7 Prayers Christians Should Pray For The Lost

7 PRAYERS CHRISTIANS SHOULD PRAY FOR THE LOST 

II Pet 3:9 I Tim 1:9-15 I Tim 2:1-8 

I’ve been saved nearly 47 years I have seen some changes in Christianity in the US 

I’ve seen a change in how people view God, and his word Majority 

They have no use for him God is abstract He is whatever they want him to be They have turned God into an idol of their own choosing 

His word is irrelevant it has little or no impact on them Churches are empty Few have any spiritual interest 

We go door to door, to introduce ourselves to the neighborhood expressing our concern for the souls of men and women, where they will spend eternity 

There is little or no interest Talked to a lady yesterday RC 

Roman Catholic Church of South Buffalo How many Churches were there? She named off 6 or 7 now services are shared between one or 2 depending on the day and the time 

Diocese Consolidating Churches and Congregations 

The number of people we come across who claim they are RC the churches would be full Non practicing RC 

Scandals I know have hurt them for sure But why aren’t they looking for other spiritual alternatives 

Baptist are no better with a few exceptions They are a shadow of what they were like in the 50's 60's 70's and 80's People were getting saved in many of those churches every week Not just from buses 

You could visit People would engage in conversation You could open a bible and show scripture You could lead people to the Lord at their home, and they would come to church 

There are some who are sticking by the stuff 

But modern Christianity Has Softened the gospel to where you don’t even know what the gospel is 

Propping people up Telling them how amazing they look With a general message of
 Needing Jesus in your life What does that mean? 

Is like having a lucky rabbits foot Is it having some emotional attachment to feel good about themselves of their concept of who Jesus is Is it like having a Genie on demand to grant wishes to help them on tests or trial 

or someone with power to get them out of messes they get into someone who will approve their life choices Or fire insurance 

The modern approach is backwards Jesus is not our co-pilot / Steward tending to our every need 

He is the pilot and we tend to him and his needs 

Don’t get me wrong there are blessings for serving Jesus But he is the focus of attention Not us and our needs 

He has the preeminence Not us not you It is all about Jesus Christ 

So what is the problem Why aren’t more people getting saved today? 

Partly because of the day and age we are living in Laodicea end times 

a falling away Rights of the people Instead of true fellowship with God and the souls of men 

But something else that has little attention given to it That is 

How to pray for the Lost sinner 

Eighteen-year-old Hudson Taylor (who is he) wandered into his father's library and read a gospel tract. He couldn't shake off its message. Finally, falling to his knees, he accepted Christ as his Savior. Later, his mother, who had been away, returned home. When Hudson told her the good news, she said, "I already know. Ten days ago, the very date on which you tell me you read that tract, I spent the entire afternoon in prayer for you until the Lord assured me that my wayward son had been brought into the fold." 

From this story, true one at that, what did you notice different, than how folks pray for the lost today? 

She spent an entire afternoon in prayer 

by today’s standard of prayer for the Lost it doesn’t take an afternoon to ask the Lord to save my son 

There was more detail in her prayer to take up an afternoon
 I’m not saying drop everything you are doing to pray but details
 By the way why are we asking God to do what he already wants to do 

2Pe 3:9 (KJV) The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. 

He is not going to save anyone against their own will They have to want to be 

1Ti 1:15 (KJV) This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief. 

The will of the sinner is what needs to be changed Without the prayers of the saints few will be changed 

1Ti 2:1 (KJV) I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men; 

vrs 4,5,6,8 

I believe we as a church and as individuals, there needs to be a change our approach to praying for the Lost not general prayers but specific and not casually whenever But fervently and frequently 

Five young college students were spending a Sunday in London, so they went to hear the famed C.H. Spurgeon preach. While waiting for the doors to open, the students were greeted by a man who asked, "Gentlemen, let me show you around. Would you like to see the heating plant of this church?" They were not particularly interested, for it was a hot day in July. But they didn't want to offend the stranger, so they consented. The young men were taken down a stairway, a door was quietly opened, and their guide whispered, "This is our heating plant." Surprised, the students saw 700 people bowed in prayer, seeking a blessing on the service that was soon to begin in the auditorium above. Softly closing the door, the gentleman then introduced himself. It was none other than Charles Spurgeon. 

The effectiveness of the church (body of believers) is contingent upon the dedication to serious prayer Praying as if your soul depended upon it saved 

Again this may be within your own prayer closet (your special place to get alone with God) Or throughout the day being instant in prayer, talking to the Lord in conversation while engaged in your duties. 

Young Christians may ask; how can you pray for so long? Details 

I SUBMIT TO YOU 7 PRAYERS (OR DETAILS) TO PRAY FOR THE LOST 

1 Pray That the Lord Awaken Their Conscience 

1Ti 4:1-2 (KJV) Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils; 2 Speaking lies in hypocrisy; having their conscience seared with a hot iron; 

Their conscience has been deadened to sin To where sin is not sin to them 

There is no right or wrong Good is evil and evil is good
 it is ok to shack up outside of marriage Blaspheme God’s name steal lie
Somewhere recently I heard someone talk about Jiminy Cricket 

Pinocchio’s conscience That little voice to warn of danger in (Wolf) choosing a certain path Pleasure Island Which was really dangerous fun and games at first Then turned into bondage 

You can ignore the conscience so much that it weakens the opposing voice To where it is deadened Conscience speaks no more 

The Lord uses the conscience to reach the lost To give them a little bit of light To see if they will follow it to the truth 

Ro 2:14-15 (KJV) For when the Gentiles, which have not the law, do by nature the things contained in the law, these, having not the law, are a law unto themselves: 15 Which shew the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness, and their thoughts the mean while accusing or else excusing one another;) 

To see a spark a little light that the path they are on leads to bondage 

2 Pray That the Sinner Would Get Fed Up with Their Sin 

That they would get tired of the life that sin has led them to
 How it is destroying their mind life home family health body
 Get tired of the downward spiral of their life the meaninglessness of 

their life to act upon it 

many get to that point but won’t act upon it 

I remember the night when it hit me Not advocating suicide 

but being fed up with the bondage the Devil has led me to Alternative 

It is time to seek the Lord It is time to find the truth Purpose 

3 Pray That They Would Be Exposed to Truth 

That God would send someone their way to get them the truth of the scriptures 

To give them the truth of the Gospel The Real Gospel 

1Co 15:3-4 (KJV) .... how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; 4 And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures: 

The fact that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners
 That salvation is in a person not in a religion Only one way to heaven 

I am the way... Neither is there sal... Sin Behold the Lamb of God 

There is so much falsehood out there someone who is genuinely looking for the truth can be sidetracked from finding the truth 

2Co 11:3 (KJV) But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtilty, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ. 

4 Pray For Their Blinded Minds Be Opened 

2Co 4:3-4 (KJV) But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost: 4 In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them.
 The Devil is very good at blinding our mind from the truth even when the truth is presented plainly 

I remember plainly Not understanding the difference between what I had been taught by religion and what the bible actually said 

It was like a switch had been turned on and I finally understood the trouble I was in spiritually 

What a person does with the light of the gospel given them Is entirely up to them To accept it or reject it 

5 Pray For the Holy Spirit to Bring Conviction 

The sense of urgency to act upon the light given to them
 A heaviness of spirit a sense of foreboding An unsettled spirit 

Conflict within knowing that they should make a decision to repent to change direction knowing that what has been presented is right and that they should take it 

all the while The devil is coming up with all kinds of excesses to stay in the same condition they are in 

The devil is ok with some modest changes to better their life What he doesn’t want is for them to turn to Christ alone 

The Holy Spirit’s job to convince the world of sin Righteousness and Judgement to come Bring conviction back again 

6 Pray That the Sinner Would be Drawn to Christ 

Joh 12:32 (KJV) men unto me. To see Jesus as 

Who loved them To be overcome 

And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all the crucified saviour 

enough to die in their place by the love of God 

Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with Lord Jesus Christ: 2 By whom also we have access 

Ro 5:1-2 (KJV)
 God through our
 by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God. 

Ro 5:5-10 (KJV) And hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us. 6 For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. 7 For scarcely for a righteous man will one die: yet peradventure for a good man some would even dare to die. 8 But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. 9 Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him. 10 For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life. 

Joh 3:16-17 (KJV) For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. 17 For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. 

7 Pray that the Sinner Would Recognize the Consequences of Their Choice 

Pray that the Lord would open their eyes to the end of life here 

What the Sinner does with Jesus Christ now, makes the difference between Heaven or Hell 

The wages of sin is death But the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord 

Lu 13:3 (KJV) .... but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish. 

One of the saddest portions of scripture is found in Prov 1 

Pr 1:10-33 (KJV) My son, if sinners entice thee, consent thou not. 11 If they say, Come with us, let us lay wait for blood, let us lurk privily for the innocent without cause: 12 Let us swallow them up alive as the grave; and whole, as those that go down into the pit: 13 We shall find all precious substance, we shall fill our houses with spoil: 14 Cast in thy lot among us; let us all have one purse: 15 My son, walk not thou in the way with them; refrain thy foot from their path: 16 For their feet run to evil, and make haste to shed blood. 17 Surely in vain the net is spread in the sight of any bird. 18 And they lay wait for their own blood; they lurk privily for their own lives. 19 So are the ways of every one that is greedy of gain; which taketh away the life of the owners thereof. 20 Wisdom crieth without; she uttereth her voice in the streets: 21 She crieth in the chief place of concourse, in the openings of the gates: in the city she uttereth her words, saying, 22 How long, ye simple ones, will ye love simplicity? and the scorners delight in their scorning, and fools hate knowledge? 23 Turn you at my reproof: behold, I will pour out my spirit unto you, I will make known my words unto you. 24 Because I have called, and ye refused; I have stretched out my hand, and no man regarded; 25 But ye have set at nought all my counsel, and would none of my reproof: 26 I also will laugh at your calamity; I will mock when your fear cometh; 27 When your fear cometh as desolation, and your destruction cometh as a whirlwind; when distress and anguish cometh upon you. 28 Then shall they call upon me, but I will not answer; they shall seek me early, but they shall not find me: 29 For that they hated knowledge, and did not choose the fear of the LORD: 30 They would none of my counsel: they despised all my reproof. 31 Therefore shall they eat of the fruit of their own way, and be filled with their own devices. 32 For the turning away of the simple shall slay them, and the prosperity of fools shall destroy them. 33 But whoso hearkeneth unto me shall dwell safely, and shall be quiet from fear of evil. 

Joh 3:18-21 (KJV) He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. 19 And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. 20 For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved. 21 But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God. 

Joh 3:36 (KJV) He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him. 

Child of God Church of God we need to pray more effectively for the lost 

they need our Fervent Effective prayers 

Let us focus on the Details