October 12, 2023: Understanding the Lost Life

"And when he came to himself." Luke 15:17

Most people who have been believers for quite some time have forgotten what it is like to be lost. You may remember being lost and what you did while lost. But you have mostly forgotten what it is to be lost. The heart tends to forget what a lost person feels: the fears, uncertainties, shame, and rejection.

Before the wayward son left home, he was 'in control' of his life. He had no pain, just FREEDOM! Midway into his crisis, his freedom shifts into pain, and life becomes fearful. Next, he knows only pain and fear. Freedom is a thing of the past. Now, he is no longer 'in control.' Isn't it interesting that when famine strikes, he has spent everything? He has moved from freedom to bondage. He has no money. He has no friends. He is spiritually empty. In his hunger, it is here that "he came to himself."

Many ask, How should I pray for my prodigal? 1) Get'm God! But be as tender and merciful as possible. 2) Lord, change me. Sometimes we are so focused on our prodigal that we forget there are changes God wants in us before He brings the prodigal home. 3) May life's pain point this prodigal home. Pain can just as quickly point to a bottle or needle. 4) Use my wayward child's friends and strangers to point them to Jesus. 5) Pray and fast for the Holy Spirit to 'round them up and bring them home'. If God never fails, then you should never quit. In faith, keep believing!