Praying for Others to be Saved

.... Seeking the salvation of our unsaved loved ones, friends, and neighbors is a very special concern that must always begin with seeking God’s favor, for He alone can avail in their lives in this regard (Acts 11:18):

.... "who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God."

(John 1:13)

.... Because we are saved by God’s will alone, no amount of talking to our friends, caring for them, preaching or campaigning will be of any value unless we are working in conjunction with the Lord’s own efforts. And the initial input He wants to see from us is our own heartfelt prayer for them:

.... "Therefore I exhort first of all that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks be made for all men . . . For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth."

(1 Timothy 2:1-4)

.... God earnestly wants all people to be saved, and He will use our prayers to help bridge this gap in more ways than one. We should pray that God will open their hearts to the gospel (Ephesians 6:18-19), we should interceed for their needs as discussed in our previous posting, and we should give thanks to God when He blesses them. This will give them a taste of His goodness and provide them with our own example of how to respond to Him thankfully, with the intention of introducing them to a relationship of their own: "Oh, taste and see that the LORD is good; blessed is the man who trusts in Him!" (Psalm 34:8).

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.... Just as importantly, the intention of this prayer is to work a change in ourselves. The whole impetus is to bring our hearts into agreement with the Lord's own desire to see them saved -- and as we noted in our previous posting, we will need to persevere in this. That sort of motive, combined with our patience, can work a very deep change within us to make us more Christ-like in character:

.... "I tell the truth in Christ, I am not lying, my conscience also bearing me witness in the Holy Spirit, that I have great sorrow and continual grief in my heart. For I could wish that I myself were accursed from Christ for my brethren, my countrymen according to the flesh . . . my heart's desire and prayer to God for Israel is that they may be saved."

(Romans 9:1-3; 10:1)

.... In this passage we see a very Christ-like attitude that has developed in Paul, who is moved to nearly sacrificial terms on behalf of his kinsmen, that they may be saved (though only the sacrifice of Jesus could ever avail them in this regard). This is the heart that God wants to develop in each of us that we may be fruitful and that Jesus may be exemplified, and so glorified, in our lives.

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.... Here is the simple truth of the matter. In God’s efforts to make us Christ-like, we will only grow so far before bumping up against that part of His heart that came into this world and save sinners (1 Timothy 1:15). Once we have reached that point we will stagnate unless some of that desire begins to burn within us as well (Galatians 4:19). As we saw in the Foundation 2 module, this is a vital key as we grow into His likeness.

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.... So in the end, God chooses this route for our own sakes as well as theirs, that the heart of Jesus and His ministry may take shape in us both.

You have now completed the Prayer Module. To begin the Module on Faith, Grace and the Law, click here

Daily Bible Reading: Romans 5