Prodigal Teachings

Understanding a Prodigals Heart

In Luke 15:11-32 Jesus tells the story of the Prodigal Son.

The young man in this story wasted the possessions of his inheritance with prodigal living, sometimes referred to as riotous or wild living.

Luke 15:12-13 gives us a window to see why the younger son of this wealthy man wanted to leave the presence of his father.

“The younger one said to his father, 'Father, give me my share of the estate.' So he divided his property between them. Not long after that, the younger son got together all he had, set off for a distant country and there squandered his wealth in wild living.” (Luke 15:12-13 NIV)

He couldn’t wait for his father to die; he wanted his inheritance now. He wanted to call the shots, make his own decisions and live his life without anyone telling him what to do. He didn’t want to submit to his father any longer, so he took his inheritance and left. His actions were a symptom of the greed and rebellion that were in his heart.

So we see that he had a heart problem. Prodigals have heart issues, so this is where we must focus out prayers.

Greed and rebellion are just a few of the many sins that can choke the good seed of God’s word from producing good fruit. Let’s see how this works.

When a person accepts Christ, he is given a soft heart.

“And I will give them one heart [a new heart] and I will put a new spirit within them; and I will take the stony [unnaturally hardened] heart out of their flesh, and will give them a heart of flesh [sensitive and responsive to the touch of their God]” (Ezekiel 11:19 AMP)

As they start reading the Bible and applying it to their lives, the seed of God’s word is planted in their hearts. As they yield to it, it begins to grow until it bears fruit. At this point the heart is still soft towards God.

But when they sin and do not keep close accounts with God, when God’s word is no longer treasured in their heart to keep them from sin (Psalm 119:11), then sin creeps in and hardens their heart, and eventually it affects their relationship with God.

We need to be careful of this because “If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me” (Psalm 66:18 AMP). The heart is hardened through the “deceitfulness of sin” (Hebrews 3:13).

When the heart is hard it is unyielding. Not only does sin harden the heart, but sin can grow into a stronghold, which gives Satan a place from which to exercise control and influence. This sin, like a weed, can choke out the good seed of God’s word that has already been planted there. We see this in the parable of the Seed and the Sower in Matthew 13:22.

“As for what was sown among thorns, this is he who hears the Word, but the cares of the world and the pleasure and delight and glamour and deceitfulness of riches choke and suffocate the Word, and it yields no fruit.” (Matthew 13:22 AMP)

Prodigals have hearts that have not kept close accounts with God. Sin, pain, pride, rebellion, greed, unbelief and false theologies are some of the things growing in their hearts.

Take a moment to think about the prodigals in your life. What is the condition of their heart?

You can know because God has given us a way to peek into their hearts.“For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.” (Matthew 12:34 NKJV)

Pay close attention to what comes out of their mouth. Also listen closely to the voice of the Holy Spirit for God alone really “knows the hearts of all men” (Acts 1:24).

Do you see rejection, guilt, greed, anger, unforgiveness, bitterness, lust and pain that have been suppressed and stuffed?

When you see these things, it should cause you to turn your judgment of them into mercy and to see that they are helpless prisoners of Satan and of self. God has given you the tools to help set them free.

Through prayer you can cultivate their hearts until they are softened towards Christ. Your prayers can bring the conviction of the Holy Spirit and loosen strongholds so it will be easier for this person to submit to Christ.

When you don’t see God move the circumstances, don’t give up. When your son is arrested or your teenage daughter is promiscuous, lay hold of God’s promise that “the seed of the righteous shall be delivered” (Proverbs 11:21).

When your spouse wants to leave you for someone else, fight for your marriage declaring that “what God has joined together, let man not separate” (Mark 10:9). (Also see Praying for the Prodigal Spouse)

When people experience trials of this nature, many times they feel like crawling back into bed, pulling the covers over their head, fall asleep and hope that it’s all a bad dream. But you are not left without hope.

Dig your heels of faith into God’s word and do not be moved by what your eyes see. You must trust God with a confident expectancy, not a constant anxiety. Pray and believe God’s promises, leaving the rest to Him. I am not speaking of a “name it and claim it” theology, but rather a knowing that you are in a covenant relationship with God. He has promised to keep His word.

Man has a free will but your prayers allow God to move more freely upon your prodigal. So don’t give up. Stand strong, for God “is able to do exceedingly above all that you ask or think” (Ephesians 3:20).

Take your eyes off the outward appearances and circumstances in your wayward loved one’s life, and aim your prayers towards their heart.

A few years ago at one of our seminars there was an 18-year-old girl with purple, white and black, short spiked hair. By all outward appearances it looked like she needed the Lord. When we made a nice comment about her colorful hair, she told us that she looks that way because it opens the door for her to minister to many kids she otherwise would not be able to talk to. But she also shared that many Christians can’t get beyond her outward appearance and judge her by only what their eyes see.

“God sees not as man sees, for man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.” (1 Samuel 16:7 NASU)

Can you remember times when you have seen teens that look spiritually lost, and your first impression is that they are rebellious?

But if you remove the seductive, gloomy and attention-catching clothes, hair and makeup, and peel back the hardened layers of their heart, you would most likely find a person who is hurting and longing to be accepted and loved.

This goes without saying for our prodigals as well. Underneath all the layers of rebellion, anger, bitterness, flashy attire, colored hair and foul language is a person hungering to be loved, healed and accepted. Sometimes the layers are so thick that they cannot even admit their need, for they can’t even see it anymore. Bitterness has blinded them. But your prayers will help remove some of those layers so that they can see the truth, “and the truth will set them free” (John 8:32).

God loves our prodigals more than we do. Ask God to show you their hearts, their pain, and their needs through His eyes. And then pray for His touch on their hearts. Once you see them through God’s eyes, you will be in the right place to pray for them. The last thing they need is your judgment. If you have been blinded by their outward actions and appearance, confess your judgmental attitude as sin and ask God to open the eyes of your heart to see them as He does.

Our prodigals and wayward loved ones cannot fight for themselves because of the weakness of their spiritual condition. They most likely will not guard their own hearts, but our prayers will soften their hearts so they can hear the voice of God and turn away from their sin.

We have developed a recording on compact disk with personalized scripture prayers set to soft background music called Praying Your Prodigals Back Home . So if the battle has been long and hard, and you are discouraged and have a difficult time praying for your prodigals, this will help you.

For more help you can also pray the Heart Scriptures and Weed-Killer Scriptures found under the Prayer link on our website.

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Garden of the Heart Ministries
2267 Oakhill Drive
Green Bay, WI 54313