The Father Who Was Already Running: Discovering God's Prevenient Grace
Have you ever noticed that crucial detail in the Prodigal Son story? The one that changes everything about how we understand God's grace?
"But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him." (Luke 15:20)
The father was watching. Waiting. And when he spotted his son as a distant figure on the horizon, he hiked up his robes—an undignified act for a man of his status—and ran.
This wasn't a father waiting on the porch for his wayward son to crawl back in humiliation. This was a father whose love propelled him down the road before his son had even reached the property line.
This is prevenient grace—grace that "goes before." And it changes everything about how we understand our relationship with God.
Grace That Precedes Our Awareness
John Wesley articulated prevenient grace as God's love working in every heart before we're even aware of it, inviting us to respond freely. Jesus echoes this in John 6:44: "No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws them."
Early American Methodism spread this radical message: God is already at work in your life, even if you've never set foot in a church.
Grace That Transforms Our Understanding
Prevenient grace reshapes our spiritual journey. It affirms that the first move in our relationship with God is always His. Before we sought Him, He sought us. Before we loved Him, He loved us.
Consider grace like the sun, constantly shining on everyone. You can close your curtains, step outside briefly, or fully embrace its warmth. Grace, too, invites without coercion.
In the Prodigal Son, what brought the son to his senses? It wasn't merely hunger, but the memory of his father's love pulling him homeward.
Living in Response to Prevenient Grace
Recognizing prevenient grace reshapes our spiritual journey, our witness, and our understanding of those we consider "lost."
1. Our Spiritual Journey
Even our doubts or spiritual nudges can be God's prior work, drawing us gently home.
Reflection question: When have you felt an unexplainable spiritual tug? How might that have been prevenient grace?
2. Our Witness to Others
Evangelism becomes a conversation about recognizing God's already-present work. We're not bringing Christ; we're simply helping make introductions.
3. Our Understanding of "Lost" People
No one is truly "God-forsaken." Like the prodigal son's father, God sees everyone, even from afar, and is already running toward them.
The Father Who Runs
Your spiritual journey began when God first set His love upon you, not at your first prayer or church visit. Next time you read the Prodigal Son, don't miss the father running—that's our God, the initiator of grace, whose love precedes us.
How has prevenient grace appeared in your story? I'd love to hear your experiences in the comments.