:~~r<200&&(r=200),s.height=r):\"link\"===t.message&&(r=new URL(s.getAttribute(\"src\")),n=new URL(t.value),c.test(n.protocol))&&n.host===r.host&&l.activeElement===s&&(d.top.location.href=t.value))}},d.addEventListener(\"message\",d.wp.receiveEmbedMessage,!1),l.addEventListener(\"DOMContentLoaded\",function(){for(var e,t,s=l.querySelectorAll(\"iframe.wp-embedded-content\"),r=0;r<s.length;r++)(t=(e=s[r]).getAttribute(\"data-secret\"))||(t=Math.random().toString(36).substring(2,12),e.src+=\"#?secret=\"+t,e.setAttribute(\"data-secret\",t)),e.contentWindow.postMessage({message:\"ready\",secret:t},\"*\")},!1)))}(window,document);\n\/\/# sourceURL=https:\/\/churchanswers.com\/wp-includes\/js\/wp-embed.min.js\n\/* ]]> *\/\n<\/script>\n","thumbnail_url":"https:\/\/churchanswers.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/prodigal-son-hugs-his-own-father.jpg","thumbnail_width":1200,"thumbnail_height":628,"description":"I\u2019ve heard the story so many times lately that it seems hardly a week passes by without my hearing about this grief: believing loved ones praying for family members who\u2019ve never followed Christ or who have abandoned the faith of their upbringing. Sometimes it\u2019s parents praying for teen and adult children; at other times, it\u2019s teen and adult children still praying for older parents and grandparents. I know this anguish because I prayed for 36 years for my dad and 47 years for my mom before they both became Christ-followers. I would be lying if I said that I never once lost faith or doubted God in the decades that I prayed. I was a pastor for a number of those years, but even I wondered if God were ever going to answer my prayers. It felt like the more I prayed, the worse the situation seemed. My wife, Pam, and I don\u2019t have children, but we have been surrogate \u201cparents,\u201d \u201cgrandparents,\u201d \u201caunt\u201d and \u201cuncle\u201d to some who\u2019ve wandered from the faith. I know how much we\u2019ve grieved these situations, and I cannot imagine how much deeper the pain must be for biological parents who did their best to raise their offspring in a Christian home. As a pastor, I\u2019ve wept with more than one parent bearing this burden; at other times, I\u2019ve wept myself over folks I love. Sometimes, though, I\u2019ve watched as God graciously drew to Himself someone for whom I and others had been praying for years. The latter situation has always been worth the wait. My goal in this article is to help you not lose hope when you have unbelieving or prodigal loved ones\u2014or, if all your family members are believers, to help you encourage others who do face the struggle with loved ones. My thoughts are probably not revolutionary, but I trust that hearing them again will be important when your faith begins to struggle."}