Joseph Prince (August-07-2026) Daily Devotional: Unveiling the Heart of the Father

“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. . . But the father said to his servants, ‘Bring out the best robe and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand and sandals on his feet. And bring the fatted calf here and kill it, and let us eat and be merry; for this my son was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’” Luke 15:20, 22–24

One of the most beautiful parables in the Bible is the parable of the father of the prodigal son (Luke 15:11–32). Many commentators call this the parable of the prodigal son, but the real hero of this story is the father and his love for his two sons. It’s a parable that Jesus used to skillfully unveil to us the true heart of our gracious and loving heavenly Father.

Please take a few minutes to read through the full parable, and as you read through it, consider this: What is your opinion of God, especially when you’ve made a mistake? Do you see Him as an all-powerful, distant, and unfeeling judge who is angry whenever you fail and who constantly has to be appeased? Or do you know Him as your Daddy, your Abba Father whom you can run to anytime, even when you have fallen short? Do you see Him as unwaveringly and patiently waiting for you to return to Him and then racing down the road to meet you with tears streaming down His face, embracing you, and raining His kisses upon you?

As I was studying the Word, the Lord revealed to me that many believers have come to a place where they have forgotten their heavenly Father. They have forgotten about His love, His grace, and His loving-kindness. They relate to God in a judicial and transactional fashion, coming before Him with apprehension and trepidation, presenting their failings to Him and quickly leaving before they get the punishment and condemnation they think they rightly deserve from Him. They perceive Him exclusively as a God of holiness, judgment, and justice—His face steely and stern, His mighty arms folded in dissatisfaction and disapproval. They see a God who is easily displeased, quick to anger, perpetually disappointed with them, and waiting impatiently to be placated.

This wrong belief of who God really is has driven many into fear, guilt, depression, and insecurity. And that is why it’s so vital we see the heart of the Father as unveiled by Jesus in this timeless parable.

Beloved, do you see His heart of love for you? There is a vacuum in our hearts that can only be filled by the Father’s love. I believe that if you would allow the Father to come into your heart today and fill you up with His perfect love, you will find the joy, confidence, fulfillment, and freedom that you have been looking for in life.

Joseph Prince (August-06-2026) Daily Devotion: Blessed with Every Pneumatikos Blessing

Ephesians 1:3 - Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ,

Some people think that the term “spiritual blessing” refers to only non-visible and intangible blessings like peace and joy. To them, God’s promise of “every spiritual blessing” excludes the tangible blessings of  health, provision, a  healthy marriage and so on. They say things like, “Don’t expect God to remove this tumor because our blessings are only spiritual.”

Beloved, do you know what the word “spiritual” here means? In the original Greek text, it is pneumatikos, which in this context means having properties and characteristics belonging to the Spirit of God. So if you have the pneumatikos blessing of health, for example, it means that it is of the Spirit of God, and therefore does not depend on your exercising or dieting.

A church member had high blood pressure which did not normalize even after he started exercising and eating well. So he stopped being preoccupied with his exercise and diet regimes, and simply rested in the truth that a normal blood pressure was a pneumatikos blessing from God already given to him. In a short time, his blood pressure came down to a healthy level!

The same goes for the pneumatikos blessing of provision. It is of the Spirit of God and does not depend on our toiling seven days a week or monitoring the stock market closely.

A church member, who owns a small company, received her pneumatikos blessing of provision when she believed that God would cause her small company to be publicly listed. He did. In fact, the company was over-subscribed seven times within the first week! Later on, it even made inroads into Middle East. For a woman to find favor in a male-dominated industry like hers, it can only be the pneumatikos blessing of favor, which is not subject to the laws of man.

My friend, believe that you have received every pneumatikos blessing, and you will find yourself enjoying blessings that are eternal, just as God is eternal, and of a quality that only the Spirit of God can give!

Christianity in China Before Western Missionaries

Joseph Prince (August-05-2026) Daily Devotion: What Have You Been Saying?

Proverbs 18:21 - Death and life are in the power of the tongue…

Many things in life can cause us to fear—losing our jobs, deadly diseases, terrorist attacks and so on. When these things confront us, we tend to give in to worry and fear, and start talking about our fears.

Job was no different. He constantly feared that God would punish him and his family because he kept thinking that his sons had sinned against God. He would get up early in the morning to offer burnt sacrifices, saying, “It may be that my sons have sinned and cursed God in their hearts.” And the Bible tells us that he did this “regularly” (Job 1:5).

So Job kept confessing the sins of his sons and fearing that something terrible would happen to him and his family. In fact, his sin-consciousness didn’t just produce fear, the Bible tells us that he “greatly feared” (Job 3:25).

It is important that we understand that it was Job’s sin-consciousness that opened the door to Satan. His preoccupation with sins that his family may have committed gave Satan the opportunity to bring death and destruction into his life. God had a hedge of protection around Job. But when he started being sin-conscious and having a fearful expectation of judgment, the hedge was removed and Satan could attack him (see Job 1:9–12).

My friend, today, if you have sinned, don’t say, “I have failed again. I deserve to be punished by God.” Know that you already have forgiveness of sins because Jesus was punished and condemned in your place (see Ephesians 1:7)! So say, “I am the righteousness of God in Christ. Jesus, You are my holiness and perfection” (see 1 Corinthians 1:30, 2 Corinthians 5:21).

We must be mindful of what we believe and say regularly because “death and life arein the power of the tongue.” So when you hear of a deadly virus taking many lives, don’t say, “I’m next because I have not been a good Christian!” Instead, say, “Jesus, You are my righteousness and protection. Surely You shall deliver me from the snare of the fowler and from the perilous pestilence” (see Psalm 91:3)!

Beloved, such believing and confessing not only please God, but they also shut the door on Satan so that he cannot make any inroad into your life!

Types and Shadows of New Covenant in Solomon's Test

 King Solomon’s test with the two mothers and the baby (1 Kings 3:16–28) foreshadows the New Covenant through Christ as the ultimate wise judge, the true mother's self-sacrificial love representing divine grace, and the sword of division exposing human heart motives. [1, 2, 3]

King Solomon as a Type of Christ

Divine Wisdom: Solomon possessed a wisdom from God that surpassed human capability to judge hearts and render true justice (1 Kings 3:28). This reflects Christ, in whom "are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge" and who judges with perfect spiritual discernment. [1, 2, 3]
The Greater than Solomon: Jesus explicitly presented Himself as the fulfillment and pinnacle of Solomon’s royal wisdom and authority (Matthew 12:42).

The Sword, the Division, and the Two Mothers

The Sword of Truth: Solomon called for a sword to divide the child (1 Kings 3:24), acting as a type of the Word of God, which is "sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit" (Hebrews 4:12) and exposing the thoughts and intents of the heart. [1, 2, 3, 4]
The False Claimant (The Old Covenant / Works-based mindset): The woman willing to see the baby cut in two ("let it be neither mine nor yours") mirrors a legalistic or selfish spirit that destroys life for the sake of fairness or self- vindication. [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]
The True Mother (The New Covenant / Grace and Life): The real mother who chose to forfeit her own rights and possession so that the child might live ("give her the living child, and by no means kill him") mirrors the heart of God in the New Covenant—sacrificing position and enduring heartbreak to ensure the preservation of life. [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]

If you would like, I can expand on how Hebrews interprets Old Testament narratives or explore other royal types of Christ in the historical books.