Cross My Heart Ministry

“And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight…” Philippians 1:9-11

Editor’s Note: You can view Laura’s complete teaching on this passage here:

Paul’s prayer for the Philippians in the first century is a great one for us to pray over our prodigals in the 21st century. The topic of his prayer is love.

Ahhh ……. love. The theme of the songs we love to sing, the rudder that steers our ship, and the glue that keeps us connected to others.

But what is love exactly? A feeling? A commitment? A choice?

When a teenager falls in love, we deem it “puppy love,” implying it will fade with time. We talk about being lovesick – suggesting an inability to function or behave normally. Love has been deemed mysterious, unpredictable, and disconcerting. The Greeks needed more than one word to describe what English speakers sum up simply as “love”: phileo, eros, agape.

As we struggle to understand, define, and live out love, perhaps Paul can help. His prayer for the Philippians in chapter one of the book that bears their name is a powerful prompt for us to pray over our prodigals (and ourselves), as it simultaneously teaches us much about prayer as it sheds light on the topic of love.

Read this passage slowly and thoughtfully:

And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless until the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ— to the glory and praise of God.

Paul’s prayer offers great insight into the subject of love then and now. Clearly, it is more than a feeling and has purpose beyond ourselves.

Love is not static – it is growing, expanding, and prompts action and change.

When love leads out, we know what is right (“discern what is best”) and we do what is right (“pure and blameless”). Knowing what is right and then following through by doing what is right is what I call “smart love.” The resulting choices lead to purity and righteousness. As we continue to make those decisions, a lifestyle develops. Love “abounds more and more.” And the epitome of it all: God is glorified.

Join with me in praying for your prodigal:

God Almighty, please draw my prodigal back to the path of smart love. He/she has wandered away pursuing a perception of love that really isn’t love at all. Let this precious one – created in Your image and cherished by You – come to his/her senses today. Stir up his/her heart with a holy discontent. I pray life would feel boring, meaningless, and lacking as he/she looks around. And in that moment, may he/she look up and look to You. Rekindle that spark of faith. Draw this one to You! I pray the one I love would run back to You and that You would fill his/her heart with a hunger for love that is discerning. May that love grow and flourish to prompt him/her to know what is right and follow through in doing what is right. May love for you grow daily, abound more and more, produce righteousness, and bring You glory and praise!

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“…take hold of the life that is truly life.”
I Timothy 6:19

Paul wrote these words to Timothy — the young man he called “my true son in the faith” (I Timothy 1:2). Timothy received not one, but two letters from Paul, perhaps demonstrating not only the depth of the relationship, but awareness of the weight of the baton Paul was passing.

Though written specifically to Timothy, you and I — together with Bible readers for twenty centuries — are privileged to glean from the wisdom passed from a spiritual father to a spiritual son.

Father’s Day seems a good day to embrace these wise words.

What I tend to believe about wisdom is this: life will bring it. Living brings learning. That’s the natural, long-route way to arrive at wisdom. But those who are teachable get to take a shortcut. The ones willing to heed the sage advice of those who have traveled the road ahead of them, can benefit tremendously. They have joy in the journey, they take the best route, and they avoid many of the detours and pitfalls that life often brings.

The phrase, “the life that is truly life,” resonates perhaps even better to a 21^st-century audience than a first-century one. Our society has become consumed with stuff — we accumulate toys, we buy clothes we seldom wear, we are driven to replace what we have with the latest version, model, or color. After a while, the stuff we own seems to own us!

Are we individually and collectively chasing the counterfeit instead of the real?

Are we permitting the temporary to trump the eternal?

In this verse, Paul is wrapping up a teaching about riches and wealth where he encouraged a choice to “be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share.” This type of investment reaps dividends for eternity.

Even the minimalists and the most frugal among us can get caught up in the consumer mentality. When we say “no” to ourselves, we loosen the consumer grip. Releasing our grip on stuff frees us our hands (and hearts) to “take hold of the life that is truly life.”

What are we holding on to? What is most valuable to us? The prodigals we love may be chasing the next raise, the bigger house, or the newer car. They may be seeking acceptance and approval from friends (or strangers), or investing in nothing more than the fleeting pleasures of the moment. As we pray for an eternal mindset for them, we can pray also for ourselves — that we would model richness in good needs, a spirit of generosity, and a willingness to share the abundant blessings that God has given us.

Are you and I holding on tight to that which will last? Are we releasing the manufactured / counterfeit / temporary life for the eternal “life that is truly life”? Would you make some time on this Father’s Day to consider Paul’s wise counsel to his “son” Timothy … and to ask your own Heavenly Father, “What do I need to release, so that I can grab hold of real life?”

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This week, we continue on the topic of Praying for Prodigals, as introduced in this month’s Write The Word. Today I’d like to once again welcome those faithful readers of the Sunday Soaking series at A Reason for Homeschool. It’s such a blessing to bring that weekly series here to share with you at Cross My Heart Ministry. I invite all of you to subscribe to my email list so you will not miss a single week of Sunday Soaking!

“Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me.”
Revelation 3:20

Jesus is always there, knocking on the door of our heart.

He waits patiently to be asked in. He is ready to release love, mercy, forgiveness, guidance, and whatever else we desperately need.

Jesus is a gentleman. He will not barge in uninvited, he will not push down the door, and he will not force his way into our hearts.

But when we finally choose to hear His voice and open the door to our lives, He kindly comes in.

We often hear, quote, and apply Revelation 3:20 to unbelievers who need to invite Jesus in for salvation. But it’s a powerful verse — and perhaps truer to context — when applied to those who know Christ and need to repent.

These are words of Jesus (if you have a “red-letter” version of the Bible, this passage in Revelation 3 is highlighted). Placed at the end of a series of letters to the seven churches, Revelation 3:20 specifically addresses the church at Laodicea, the worst of the seven.

As we continue our Praying for Prodigals series, this verse is a good one to pray over those we love who have wandered away or allowed their faith to grow cold.

Verse 16 describes the Laodiceans as lukewarm. Does that describe your prodigal?

Revelation 3:17 confirms they are not only lukewarm — they are lacking in self-awareness. Perhaps a lack of self-awareness leads to complacency in matters of faith.

The Laodiceans then (and many of our prodigals now) believed themselves to be rich in wisdom, knowledge, and understanding. Prodigals can display a smugness, an attitude of certainty. They believe they have not only figured out the important questions of life, but have also mastered the answers.

The real issue, of course, is pride. When pride takes root, it leads — among other things — to self-deception and self-sufficiency.

While they see themselves as having everything they need, Jesus says:

“…you are wretched pitiful, poor, blind, and naked….” Revelation 3:17b

Our prodigals may be listening to many other voices. They are prioritizing other issues, objectives, causes, and concerns. They have so filled their hearts and minds with what they see as important, that they have crowded out who is most needed: Jesus.

Let’s pray today that they will realize their need for Him — that today their eyes would be opened to see themselves as “wretched pitiful, poor, blind, and naked.” Let’s pray that this would be the day they hear His voice above the cacophony of all the other voices vying for their attention.

Like the prodigal son who finally “came to his senses” (Luke 15:17), let’s pray our prodigals wake up, look around at the mess they’re in, and go home. Like Jesus knocking at the door, the faithful father in the parable was there waiting to welcome the prodigal home.

Lord Jesus,
let today be the day our prodigals hear your voice
and open wide the door to You!You can view Laura’s recent teaching on the Parable of the Prodigal Son here:

Today I’d like to introduce a new weekly feature for Cross My Heart Ministry: Sunday Soaking.

Although new for subscribers of this blog, Sunday Soaking has been a long-standing weekly series at A Reason for Homeschool. While I’ve been blessed to build relationships with many readers of that blog over the past several years, I am thrilled that the weekly series is now transitioning to Cross My Heart. For those who are visiting us from A Reason For Homeschool, I thank you for faithfully reading Sunday Soaking. The purpose of Cross My Heart is to honor God’s call on my life: biblical ministry to women. Welcome!

My practice has been to use each week’s Sunday Soaking to explore one verse from the monthly Write the Word series (also published by ARFH). Continuing in that vein, during the month of June, the weekly devotional will be prompted by verses from Write The Word: Praying for Our Prodigals. The free, printable daily verse list and S.O.A.P. study pages can be accessed here.

Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened and I will give you rest.
Matthew 11:28

Jesus beckons, “Come to me…” As our Creator, He knows how we are wired. He knows our thoughts, our fears, our desires, and hopes. He knows what we need.

We need Him, of course, every day ⁠— but we especially need Him during times of anxiety, uncertainty, and trouble. Whether we are listening to our governor’s daily update, looking at our 401(k), or mourning the cancellation of yet another life event, “anxiety, uncertainty and trouble” is most likely an apt description of life for most of us during these strange times.

Where do we run when worry comes knocking?

When panic rises up, we long for peace. Our desire for rest and release may find us picking up the remote or opening the refrigerator to ease the pain (or at least temporarily distract us from it).

Where do you go ⁠— or what do you reach for ⁠— when weary and burdened?

Some of us try to eat, shop, or entertain ourselves to drive away the worry. Others will exercise, clean, or take a vacation. In extreme cases, we may look for a new car, a new job, or a new house. Sadly, some resort to the destructive false comfort of drugs or alcohol.

We crave something, and we try to satisfy that craving. But what we really need is not a what at all – it’s who.

It is Him.

Jesus.

Nothing and no one else will bring lasting satisfaction. Only Jesus knows us completely and loves us unconditionally. Only Jesus can ease our burdens and provide rest for our souls.

He says, “Come.”

Are you read to hear Him? Are you ready to trust Him? Are you ready to receive the peace and rest only He can provide?

Whether or not your circumstances change, you will be changed. A woman who walks in peace when panic is all around is a woman who is living proof that God is real ⁠— that He is great and He is good.

O Lord, today I come to You!
Forgive me for looking around when I should be looking up.
I am weary and burdened, but in You, I find rest and peace.
Help me, Jesus.

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