A prodigal is a person who at one time received Christ as Lord and Savior, but has since strayed from God and is no longer living in obedience to Him. The term comes from a parable of the Prodigal Son in Luke 15:11-32.

Sometimes it is difficult to understand why our wayward loved ones are running from God, and we try desperately to save them. I have found that the more we preach at them the faster they seem to run. We eventually discover that we can't save them. It is a work of the Holy Spirit, and our part is to pray for them, love them, and live a Christ-like life before them.

Like the Apostle Paul, we too must wait for an open door to minister. When Paul and Silas were visited by God in prison, their shackles were loosed. When the jailer saw what happened, he asked, "What must I do to be saved?"

This was an open door to talk to jailer about Christ.

And they said, "Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you shall be saved, you and your household." (Acts 16:31 NASB)

This verse doesn't mean that just because the jailer believed in God, his family was saved also. But once a person comes to Christ and prays for his or her household, God will make Himself real to them, and it will be very difficult for them to turn their back on the Lord.

It is God