Prodigal Prayers: 52 Weeks of Praying Over the Prodigal

by Patsy Burnette

You’ve prayed. You’ve wept. You’ve waited. Now, take heart and press in.

Prodigal Prayers is a 52-week journey designed to guide and encourage you as you intercede for your prodigal. Whether you are praying for a wayward child, a wandering friend, or even a season of spiritual drifting in your own life, this book offers a pathway of hope, rooted in the promises of Scripture.

Each week, you’ll be led through a rhythm of Scripture meditation, journaling, and intentional prayer—an approach designed to strengthen your faith while lifting up your prodigal in prayer. This book follows the wisdom of Psalm 16 which is divided into three parts—Prayer, Praise, and Promise—reminding you that God is your refuge, your joy, and the keeper of every soul.

With space for reflection and guided prayer prompts, Prodigal Prayers is more than a book—it’s an invitation to trust in God's faithfulness, to lean into His grace, and to believe, with unwavering hope, that He is always working, even in the waiting.

Your prayers matter, friend. Your faith is not in vain. And the arms of the Father are always open.

Will you take this journey of prayer?

326 pages, Paperback

Published August 1, 2025

About the author

Patsy is a wife, mother of four, and grandmother. She is a Christian lifestyle blogger and content manager at InstaEncouragements.com. She has a heart for encouraging women to grow in their knowledge and love of Jesus Christ and then to share it with others. She drinks more coffee and eats more dark chocolate than the average person. Patsy lives in Atlanta, Georgia with her husband and Ellie the cat.

Reviews

[Maree Dee · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am absolutely loving Prodigal Prayers. This devotional is beautifully laid out, with intentional space to not only read and reflect but also to journal my own prayers and write down Scripture. That simple addition makes it so much more than just another prayer guide—it becomes personal.

Each day has been gently reshaping how I pray for those who are not walking with the Lord. I’m praying bolder with more direct wording. I know our prayers matter, but this gives me a framework and new ideas about what to pray.
I love that the author uses Scripture daily. It reminds me that God sees and hears me and that He is still working in the lives of my prodigals even when I can’t see it.

If you’re carrying the weight of a loved one who has wandered from God, this book is a beautiful resource to help you persevere in prayer. It is not only encouraging but also equipping—helping us pray with confidence and hope.

Maree Dee (https://www.embracingtheunexpected.com

[Michele Morin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Prodigal Prayers is a collection of prayer prompts to carry you over fifty-two weeks of faithful intercession for the prodigal child who is on your heart. With deep roots in scripture, every devotional entry provides a roadmap leading back to the faithful heart of a Heavenly Father.

Each weekly prayer has a specific focus, along with a guided meditation to reinforce that focus. The spacious workbook style leaves plenty of room to encourage the reader to journal a personal prayer response and to write out and meditate on the scripture verse for that week.

Burnette is clear on the reality that loving a prodigal is both heartbreaking and spiritually taxing. It takes a sinewy faith to persevere in prayer for a transformative outcome when all evidence points to the contrary. Our hope is not in prayer, but in the God who answers prayer in his own good time, and each lesson puts a laser focus on the character of God as the object of our hope.

Prodigal Prayers offers sustenance for the long-haul journey through the wilderness of waiting.

[Patti Whitson Stephenson She Lives to Read · Rating 5 out of 5]

This devotional book is an encouraging resource for those who are praying for their “prodigal”. I loved that these well-written devotions have depth to them. Each devotion is based on scripture and highlights a different aspect of prayer for the prodigal’s heart that week. As the reader meditates on each week’s devotion, they will find that not only are they praying diligently and with purpose for their prodigal, but they will experience spiritual growth and find their own faith strengthened.

This book serves as a personal prayer journal. A place is provided each week to write out scripture and your own personal prayer. It would be a great way to keep a journal of your year of specific prayer over your prodigal.

Even if you don’t have a specific family member or friend in your life who is a prodigal, this devotional book is a way to begin to develop a heart for those who are lost and learn to pray for them in a heartfelt way. I also learned from this book how to better pray alongside those who have a prodigal in their own lives.

I received a copy of this book from the author. All opinions are my own.