One of the greatest tools God has given you is prayer. Some prayers are answered within minutes or weeks. Others take forty years. When you feel helpless, confused, or heartbroken, you can still express your needs to Him. Conversing with the Lord is not a last resort for desperate people. It is the first and lasting response of faithful believers.
Dr. James Dobson consistently reminded parents that prayer is not optional — it is essential. He wrote: “I urge you to hold your children before the Lord in fervent prayer day by day by day. Begin every morning with a prayer for wisdom and guidance. I am convinced that there is no other true source of confidence in parenting. There is not enough knowledge in the books, mine or anyone else’s, to counteract the evil that surrounds our kids today. We must bathe them in fervent prayer when we are in our prayer closet.” His words remind you that going before the Throne of Heaven for those whom you love is not weakness. It is strength rooted in dependence on Him.
Every home carries burdens. Some are small and temporary, while others last for years. At times, you will see answers quickly. In other situations, you will wait much longer than you ever expected.
A friend once shared how she interceded for her daughter for forty years after the young woman walked away from the faith she had been raised in. Holidays were painful. Phone calls were rare. There were long stretches of silence. Yet this mother remained faithful in bringing her child before the Lord. She asked God to protect her, to soften her heart, and to draw her back into relationship with Him and with her family. The mother’s words were not perfect, but they were persistent. Four decades later, that prodigal finally came back to Christ. When she did, her mother wept with joy. Her petitions had outlasted the rebellion.
Not every story takes forty years, but some do. Dr. Dobson’s own grandmother prayed for her unbelieving husband to accept Christ for four decades too. He finally reached that moment on his death bed when he asked his wife to pray with him.
When the waiting stretches far beyond what you imagined, endurance becomes an act of faith. Sometimes, however, the Lord moves much faster than you expect. A couple we know had been deeply concerned about their adult daughter. She was living in another part of the country with her boyfriend. She was pregnant and not walking with the Lord. Her parents were worried about her choices and her future. They invited others to join them in asking God to bring her home and restore her faith. Weeks later, their daughter chose to move back in with her mom and dad. She began taking classes and rebuilding her life. Her parents are praising the Lord for that clear answer.
Two accounts took forty years. The other unfolded in a matter of weeks. All point to the same truth: the Lord hears and responds. Scripture says, “The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working” (James 5:16 ESV). That verse does not promise a timetable. It assures you that He is active behind the scenes. In Luke 18, Jesus told the story of a widow who kept coming to a judge with her request. She refused to give up. Christ explained that the lesson was to pray continually and not lose heart.
When you bring your loved ones before the Father, you are doing more than asking for change. You are placing them in His capable hands. You cannot control another person’s heart, force someone into belief in Jesus, or remove every hardship. But you can seek His intervention in ways you cannot see.
Time spent in prayer also shapes you. It guards your heart from bitterness and reminds you that the Lord cares for your family even more than you do. It keeps you humble. Bowing before Him is an admission that you do not have all the answers. You rely on the One who does.
As you lift your marriage to your Heavenly Father, ask Him to give you patience, kindness, and wisdom, and to show you practical ways to love your spouse each day. If a son or daughter has wandered, ask for protection and for godly influences who will speak truth with grace. When another relative or close friend is struggling, ask the Lord to mend wounds and restore what has been broken.
There may be days when you question whether your petitions to God are accomplishing anything. You may feel tired or discouraged. In those moments, remember that His activity is often quiet and unseen. Seeds grow underground before they ever break through the soil. In the same way, He may be accomplishing something far greater than you realize.
It is also important to remember that the Lord is not a genie. You cannot simply rub a lamp and expect three wishes. Your conversations with Him should include a desire for His will to be done, just as Christ taught in the Lord’s Prayer. When you bring requests to Him, He doesn’t always say yes, and He doesn’t guarantee that events will unfold the way you hope. What He does promise is His presence and His faithfulness. Entrusting your concerns to Him shows that you believe He is good, even when you cannot trace His hand.
Your time with the Lord does not have to be grand, poetic, or polished. It simply needs to be sincere. Charles Spurgeon once said, “I rarely pray for more than five minutes, but I never go five minutes without praying.” Speaking with your Heavenly Father is a privilege you can practice throughout the day. He listens. He responds in His time and in His own way. And He remains at work in every situation—even when you can’t see any evidence.
See Part 1 of this blog, “Prayer Changes Things.”
