My question involves my 12-yr-old daughter. She is at a point where she selectively listens to her mother and me and I am at my wit’s end over how to communicate to her the truth of the Bible. I want to make her aware of the fact that the prophecies relating to the end times are real and are being fulfilled in her lifetime. I want to get through to her that the Lord is coming soon and that all believers will be going to heaven, ALIVE, but I don’t know how to get her to take it seriously. She has stopped saying her prayers and has little, if any, relationship with our Lord.
And it is not just my daughter–I have family members (including my wife and grown children) who grew up in a denomination that indoctrinates so deeply that any approach to prophetic truths or the issue of salvation, is shunned. Please advise me on how to reach them with the truth.
The best and most powerful tool is prayer. Converting your daughter is not your responsibility. You’ve taught her the gospel. If she’s intellectually mature enough to understand it, then she’s responsible for her own choices. The same is true of the rest of your family. Trying too hard to persuade them can actually do more harm than good. Your daughter is at an age where many kids seem “unreachable” to their parents, and your other family members appear unwilling to question what they’ve been taught. The best thing to do for the whole family is to back off the preaching and step up the praying. In other words stop trying to be an evangelist and start seeing your self as an intercessor on behalf of your family. Let the Holy Spirit convict them, and when their hearts have been softened they’ll remember what you’ve taught them.