In trouble, use padre's influence (8)
I believe the answer is:
persuade
'influence' is the definition.
(persuading is a kind of influencing)
'in trouble use padre's' is the wordplay.
'in trouble' indicates an anagram.
'use'+'padre'='usepadre'
'usepadre' with letters rearranged gives 'PERSUADE'.
(Other definitions for persuade that I've seen before include "Induce or convince to do something" , "'Coax, inveigle (8)'" , "Talk round" , "Bring round" , "Coax, prevail upon" .)