Prayer for Prodigals on Facebook—Lori Lloyd, episode 128

0:00 If you love a prodigal, you can discover help and hope for your wilderness journey right here at the When You Love a Prodigal podcast. And also, hope and help for your own life journey. And for sure, today you will want to write down where you can go to get some of these great resources. I am grateful that God has asked me to continue to do this prodigal podcast. And I'm grateful that you are listening. You may not realize that we have a number of other helps for you on your hard journey, not just the podcast.

0:43 You may be familiar, I hope, with the Worldwide Prodigal Prayer Day every June 2nd. And we will be doing that again. We also have a wonderful, secure Prayer for Prodigals prayer site. And if you're not familiar with that or a member there, the link is in the show notes so that you can join in there and post prayer requests and others will pray for you. It's very secure though, so you can be comfortable talking freely there. And today I have with me my friend, my partner in this ministry and our great prodigal lover Lori Lloyd.

1:25 Lori manages our Prayer for Prodigals Facebook page. And if you haven't been there, you will want to go. Welcome Lori. I am so glad to introduce our listeners to you. Thanks Judy, actually it's really a delight to be here to talk with you about the Prayer for Prodigals ministry. First let me say, I'm the hand behind the social media pages. And many people are a little bit confused or just not sure who's doing the Prayer for Prodigals Facebook page and Instagram, many think it's you and I've been very happy with them thinking it's you.

2:15 But I want them to know it's you because God is using you on Facebook and on social media to touch an awful lot of lives. And so I wanted them to get to hear from you, but I want to let them know what's available to add to the resources that will help them on their journey. Well, there are some great resources and I've got some fun things to share. Before you talk about that, why don't you just give us a glimpse of what it was like when I said, would you like to do the Facebook page and what that was like and your learning curve to be able to do this?

3:02 Well, I procrastinated. I dragged my feet because my husband and I, after we got married, we found ourselves adopting and we, the Lord provided two adorable little boys. And they are delightful. And they are delightful and adorable and many of your listeners can relate to parenting. You know, children don't come with a manual and we struggle at times. And our one of our firstborn son came from an orphanage in Romania and he was 17 months old when we adopted him.

3:51 And I'll just leave it there, but you can believe that there were some issues and some things that we had to work through and maybe we weren't even all that prepared. But then who's really prepared for their first child? Well, I thought you could be more prepared than that. Yes, probably so. So learning to parent was a challenge. I think we didn't have the resources available. And this is where God, I think, first gave me a heart for loving prodigals. So I got connected with Prayer for Prodigals through the Women's Resource Ministries of Campus Crusade.

4:33 I've served the Lord through Campus Crusade CRU now. I'm in my fourth decade. And when I came to your office, there was talk at the beginning that I might take over the Prayer for Prodigals Facebook page. And I did drag my feet some, but eventually I said yes. And I'm so grateful. And I had just the Facebook page and that was enough. And then eventually we did increase the social media presence to Instagram. And there's a growing community also at Instagram.

5:14 But the Facebook page, if you're on Facebook, it is a wonderful page. But Judy, you know, I started hearing you talk about your family and your struggles you had with Josh and all the various things you did and how God led you through a wilderness journey. I don't know what I would have done if you hadn't had those experiences and started sharing them with the staff, family, a crew. Eventually this ministry opened up to be global. And that is so exciting. That's partly because you've been global for a long time.

6:00 You know, early on, I started reading your blogs and I started noting quotes that you would say. And I decided that I would make some Facebook posts. And one of the ones that was very meaningful to me was God gives mercy for the past, grace for the present, and hope for the future. I made this into a graphic and I think I share it every couple, oh, every year. And it's still, it's very popular. Well, it's true. It came from living that out and seeing God provide in very special ways.

6:46 So I think the Facebook page has been around for about 13 years. Okay. Probably when you stepped in, it was pretty simple and not a lot of interaction happening. That was very true. When I stepped in, even for the first year or two, it was still simple. And there wasn't the presence that was encouraging people. And then I began to see what other Facebook pages were doing. And I really wanted to make the presence on Facebook something that would be encouraging and that people would actually have the time to look at.

7:29 Quickly before they moved on and kept scrolling because that's one of the hazards with the Facebook Ministry. Yes. So eventually I came up with like sound bites. That's sort of a good word to explain it. Phrases, quotes, encouragement that others could grasp behold of. And then I would write a little text to go with it. And eventually I started adding scripture. This is how to make the Facebook page where it's at today, I think, because there's just enough. It's not like reading a blog on Facebook where it takes you away.

8:12 It takes your time. But you can quickly get words of encouragement. Do you have examples? So like last week there was one of our faithful, frequent followers on the page who shared this in the comments and it was just perfect. It's a story of changed lives through prayer. And we all need to hear this. We're encouraged when we hear about how God has changed someone's life after many, many years. And that is some of the struggles that our Facebook followers have is they prayed for years and their loved ones not come to the Lord.

9:00 So I have this story. She says, I'm so grateful for our answered prayers over the years. I recall praying for my grandmother who for years rejected the Lord and we wept for her. We never gave up praying and loving her unconditionally. She had suffered much in her younger years and didn't realize how God's love could change her life. But about six years before she passed, an evangelist came to her nursing home and shared the gospel with her. And she did pray, I think, probably for the first time she heard it in such a way that she knew she needed the Lord.

9:44 So the Lord truly answers prayers. And then she shares this verse from 2 Corinthians chapter 1:20, for the promises of God find their yes in him. I love that verse. Yes, I'm sure. I've claimed it many times. How many followers do we have right now? So as of today, almost 5,200 and in October, mid-October, we went over 5,000 and we celebrated and we celebrated and we were so excited. And one of the things I think happens with Facebook is when you do go over a milestone such as 5,000, then I think they might actually start increasing your reach.

10:35 And I think I've seen that because just in two months, the Lord's provided over 200 new followers to the page. And this is really exciting. So we'll see what God does. It's amazing. We're able to share blogs. We're able to share encouragement that would not be there if the presence of this ministry wasn't there. We are very grateful to God for this. Why do you think it's grown as much as it has? Well, I like to communicate that people are not alone in loving a prodigal.

11:19 Many share that the holidays are just really hard for them or adult children won't come home or adult children left a while ago and they have not heard from them since. And those are really tragic, sad stories. They would breaks my heart every time it does. It breaks my heart. And yet I offer hope. I offer encouragement. I offer grace and just allowing them to know that they're not alone. And that makes a huge difference. I think the page has grown a lot for a number of reasons. And partly that we as humans need frequent encouragement and because God answers prayer.

12:11 That's why I think some of the page has grown. And also the hope in seeing that they're not alone. And I acknowledge everyone as much as I'm able to on the comment. I try to create a community. And I think you've done a good job of it. And that's why it keeps growing. And that's why it's community. And there are others who are going through the same thing and they're learning from each other. So I have some statistics. OK. That might be helpful. In the last month, this would be the month of December, the Facebook page gained 76 new followers.

12:58 We had a post engagement of 7400. That is a lot of post engagement. 415 comments and 780 people shared various posts throughout the month. This is what the analytics has shown. And this tells a story, a story of people who are finding hope. And that is, I think, the goal. I think people come to this page and they're desperate. But especially in December is always the hardest month at seeing. But they're desperate for help for someone else who has found some hope and some answers.

13:43 It's providing something they aren't able to find. Because so often people, if they have a prodigal, they don't want to talk about it to people, other people. It's only when they find each other that they can open up and they get it. Somebody else understands somebody else is going through this. And you have been facilitating that. And it's no wonder that it's growing. You know, it could be looked at as a lot of work or it could be looked at as an opportunity to reach and encourage.

14:24 And that's what I really like doing. And what I share in the post are things that I find that I need to hear. And so this helps many others. And I'm grateful for all who are blessed. We have become a community and I look forward to the people coming in whenever they have the time. It's really a blessing. And it creates like a family feeling. I've actually come to know some of these people just through their dear ones to me, just through seeing them show up every day. They encourage me and I hope I'm able to encourage them. And it is a community.

15:07 God is very kind. So there's a comment from a special mom praying for all the parents of prodigals and the prodigals themselves, may God remove their hardened hearts and give them hearts of flesh as well as a hunger and thirst for all that is of the Lord. These are rich prayers. They bless others. They bless me. And I think you've been blessed as well as you've gone to the Facebook page. I just like to see that the page continues to grow because there are so many hurting people.

15:47 And there really are so many hurting people. And this is there. We have friends. The prodigal community broadly, they get to know each other. And like last month, I interviewed another person who has a prodigal ministry and we partner a lot with the Hope for Hurting Parents. And we get to know each other and encourage each other. And so some of them will really help in these people and others would help these. But this is going to help an awful lot of people. Yes. Yes. I noticed some ministries concentrate on mental health.

16:31 That is such a good topic to be addressing. People find that maybe they don't know where to go for mental health. And Hope for Hurting Parents has really blessed and ministered so many people. Yes. Yes. True. Do your listeners mostly connect just with you in one-on-one answers or do they actually comment in on each other's? You know, Judy, the beauty of social media is that the comments are open. And in early December, a mom shared that her son had passed away.

17:14 It was just a simple comment. I had seen the comment come through, but I wasn't able to get to it immediately. And by the later in the afternoon, there were so many comments from others on the page who were praying for her and expressing their condolences and that they really cared. And I think that mom went away blessed. And that's one of the beauties of the social media page. One of the things I love about social media, not everything, but one thing that I love is that it's a place where people can stop.

17:58 A lot of it is really just scrolling through and a lot of it's negative or it's promoting myself kind of stuff. And this is a place where people can go and feel secure and safe and understood and learn from each other and encourage someone else. And so not only are we grateful for what someone else says, but it blesses us to be able to minister to someone from our own experience and words from God that have meant something to us or if we get to share a really good story about what God has done in our prodigal, then that can give others hope.

18:45 You know, I find that I'm sharing in the text that I write that I share from my experiences with my son and that is such an encouragement to others. They know that I've been there. Moms will share some hurtful things that have happened in the family situation and they find comfort and hope and we can get beyond. But it takes time, it takes prayer and it takes never giving up. Yes it does.

19:27 Time, care, never giving up. And the relationships that we can build with others just are huge positive encouragements. You know, I look at the Facebook page as a safe haven. It's a slice cut out from so many crazy things that happen on social media and it's a place that's safe and we find that it ministers in such a way that there is the hope. One of the blessings of the Prayer for Prodigals ministry has been the Global Day of Prayer for Prodigals on June 2nd.

20:18 And I think we start the momentum for that about three months in advance and you know, Judy, it's only five months away. Is that true? In March I start to think about the theme. Yes. Well, we aren't going to hurry you on that but there are things that I do on the Facebook page as well to prepare for the Prayer for Prodigals day. One thing is I start letting everyone know that they can add their son or daughter to the website. People love that. In fact, I will get probably into the fall people will still send me names to add to the website.

21:04 So on the website at prayerforprodigals.com we have the master prayer list and I refer to that from the Facebook page and people will start sending in the comments section or sometimes they will put it in the messenger that they have various children, adult children and friends of their children that they would like prayer for. So we start recording those and this is where Hope for Herding Parents, Dena Yohe joins us and she also does a lot of advertising to get new names added to the website.

21:47 But if you've given us your name in the past, there's no need to do it again because their names are still there. I still see my sons there named there every year. Mine too. Yes. And they need the prayer and we do pray. But this is something I'll start advertising on the social media pages, both the Facebook prayer for prodigals and the Instagram prayer for prodigals. And I know we're mainly talking about the Facebook page today, but for those of you who are listening to this podcast today, you may also enjoy doing Instagram.

22:28 And I'm the same person who does the Instagram page and I'm the same person who answers the questions and comments and you can also messenger prayer for prodigals if you have something private that you would like to say. And as you start thinking about your prodigal loved one, maybe a prayer request comes to mind that you don't want to leave just in the comments, it may be more personal for you. You can message the messenger tab and leave a comment in the space there with your prayer request.

23:08 And I am the one who prays. I will be the one there praying for you. You can not worry about it being compromised. It's safe and secure on messenger. So I imagine maybe we'll be getting some prayer requests. Oh, I imagine we will. People are, they're looking for a way to engage with somebody that feels safe to them. And so that's what the Facebook page provides. And again, if you don't want it to be public, you can message. And the prayer for prodigals page is secure. And so the day of prayer is an incredibly wonderful thing.

23:54 We don't have a clue how many people are praying because we have no control over it. We just encourage people to get with somebody else, maybe a small group, maybe a friend, or just pray by yourself. But here's the list and go as far as you can on it. There are those of us who make sure we pray through the whole list, which is 8000 last year, I think. So it takes a little while. We don't always get it done on that day and we keep going. But it's such a thought that others are praying for this person I love. And that's so encouraging. That is so encouraging.

24:36 And you realize that you are not alone. You know, Judy, a couple of years ago on the day of prayer, I, on the Facebook page, it became quite a prayer day just right there on the Facebook page. I invited people to share their prayer requests, to share the names of first names only of those that they wanted prayer for. And then others would come along and pray for them and leave their own names that they would want prayer for their prodigal loved ones. By the end of the day, I had over 160 comments.

25:19 There were so many likes, so many shares. People were coming to the page that hadn't known about it before, the Facebook page for prayer for prodigals. It was a wonderful resource and encouragement, I believe. And then for several days after I heard from people how they were blessed, how it encouraged them and it really helped them to see that they're not alone. We need that encouragement that we are not alone. Yes, we do. Definitely. You know, one of the things when we first started this, and I wrote my book on when you love a prodigal.

26:04 We were mostly talking about teenagers, maybe young adults, very young. And the concerns were addiction kinds of things or getting in trouble and go to JDC or time in jail even, or just any things like that. But I've noticed that I see a lot more now of your older prodigals who may not be making the same destructive choices that we saw, the addictions and the trouble with the law and that kind of thing, but are just turning their backs on the Lord and often therefore on their parents.

26:47 And so I know many, I know many who their kids don't talk to them or won't let them talk to their children. You can't talk to your grandchildren. And I would imagine that that group has grown on the Facebook page. Oh my goodness, yes. That is a lot of the stories that I hear that adult children won't let them see their grandchildren. And that is so hurtful for the grandparents. And the grandchildren. And the grandchildren, yes. And then others, there's a dear sister in the Lord who does not know where her son is.

27:33 And there are many others in that same situation. Which is heartbreaking. It's very heartbreaking. It was a very sad story. And each one is a sad story, but there is hope. And one of the reasons I continue to do this ministry on social media is to bring hope, to remind us to never stop praying. God is going to answer. He's going to do it in his timing. And I think that's the hope I like to offer is that just because we pray today does not mean that in a week or two or a month that we're going to see our answer.

28:19 It will be years. I shared the story near the beginning of our podcast about a granddaughter who prayed for her elderly grandmother, who finally came to the Lord. But it was six months before she passed away. And they didn't have that experience of her experiencing freedom and hope in her own life that she only had. It was the last six months of her life. Thank God she's in heaven. And they will see her again. But they never gave up praying. And we need to never give up praying.

29:01 That's one of the things that keeps encouraging me to go on. The long years that we prayed for my son, and I still pray because they're just like for me, they're areas to keep growing. But every time I ask him about some new thing we're doing and how he feels about it, because he's kind of at the middle of it. And his story gets shared. And he always responds now. He has for quite a few years. He says, I hope it helps some people with the person they love. It helps so many people.

29:42 And I love Josh's spirit and heart. He's not the outgoing person, but he's allowed his story to be shared, to be an encouragement to others. I think your book, Judy, you talked about when you love a prodigal, 90 days, devotional, that has helped so many people. And I get comments frequently. Even now it's been four years since your book came out. People are still being helped by it. I'm so grateful. And so is Josh grateful because he let me tell the truth about things he was doing and the things we were going through.

30:26 So any last thoughts as we wrap up this time? I just want to remind anyone who has a prayer request that they can leave it in the comments at Prayer for Prodigals Facebook page or in Messenger. I'm also very grateful for this ministry and that I've had a part in helping someone in their prodigal journey with a loved one. I'm still going through my own prodigal journey and I will be praying for our sons for many years to come. But that's because we want them to do well once they return to the Lord.

31:09 And this ministry has driven me to prayer. Prayer for both the Facebook page and for the followers who come to the page, for the content that I share. And you do it well. It's very creative and beautiful. Well thank you, Judy, because one of my prayers is I'll be sitting at my desk and I'll say, Lord, help me. I can't think of anything. I'm not creative right now. I don't have any words of wisdom. Would you please give me your creativity and words of wisdom? No sooner than my having prayed that prayer, I somehow am able to come up with something and I think the Lord has blessed.

31:57 And it's really been a privilege to serve in this ministry. My vision is to keep on as the Lord leads. But with all the craziness of things on social media, I believe that God's created a safe place for believers who need help, hope, and prayer. This is the mission, prayer for prodigals. I want to thank you, Judy, for beginning this ministry. Wasn't my plan! But God used our son to give me this ministry as well. And so it's been a great thing for me to partner with you and get to touch lives.

32:43 Thank you. Thank you. You know, Judy, I remember you saying at one point, when you first began this ministry on social media, there weren't very many other places to go on Facebook to find help and hope and encouragement in dealing with the prodigal. And look where it has grown now. And I do love how others who are doing it, we really are encouraging each other. Yes. Yes. I think pleases the Lord as well. Yes. Thank you, Lori. It's a joy to work with you. Thank you.

33:24 And I'm very grateful for what you're doing. And I'm glad for people to know that it's you doing it. And I'm just, I'm so grateful. And I hope that many of our listeners will not only be blessed themselves and find more help and hope, but they'll tell others as well. Do you know how they can find our Facebook page? And it will also be in our show notes. Okay, great. So go ahead. Okay. We'll go to the show notes. That way you'll see it written down, but you go on Facebook and you click the search button and you type in prayer for prodigals.

34:05 And four is written out, F-O-R. And you should be able to find us. Okay. So it doesn't go to the other prayer for prodigals seven, which is a friend of ours. Yes. Oh, yeah. Yeah. Okay. Well, that's a possibility. So there are other prayer for prodigal ministries. They'll find it. They'll find it. Yes. So thank you. And next week, I'm starting something new and a little different. I think that God is always committed to working on us through this journey as much as he is on our prodigals.

34:49 And so the next three weeks, well, actually it won't, it'll be three weeks and then we'll have a special guest and then we'll have several more on what scripture tells us in Colossians three, how to live and love like Jesus says how we are to be clothed like Jesus. And that includes compassion and kindness and humility, which we will cover in the next few weeks. So I think it'll help you and your walk with God and becoming the person you want. But I think it will also help you as you walk through life with your prodigals.

35:29 God bless you.