Scripture — Isaiah 43:19 KJV
“Behold, I will do a new thing; now it shall spring forth; shall ye not know it? I will even make a way in the wilderness, and rivers in the desert.”
Welcome back to 31 Days of Prayer for Estranged Family and Friends—a journey of surrender, healing, forgiveness, and restoration.
Today is Day 22, and we’re beginning a new week together.
For the past three weeks, we’ve done a lot of work beneath the surface.
We’ve surrendered what we cannot control.
We’ve asked God to tend our own hearts.
We’ve prayed intentionally for the person we love.
And yesterday, we simply blessed them.
Now, as we begin this next part of our journey, we’re going to start praying more specifically for restoration.
But we’re not going to tell God exactly what restoration has to look like.
Instead, we’re going to pray:
“Father, make a way.”
Isaiah 43:19 says:
“Behold, I will do a new thing; now it shall spring forth; shall ye not know it? I will even make a way in the wilderness, and rivers in the desert.”
Maybe today your relationship feels like a wilderness.
Maybe you genuinely cannot see a path forward.
That’s okay.
You don’t have to see the way for God to make one.
When There Seems to Be No Way Forward
Estrangement can sometimes reach a place where every possible road seems closed.
Maybe you’ve tried reaching out.
Maybe communication has stopped altogether.
Maybe too much has been said.
Maybe years have passed.
Maybe you don’t even know what the first step toward reconciliation could possibly be.
And our minds start saying:
“There’s no way.”
No way they’ll call.
No way they’ll forgive.
No way we’ll ever understand one another.
No way this relationship could be restored.
But today’s Scripture gives us a beautiful picture:
A way in the wilderness.
A wilderness doesn’t naturally have a road.
That’s what makes this promise so meaningful.
God isn’t saying:
“I’ll help you follow the obvious path.”
He says:
“I will even make a way.”
We Don’t Have to Manufacture the Path
And this is where everything we’ve learned during these first three weeks matters.
Remember Day Seven?
Stop striving.
When we desperately want reconciliation, we can begin trying to manufacture a road ourselves.
Maybe one more text.
One more explanation.
One more person asked to intervene.
One more attempt to make them understand.
But sometimes all that digging and pushing can disturb the very soil we’re asking God to tend.
There may absolutely be a step God asks you to take.
Maybe an apology.
A letter.
A conversation.
An invitation.
Or simply leaving the door open.
But there’s a difference between obedience and striving.
Obedience says:
“God, show me my step.”
Striving says:
“God, I’ll create the entire road myself.”
Today we’re choosing obedience.
“I Will Do a New Thing”
There’s another part of this verse that I especially love for estranged relationships.
God says:
“Behold, I will do a new thing.”
Sometimes when we pray for restoration, what we’re really praying is:
“God, please give me the old relationship back.”
We want things exactly as they were.
Before the argument.
Before the distance.
Before the hurt.
But what if God’s plan isn’t simply to recreate the past?
What if He wants to grow something new?
Something healthier.
Something humbler.
Something with better communication.
Healthier boundaries.
More grace.
More honesty.
A deeper dependence upon Him.
Maybe restoration isn’t about going backward.
Maybe it’s about allowing God to build something that didn’t exist before.
“Now It Shall Spring Forth”
And then comes my favorite phrase for our garden:
“Now it shall spring forth.”
We’ve been looking at these plants for twenty-two days now.
Think about what happens when a seed begins growing.
For a while…
we see nothing.
But underneath the soil, something is happening.
The seed softens.
The root emerges.
Life begins.
And only later does something finally break through the surface.
Perhaps that’s where your relationship is today.
Maybe you don’t see anything.
No phone call.
No text.
No apology.
No visible movement.
That doesn’t give us permission to assume God is restoring the relationship in a particular way—we don’t know what He is doing in another person’s heart.
But it does mean we don’t have to declare the situation hopeless simply because we can’t see an answer yet.
We can say:
“God, I don’t know what You’re doing. But I know You are capable of making a way.”
That’s mustard-seed faith.
A Way Doesn’t Always Mean a Shortcut
There’s something else we should remember.
When God makes a way, that doesn’t necessarily mean the journey will be immediate.
Restoration may happen slowly.
Perhaps the first step is simply a kind message.
Then silence.
Then another conversation months later.
Maybe trust has to be rebuilt.
Maybe healing has to continue.
Maybe both people need time.
A path through the wilderness is still a path.
We walk it one step at a time.
So don’t despise small beginnings.
If God opens a tiny door, you don’t have to force it wider.
Walk through what He gives you.
And trust Him with the next step.
Today’s Action — Create a Little Path
Today I’d like you to do something visual with our garden.
Find several small stones and create a little pathway beside your echinacea and mustard.
As you place each stone, pray:
“Father, make a way.”
You don’t have to know where the path leads.
That’s part of today’s lesson.
Then take out your journal and write:
“Lord, what is the next step that belongs to me?”
Not:
“How do I fix this entire relationship?”
Just:
“What is my next faithful step?”
Maybe the answer is:
Apologize.
Wait.
Pray.
Forgive.
Send a simple message.
Keep the door open.
Or perhaps:
Do nothing yet.
Whatever it is, ask God for wisdom rather than acting from fear or impatience.
Then write:
“I will take my step and trust God to make the path.”
Today’s Prayer
Let’s pray.
Heavenly Father,
Your Word says:
“Behold, I will do a new thing; now it shall spring forth; shall ye not know it?”
And You say:
“I will even make a way in the wilderness, and rivers in the desert.”
Father, this relationship sometimes feels like a wilderness.
I don’t know the way forward.
I don’t know what needs to happen next.
I don’t know what __________ is thinking.
I don’t know what they’re ready for.
And I don’t know what tomorrow holds.
But You do.
So today I stop trying to create the entire path.
Father, make a way.
If reconciliation is possible and good, open the doors that should open.
Prepare both of our hearts.
Give us wisdom.
Give us humility.
Give us courage.
Give us patience.
If an apology needs to be made, prepare the heart that needs to give it.
If forgiveness needs to be extended, soften the heart that needs to offer it.
If a conversation needs to happen, prepare our words before we ever speak.
If trust needs to be rebuilt slowly, give us patience for the process.
And if there is something You want me to do, make my next step clear.
But keep me from striving.
Keep me from forcing.
Keep me from trying to manufacture an answer because waiting feels uncomfortable.
Father, I don’t ask You simply to return us to what we were.
If You restore this relationship…
do a new thing.
Build something healthier.
Something rooted in truth.
Something marked by grace.
Something that honors You.
And while I wait, help me remember our little mustard seed.
I don’t need enough faith to see the entire road.
I only need enough faith to take the next step You give me.
And when I see nothing happening…
remind me that seeds begin growing beneath the soil long before I see them spring forth.
I place __________ into Your hands again today.
I place this relationship into Your hands.
I place the path into Your hands.
Make a way according to Your wisdom and Your will.
In the name of Jesus Christ,
Amen.
Before we finish today, look at the little stone path beside our plants.
You don’t need to know where the entire road leads.
You only need to ask:
“God, what is my next faithful step?”
The echinacea reminds us that healing takes time.
The mustard reminds us that small faith is still faith.
The new growth reminds us that much can happen before anything breaks through the surface.
And today’s little pathway reminds us:
God can make a way where we cannot see one.
Don’t force the door.
Don’t manufacture the conversation.
Don’t dig up the seed.
Take the step that belongs to you…
and leave the road that belongs to God in His hands.
Plant the prayer. Tend your heart. Watch for new growth. Take the next faithful step. And trust God to make a way.
And as always,
may your roots grow deep and your spirit stay nourished.
God bless you, and I’ll see you tomorrow.
