I started this book, feeling extremely discouraged because of different things that have gone on for years with our oldest daughter (my husband's from his first marriage).

In the first day's prayer was this:
I am encouraged! You are God, and you answer prayer!

And you know what? It's true! I AM encouraged after just that first day. It had gotten to the point where I couldn't even think about that daughter, much less pray for her. But prayer changes things. It has reminded me that she is still our daughter, and God can still move in her life.

I love how the prayers-almost every line of them-are centered around Scripture. God says that His Word will not return void, so what better way to pray than with Scripture?

I think this is a wonderful prayer guide for parents of prodigals. Not every prayer will fit your situation of course, but all prayers are customizable.

Free ARC from NETGALLEY

Good information but I am skeptical of any and all 90 day wonder cycles that are so called Biblical based

It can sure make the 91st day very heartbreaking

This book was a timely suggestion from NetGalley. Although my wayward child is still physically at home, it often feels like she is miles away in a spiritual and emotional sense. Day one had me in tears by the end of reading the provided prayer and led to continued prayer with more focus than I had ever been able to muster before.

Prayers for Prodigals is organized as a 7-day a week devotional covering a total of 90 days. Each week starts with a scripture and anecdotal story from parents who have been down this road. This is followed by an inspirational quotation. The daily devotionals consist of a scripture and prayer starters with plenty of scripture sprinkled throughout.

The daily prayers can be read word for word with minor modifications such as substituting the correct pronoun for your child’s gender and substituting your child’s name when “my child” is written in the prayer. Each day ends with an open ended question or prompt to help you continue praying from your heart.

While not every weekly anecdote and daily prayer will resonate with every situation, there were many that were impactful and instructive for my situation. I think any parent with a prodigal child could get some benefit from going through the devotional.

This book was originally published in 2011.

Thank you to NetGalley and Our Daily Bread Publishing for providing this ebook for review.

Very helpful reminders and encouragement for all parents of prodigals. A reading a day keeps your faith built up.

Containing both written prayers and scripture, this is a timely and encouraging book for those who have prodigals in their lives. Excellent and highly recommended.

Many thanks to the publisher and Net Galley for providing me with a copy of this book. The opinions are my own.

Fabulous devotional. Must have been sent from God as I REALLY needed it. I bought two copies to distribute. Full of scripture and good advice for addition prayer. I read each night and it gives me peace for a good nights sleep. Thanks to NetGally and Our Daily Bread publishers for an advance copy for an honest review.

This book is different than what I expected but it is exactly what the title suggests. It is in fact a series of devotionals consisting entirely of prayers that cover a 90-day (13 week) period with abundant scriptural quotes and references. Each day may not match the same problems faced by the reader but rather serves as a guide for those who might find it difficult to know how to begin praying for the prodigals in their lives. The author also provides questions and additional prompts for the reader and these are interspersed throughout the book. [Full disclosure: In order to write this review, I skimmed the chapters in taking notes for my review—for the purchaser of the book keep in mind that the entire 13 weeks will be necessary if following the plan of one daily devotion. That being said, ‘Prayers for Prodigals’ is well-researched with abundant relevant quotes and brief anecdotes.]

In the first section, “Don’t Cry” the author refers to the book by Ruth Graham entitled: ‘Prodigals and Those Who Love Them’. In that excerpt, God speaks to Ruth Graham during her 3:00 am prayer for the prodigal in her life.
God says to Ruth: “Quit studying the problems and start studying the promises.”

This excerpt and model prayer provide a pattern that is followed throughout the book with topics designed for those in similar situations who spend sleepless nights wrestling in prayer for loved ones. The other devotions cover topics such as a parent’s feelings of failures and regrets, anger, hopelessness and similar struggles. At the end, the author refers to other resources, including an Internet site “Prodigal Praying Wall” and a list of book resources “for those who love prodigals” which I thought to be helpful.

Each prayer is filled with Scriptures and there is so much encouragement! Mr. Banks truly understands the hurting heart of a parent and the parent's guilt over her prodigal.

Prayers for Prodigals, by James Banks, is exactly the book I needed. It is not only remarkably helpful, but also a balm to my soul. The practical, insightful and moving prayers that are candidly offered in this book are a wonderful guide for parents with wayward children.

Each relatively short prayer offers a distinct and different perspective from the others, and is filled with applicable Scripture. I actually bought a copy for my husband for his birthday because I’m sure he will find it encouraging and keenly relevant to our lives and needs. I’m grateful to this author for sharing his experiences, revealing his heart, and writing with openness and inspiration.

While tere is much that is good in this book, the Biblical citations that interrupt the prayers are taken to extremes that interfere with the reading and praying. When a fairly common word or words is put in quotations with a citation, the power of the other, longer and more relevant citarions is diminshed significantly.