Laine Lawson Craft On Prayer And Parenthood
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And that is why we have our next guest with us today, because you may be in a season of parenting where there are some challenges and some struggles. I think every mama feels this at some point, but you may be at a real point where you've got a prodigal, somebody, one of your babies that you're really worried about, that you're praying over. They could be five, they could be 55. And so we've got a guest today, Lane Lawson-Craft, who wrote a book that made waves.

and got attention and provided a lot of practical experience called the Parents Battle Plan. She's now got a follow-up called the Warfare Parenting Guide, a daily battle plan to fight for your child, which is something literally every day of the year, there is something here for you, a verse, some helpful thoughts, a prayer to help you on your parenting mission. She is a best-selling author, a speaker, a host of the Warfare Parenting Podcast. Lane, welcome to Live in the Bream.

Thank you so much, Shannon. And thank you for all that you do for all of us that are living in faith. Well, listen, I'm so encouraged by your book and what you're putting out there because I know people need to be met in this space. Everybody is going to spend some time there. And the thing about this is you're very transparent about how you raised your kids, did everything that the church would say is the right way to do things. And yet you have these struggles in your own family, too, and you've been willing to share them to help others. Tell us about that journey.

Well, yes. And you know, what's really the drama about it is I had an advertising agency for most of my life, and then God came in and resurrected my marriage. And after He did that, He really asked me in my heart to just start sharing messages of hope. And that turned into a national magazine, Shannon, that was in every bookstore in America and Canada. And some of your peers were on there. Harris Faulkner was on the cover. Yes.

Donny's Tea Ladies and Dolly Parton. The reason I mention that is because at that time where I thought the Lord was using me

you know, in every way he had hand-knit me to do, my three children were, you know, just sucked in by the darkness of the world. And it involved drugs, alcohol. My youngest was suffering depression, which we all know is huge right now. We've got tremendous amounts of suicide rates and anxiety. So I really...

That is why I'm doing this, because in that time, there are so many things as a Christian mama, and particularly one that had a national platform. There's shame. There's isolation. There's so many things. And at the same time, your own prodigals are drowning. Right. And so you're living out a message that's supposed to be encouraging and faithful. And yet you walked through this in a way that I think sometimes...

You know, our deepest pains, our most difficult things are an ability for us to be more empathetic, to really find a way to minister to other people. And that's what you put together in these books. It's really a way to encourage other parents who might find themselves in the middle of this relationship.

Right now, and I want to talk about so many things that you mentioned there, but let's talk about this feeling of shame or of failure. I mean, you can do everything, quote unquote, the right way, but your children are people with their own will. They're going to make their own decisions. And that's part of the process, too, knowing it's not all your fault.

No. And I think probably the aha moment for me was, you know, I wasn't fighting with that rebellious teen or adult child that kept making these self-destructive choices. The aha moment was when I realized I was really warring with the spiritual side of it, that the enemy was out to seek, kill and destroy these kids. And, you know, there's so many ways that can happen today. And when we've got these phones that they're one click away from the wrong choice, I

Just the culture in itself, you know, is just so dark. So listen, you're not a bad parent. And listen, you can't be spiritual enough to safeguard your child because it's that dark. But we've won victory. That is the promise and hope I bring to parents and loved ones of wayward children that, you know, we have the victory in Jesus Christ. Yeah.

Yeah. So let's talk about that. It can be super discouraging, but the fact is, I thought it was really helpful. You do talk about at some point, listen, we've all been the prodigal at some point, all of us, because God has had to pursue us. He is always waiting like that parent to welcome us back to forgive us. And we see this beautifully modeled all throughout scripture. But the fact is, if we can look at ourselves in the mirror and say like, I've been a prodigal too, but there has been a way back. There's always a way back for those in our lives.

Whether it's nonstop prayer, even if you're not seeing the results right away or as quickly as you would hope. I mean, we've all heard stories of people who may have been away and out in the wilderness for years and years and years, but they knew there was a mom or grandma or grandpa or dad or somebody, an aunt praying for them. And it may take years before we see the fruit of what you're doing in the present. That is so true. And listen,

My eldest took 15 years, Shannon, not 15 months, 15 years that I interceded and prayed to God. I mean, really, Lord, please, please rescue my child. So I hope that brings somebody hope today that is

I've been praying a long time, waiting for the Lord. I call that the mean time, Shannon. It's when we offer our prayer to God and we're still waiting on the answer. And sometimes it's mean in the meantime. The enemy wants to discourage us as parents. He wants to disappoint us and keep us not believing. But I want to tell you, look, no prodigal is too far gone for God to come in and touch.

That's so true. And you also talk about the fact that what our prodigals walk through, that may be the very thing that teaches them whatever they have to learn, obedience, resilience. They're having their own experience, finding their own pathway. We pray back to the Lord and back to what is healthy and good for their lives and joyful. But there are things they're learning through that process, too.

That's right. I call it a chapter. We all have chapters in our lives. And I can say from my personal experience, listen, it's when I got really desperate is when God came in and changed my life forever. Our kids are working out their testimony. Can we get a testimony without a test? No. So another point in that is just know they're in a chapter. Their story isn't finished. And God is working out a wonderful message to make out of their mess.

Well, what are some practical steps that people can take if they're in one of these situations now where somebody they really love is strayed, maybe communication is frayed, maybe it's gone? I mean, what is a parent to do if they're not able to celebrate Mother's Day the way that they had hoped and dreamed all these years, but there's some real heartbreak in the middle of this? What practical steps can they take to try to heal those things?

Right. Well, I first want to say to that mom, oh, Mother's Day with a broken heart. I get it. There was one Mother's Day, Shannon, and I'm serious. I laid in a lane recliner just bawling because Friday night, one child had gotten into trouble. Saturday night, the other child had gotten into trouble. And I said to God, I don't even want to be a mother on Mother's Day today. So I get it.

I say there's just nothing worse than a mom's broken heart when your child is not living in the way that you hoped and dreamed for. The first thing I would tell a mama is first and foremost, just love.

Pray like you've never prayed before. And for me, that meant I went from this kind of, you know, dear God, be with my kids to Father God, in the name of Jesus and the blood of Christ, please protect that child and please give them your wisdom and

Father, I just need you in a desperate way. And that started kind of my walk back to God in a deeper way than I ever have. And so I would absolutely tell a mom or a loved one, up your game in your prayer, not putting the burden on you, just giving you the enlightenment that this is war and it takes battle cries from us.

to get heaven to come down and suddenly get these kids to turn their lives around. We'll have more Live in the Bream in a moment.

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Again, we're talking to Lane Lawson-Craft, her book, The Parent's Battle Plan, Warfare Strategies to Win Back Your Prodigal Out a Couple of Years Ago. And this newest sort of companion to this warfare parenting, a daily battle plan to fight for your child. And this has a daily devotion. It's got scripture. It's got a prayer. And I want to read a little bit from the one that falls on Mother's Day in 2025 called Embracing Imperfection. It says, Do you sometimes wish your child could be perfect?

It goes on to say, no one's perfect, not even the most righteous among us. If King Solomon, the wisest man, recognized human shortcomings, why do we often forget them when dealing with our prodigal kids? And you talk about it's easy sometimes to see the speck in your child's eye while forgetting the log in your own. But we all need God's grace, and he's there to fill in for our imperfections. We have to allow room for him to work miracles.

And you say, "Winning back our prodigals could require nothing short of a divine intervention." You say, "Be honest with yourself." And then the prayer is, "Dear Father, thank you that there's no perfect person and that you don't require perfection. I am grateful that my child is never too far gone from you. In Jesus' name, amen." Tell us more about this daily guide. Yes.

I was in the battle and in the full onslaught of war, like I said, not with one child, but with three. And what I can tell you is you need strength and power daily. You know, you do get isolated and shame and guilt sometimes comes in. In that meantime, I talked about. So every day I gave you a scripture. Now, listen, I also want to tell you that each one of these scriptures, I felt a nudge from the Lord in my heart. I was reading through the Bible and

in a year, Genesis to Revelation. I've done that many times in the last 10 years. And when this specific season was, I would go in and the Lord said, pull out a scripture for that mama that's in the battle or that dad or whoever that is praying for that child. And then he said, you know, just give them a word of encouragement or a download devotion. And then I ended in prayer. So many times,

when you are searching for God and you don't know where to start, I wanted to give you something that could take you to the throne quickly. So it opens with a scripture, then a devotion, and then it ends with the prayer. And so it gives you power, strength, encouragement, and it also shows you you're not alone. Many of us have been in this battle. So I want to ask you about your three children and the journey with them, your journey with them.

How does it work when there is an opening of communication, a possibility of returning? How do you rebuild trust? How do you welcome each other back into each other's lives? I mean, how do you begin to rebuild kind of what the years may have lost for you?

It is difficult. And what I also want to say, it's a process. Sure, God can come in and change everything suddenly. But healing takes time. Forgiveness is a journey. So the first...

I always try to do and encourage all of us, and I did myself, particularly with mom that took 15 years. And you can imagine the heartache and how many times I thought he had changed and he didn't. And things really got hard. I started with, I'm sorry.

I'm sorry we started this journey, but I'm so excited to see God get us back on track and heal these wounds. So I guess I would first say to a parent, I know how hard it is when you when you've

been betrayed and hurt. But if you could just say, listen, and be honest. I mean, you are sorry that you had to walk this journey, but you're hopeful and you know that God will help you in each small step as you restore that relationship.

How important is the idea of hope in this process? I was talking with a friend this week who lost his son to a really tough cancer. And he said even up until the last days of his life, he remained hopeful. He had a doctor who spoke hope into him and other people. And that kept him going through the really darkest, most difficult points. But this idea of hope and how it can sustain you even when you don't see that child turning the corner yet or there isn't a good development right around the bend,

Talk about the idea of hope. Yes, well, I can tell you this. Hope is what kept me alive, too. I kind of like to define it as waiting expectantly on the Lord.

You know, if you wake up every day and you pray that prayer, "Heal my child of cancer. Bring my prodigal back home." And you do it in a way that you're expecting God to do it. That's what keeps you going. That's what keeps you continuing to go to the throne and believe that He will. But I do want to touch on this, Shannon, in the Parents Battle Plan.

I didn't want to come across Pollyanna in the fact that, you know, you do this and you get this outcome. We've got fentanyl. We've got suicides. We've got some terrible things happen to our children right now. So I wanted that parent to know that I know they prayed for a miracle, but the miracle they received is not what they expected. And that is that they can live in hope.

every day because the scriptures promises we will see our loved ones again in heaven. Isn't that wonderful? Isn't that just a word of hope to know that these parents will be reunited in heaven through Jesus?

Was there ever a time that you thought, oh, I don't know if I can share these stories. I don't know if I can be this vulnerable and this transparent with people who see the other places that my ministry and my hopeful message is resonating with people all across the country and beyond. Was there a point? What was the decision making point for you when I thought I am going to be transparent and share these stories and why?

Yes, I think it was because I am seeing and hearing from just my circle a couple of years ago, just again, the fentanyl poisonings, the suicide 2020 really did a lot to this generation. And and I just really felt.

compelled and I felt like it was a life mission. I think it's one of my most important messages to help Christian faith believing parents that have prodigals that the world has inundated. The enemy has, you know, put strongholds on to hear the hope, the message of hope and not just the hope, but the real life applications, the way that you can do this and

and hope and ensure that God will do it for you too. And one of the things I love too about the book from 2023, The Parents' Battle Plan, Warfare Strategies to Win Back Your Prodigal, is at the close of the chapters, you have really practical stuff. Like what can I do today? There are prayers there, there are lists, there are quizzes, there are things to walk you through whatever stage you're at in this process with your prodigal to actually feel like you can take some action steps.

Yes, and I believe with everything in me, the woe for woe women in the day was for women who hear, obey, and act on the Word of God. We're just not hearers of the Word, and we just don't hear it and obey it, but we act on it. So I wanted to help parents get equipped and empowered and activated to get this journey for the prodigal to come home. And also, Shannon, what my hope and dream is, you know, Celebrate Recovery has been

I want to say 30 something thousand small groups around the country. I hope that parents can come into a warfare parenting small group at their church or community and get together and feel the power of being faith-based parents trying to maneuver these challenging days raising teens and adult children.

That's one reason I did it. I wanted to have a built-in curriculum for these groups to come in and pray together and just walk the journey so they don't feel isolated and alone.

Yeah, and goodness, I mean, there's so many things that kids and parents are facing these days that when we were kids, they weren't out there. And I'm sure that our parents thought things were crazy back then. But like you say, I mean, you've got in your hand this technology that can draw you into the darkest places, can distract us, can do all kinds of things with a single click, whether you're looking for it or not. It will present itself to you. The pressures, the bullying, all of these things that are happening to kids in different and new ways.

I love the idea that parents can find strength with each other and find real help. One thing else, another thing I wanted to point out is that in your book from 2023, you talk about the fact that you have to take care of yourself, too. I mean, you've got to tend to your own health and wellness, your

and be able to have some normalcy in your life while you're waiting on that child, while you're waking and walking through all of these periods of valleys, frankly. So talk to that mama today, that dad today, that parent today who was worried about the fact that they need to be tending to their own soul as well. Absolutely. I ran on empty and I realized that

You cannot pour out if you have nothing in. And you can apply that to your daily life with God, exercise. Listen, the enemy wants to keep you at a place that you are weak and not strong. And we're going to battle that by me care. I just think it's so important.

to realize that you've got a battle to stand in the gap and we've got to keep you strengthened. So I encourage you to find a hobby. Don't give up your hobbies. Don't let the children's choices take the joy from you and the strength. And it's hard. Listen, I get it. I mean, the last thing I wanted to do some mornings was get out there and walk around the track.

But I realized, man, I needed to be strong and I needed to do everything in my power to keep the temple, me, as powerful and strengthened as I could. And so I think that's really important, although although it's very difficult. I understand. But I hope that you'll understand that the me care part is so important for you.

Yes, it can be easy to get lost in all of the difficulty, but you got to make sure that you're mentally and physically strong and able to continue on with your life and all the other obligations and people that you love that count on you and all the other things that are going on while you may be in a season that's really trying. We've been talking to Lane Lawson Craft.

Her books, The Parents Battle Plan, Warfare Strategies to Win Back Your Prodigal, and the daily Warfare Parenting Daily Battle Plan to Fight for Your Child, 365 days a year, has got scripture, has got prayer, has got a thought that will encourage you as you walk this parenting path. Lane, before we go, please tell folks where they can find you, what you're working on, and other resources.

Sure. Well, the most important thing is you can read the first 10 devotions for free, uh, for the warfare parenting. And you can read the first chapter of the parents battle plan free on my website and a lot of other free resources, promises to pray over your children, wayward prayers to pray over your children. Um, lane, Lawson craft.com L a I N E Lawson craft.com. And you can get the warfare parenting podcast anywhere. Podcasts are heard. And, uh,

I just want you to know, I just feel so certain that there's so many things telling us that God is not moving today, but he is. I see it in our country and we are soon to see it in many prodigals. I just know it, Shannon. I just know it.

Well, his love is unconditional. It is unlimited and just what all of us as prodigals need. Lane, thank you so much for being with us on Live in the Bream. God bless you. Thank you so much. Listen ad-free with a Fox News podcast plus subscription on Apple Podcasts and Amazon Prime members can listen to this show ad-free on the Amazon Music app.

I'm Janice Dean. Join me every Sunday as I focus on stories of hope and people who are truly rays of sunshine in their community and across the world. Listen and follow now at foxnewspodcast.com.