Orphan Heart

As children of the King of Kings, we have access to our Father, the King, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. He is ALWAYS there for us, any time, night or day. We don’t have to make an appointment, and we don’t have to sit in a waiting room until He’s ready to see us. We get to walk straight into His throne room and run up to Him any time we want, day or night, no matter what important things you think He might be doing or who He is with.

There is a clip in one of my favourite movies, “Anna and the King”, which so aptly describes what I’m trying to explain. This movie tells the story of the King of Siam and an English school teacher named Anna who travels to Siam in order to teach his many children. One evening, during an extremely important state banquet, one of the king’s youngest daughters, Fa-Ying, pushes her way through the crowds of diplomats and officials, runs straight up to her father, the King, and pulls on his trouser leg to get his attention. It was her bedtime, and she didn’t want to go to bed without saying goodnight to her Daddy. Her father, although engaged in an important discussion with some visiting dignitaries at the time, excuses himself and gives his full attention to his little girl, kissing her goodnight and giving her a cuddle before turning his attention back to his guests, as she goes off to bed.

To me, this so beautifully illustrates our relationship with our heavenly Papa. Our Father is the Most High God, the King over all kings, the omnipresent, omnipotent, glorious God of the universe…and yet, in our personal relationship with Him, He’s simply our Papa – and He’s always there for us.

Do you feel able to run into His throne room at any time and climb up into His lap for a cuddle, or do you feel you have to sit in His waiting room until He has time for you? When was the last time you experienced your Father’s personal embrace? How you answer these questions can show whether you see yourself as a prince or princess of your Father, or an orphan child.

A story is told of a young orphan boy who lived on the streets of an ancient kingdom, begging for food and scavenging for whatever clothing he could find to keep himself warm. Often, the boy would find himself drawn to the gates of the King’s palace. He spent many a night staring through the bars at the beautiful twinkling lights of the palace, sniffing the scent of freshly baked bread and roasting meat, and watching all the beautiful people in their smart clothes. His heart was filled with such longing. However, by a fortuitous twist of fate, it was discovered that the boy was, in fact, the King’s long-lost son. He was returned to his rightful place in the palace, where he was welcomed with open arms and received the princely crown that was rightfully his.

All good stories have endings like this, don’t they? The heroes get what they deserve, and the wicked get their just rewards, too. And yet, in real life, so many of us are like that little orphan boy staring into the palace, longing to go inside. We haven’t yet realised who we really are – a prince or princess of the King – and so we stay outside the gates and content ourselves with just looking and longing. We don’t feel good enough, clever enough, good-looking enough, or important enough to go into the palace, so we stay on the streets of lack and try to accept ‘our lot in life’. What a cruel tragedy that is!

When you became a Christian, you were invited into a relationship, not a religion. You joined a family, not an organisation or institution. You became royalty, with all the rights and privileges that affords, and you are no longer a refugee or sojourner (like the children of Israel), dependent upon others for your every need.

I have included in the activation at the end of this blog a list of questions to ask yourself, to help you discover whether you are living as an orphan or as a prince/ princess. There are so many brilliant books that have been written on the subject of the orphan heart; I’m only scratching the surface of this immensely important topic.

 If you find you can relate more to the orphan than the prince, I want to encourage you to dig deeper into this. Get hold of a book by a trusted author, listen to podcasts that address the topic of orphan heartedness, speak to a friend or counsellor, and search out the prince or princess that you are.

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Until next time ….

Questions to ask yourself:

Which of these characters can you relate to more, the orphan or the Prince/Princess? Do you spend your life trying to ‘measure up’, consistently seeking other people’s approval and recognition?

Do you say yes to people who ask you to do something even though you don’t want to do it and, in your heart, you know you should be saying no?

Do you struggle when someone else gets the credit for something that you did?

Do you find it difficult receiving negative feedback or criticism, even when it is shared in love?

Do you find yourself making decisions based on what you think other people would want you to do rather than what you know in your heart is right?

Do you place a lot of value on your accomplishments? Your job or status? Your material possessions? Your ministry or service for the Lord?

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Nicky Heymans is a published author of The Wilderness Series, a trilogy about Joshua son of Nun’s story of the Israelites’ exodus from Egypt, their forty years of sojourning in the wilderness, and their entry into the land of Canaan. For more details, see Nicky’s website,

https://www.nickyheymansauthor.com/ , or her Facebook page, Nicky Heymans Author.