By Michaela Gordoni
Music star Zach Williams and his parents have a prodigal story to tell.
“After he was born, we took him up before the church to have him dedicated,” the Christian singer’s father Steve Williams recently shared about Zach. “After the pastor kind of did his…customary thing…He got kind of serious at the end of it, and he said, ‘This child will be a voice for his generation.'”
It took 33 years for that to happen.
“I just want people to know that it doesn’t always happen overnight,” he explained. “It takes time.”
Related: Zach Williams Reveals the Christian Song That Brought Him Back to God
He reflected on Abraham, to whom God promised a son, but it took many years. Unlike Abraham, Steven and his wife Jenia trusted God.
Though Zach grew up in a Christian household, he didn’t truly commit his life to Christ until 2012, when he was 33.
At the time, he was on a tour bus in Europe. He asked God to prove that He was real. At that moment, he took off his headphones, and “Redeemed” by Big Daddy Weave was playing on the bus’ radio.
“I was like, ‘Man, this is not a coincidence. You don’t hear a song like this in Europe, of all places.’ I had never heard Christian music over there, and I went back to the hotel and listened to the lyrics of the song, over and over,” he recalled.
“I felt like God was saying, ‘I see you in a way that you’ll never see yourself,’ and it was the same way that my mom and dad saw me, and my wife and children saw me,” he said. “I remember calling Crystal, and I said, ‘I’m done. When I get home, I’m going to cancel my shows, quit my band, and we’re going to find a church.’”
A 30-day devotional book he wrote with his parents, God’s Heart for The Prodigal, shares his parents’ persistent hopes and prayers for their son, along with Zach’s perspective.
Part of the devotional’s description reads, “Steve and Jenia’s journey, enriched by Zach and his wife Crystal’s candid reflections on his own wandering and return, is a living testimony that no one is beyond the reach of God’s grace. Their family’s story, paired with biblical truth, will strengthen your faith, deepen your trust, and remind you that your prayers are powerful and effective.”
Then, Zach did a 180° in his life — he gave it to God — and started making Christian music that honors Him.
He is proof that God can soften the hardest hearts.
Read Next: Zach Williams Says Life Is ‘So Much Better’ After Reconnecting With His Faith
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