The Lord has been speaking to me lately about prayer and prodigals, and He has been showing me that these two “p” words are very linked together. In my mind, a prodigal is someone who has known the Lord, but has taken a worldly detour. We all know these people and most of us have a prodigal in our life; that child that has wandered away from the Lord or that brother or sister that finds the things of the world enticing. Some of our prodigals aren’t even related to us. Sometimes it is that good friend who has forsaken the Lord to pursue earthly things. I have several prodigals in my life for whom the Lord has given me a burden. Over the years, I have tried to witness to these prodigals, to convince them that they are on a bad path. Sometimes they will receive but most of the time my words fall on deaf ears and that is when the Lord reminds me that this is a spiritual battle. That’s where prayer comes into play. God keeps speaking to my heart that He loves my prodigals more than I do and He wants them back even more. God shows us just how much He loves the prodigals in Luke, Chapter 15. When the prodigal comes to his senses and determines it is time to go back to his father and ask forgiveness, Jesus tells us that the father runs to his son. This is a precious picture…”And he arose and came to his father. But when he was still a great way off, his father saw him and had compassion, and ran and fell on his neck and kissed him.” Luke 11:20
Notice, his father was looking out for him. Before he had even got near, the father saw him and ran to him. We’re not sure how long the son was gone, but it feels like it was a long time, yet the father remained vigilant, waiting for his son to come home. Jesus tells us this story to help us understand the Father’s love for us and His desire that we should repent and come to Him. The Lord will gladly receive our prodigals back if they repent and seek Him. So what is our role in the lives of these prodigals? That’s where prayer comes into play. God calls us to pray for these prodigals, to remain vigilant and to continually bring them before the Lord. We need to pray against those things that have captivated our prodigals and we need to pray that the Lord will open their eyes. We can take great comfort in doing this because we know that when they repent God will gladly receive them back to His loving arms.
We live in interesting times. As we watch the world around us, we can’t help but believe that these are the last days and that Jesus is coming back soon. That should make our prayer life even more pressing and urgent. This has been a serious topic of conversation within the elders of the church and I am blessed that so many are starting to have an increased burden for prayer. If we become a praying church, there is no telling what God can accomplish through our fellowship. The Lord encourages us to pray big and I want to encourage you to do the same. We need revival in our land. Wouldn’t it be neat if we had a part in sparking that revival? Who knows, the next great awakening just might start at CCLW. Why not? Pray Big!
John Ohanian
Notice, his father was looking out for him. Before he had even got near, the father saw him and ran to him. We’re not sure how long the son was gone, but it feels like it was a long time, yet the father remained vigilant, waiting for his son to come home. Jesus tells us this story to help us understand the Father’s love for us and His desire that we should repent and come to Him. The Lord will gladly receive our prodigals back if they repent and seek Him. So what is our role in the lives of these prodigals? That’s where prayer comes into play. God calls us to pray for these prodigals, to remain vigilant and to continually bring them before the Lord. We need to pray against those things that have captivated our prodigals and we need to pray that the Lord will open their eyes. We can take great comfort in doing this because we know that when they repent God will gladly receive them back to His loving arms.
We live in interesting times. As we watch the world around us, we can’t help but believe that these are the last days and that Jesus is coming back soon. That should make our prayer life even more pressing and urgent. This has been a serious topic of conversation within the elders of the church and I am blessed that so many are starting to have an increased burden for prayer. If we become a praying church, there is no telling what God can accomplish through our fellowship. The Lord encourages us to pray big and I want to encourage you to do the same. We need revival in our land. Wouldn’t it be neat if we had a part in sparking that revival? Who knows, the next great awakening just might start at CCLW. Why not? Pray Big!
John Ohanian
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