Prayer Requests for Unsaved Friends

.... Jesus told us that we may ask for anything we wish, and if there is a way in God’s will for granting it, then it will be done:

.... "Until now you have asked nothing in My name. Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full."

(John 16:24)

.... Our requests come before God with great favor because we are in a relationship with Him through Jesus Christ our Lord (Romans 8:32). But when we make requests on behalf of unsaved friends, we are stepping outside of that relationship. So how does God view those requests? In the context of prayer and its purpose, Jesus addressed this very situation through a parable:

.... ‘And He said to them, "Which of you shall have a friend, and go to him at midnight and say to him, 'Friend, lend me three loaves; for a friend of mine has come to me on his journey, and I have nothing to set before him'; and he will answer from within and say, 'Do not trouble me; the door is now shut, and my children are with me in bed; I cannot rise and give to you'? I say to you, though 1 he will not rise and give to 2 him because 3 he is 2 his friend, yet because of 2 his persistence 1 he will rise and give 2 him as many as 3 he needs."

(Luke 11:5-8)

.... This passage can be confusing because it introdues a three-way interaction. But to help straighten this out, we’ve taken the liberty of identifying the parties by numbers. Number one is the man who is in bed, who represents God the Father. Number two is the mutual friend, who is knocking on the Father's door. Number three is the man on the journey, who was a friend to man number 2 but is not acquainted with the man in bed.
.

.... In other words, God has a relationship with us through Christ, but He does not have a relationship with our unsaved friends. So if we are asking for something on their behalf, we will need to be persistent about it! If we do persist, He’ll eventually grant their needs. But at the same time, He does not want anyone thinking they can come to Him through anyone other than Jesus:

.... "For there is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus."

(1 Timothy 2:5)

.... Therefore let us note very carefully, again, that God did not rise to meet their needs because we consider them our friends! He will not accept us as mediators between Himself and them. But rather, He is acting on our behalf alone because, well, because we have started to pester Him about it!
.

.... Instead, God wants us to understand that He would gladly establish His own relationship with them, so that they might come to Him themselves:

.... "So I say to you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened."

(Luke 11:9-10)

.... This brings us to the question of prayer for salvation, which we will discuss in our next posting

.

To proceed to the next posting, click here

Daily Bible Reading: Romans 4