G-12. HOW to PRAY for OTHERS to be SAVED!

SPELLING EDITED

I was recently asked by a dear sister in the Lord if I had a study on HOW to pray for our loved ones to be saved. I supposed that it is safe to assume that almost every Christian has family and friends that they desire to come to the knowledge of the truth and be saved. If this is you and you are not sure HOW to pray for those you love to be saved, then this study in God's word will help you to learn how to pray effectively where you will have confidence that your prayer will be answered.

Let us begin this study in God's word by reading over a list of things that you must know about praying for others.

#1. You must know God's WILL in the matter that you are praying to be accomplished in another. We will talk a little about this in this study, but for a more in-depth study on knowing the WILL of God please read the study called “WHAT IS GOD'S WILL?”.

#2. You must know that God will ANSWER your prayer. Again, we will touch a little on this subject as well, but for a deeper understanding on knowing that Almighty God is always faithful to perform his word please read the study called “PRAYER #1 THE FAITHFULNESS OF ALMIGHTY GOD!”

#3. You must have PATIENCE knowing that when praying for others that their will is involved, which can slow the progress of your prayer. Please read the study called “PRAYER #3 HOW TO BE FREE FROM WORRY!”

#4. You must understand that your everyday CONFESSION will have an effect on your prayer. Many Christians do not realize that after they have prayed the most beautiful effect of Scriptural prayer based soundly upon the word of God that they nullify and void their own prayer by the words of their mouth confessing things that are opposite of what they have just prayed. We will cover this subject of positive confession in this study, but again for a deeper understanding of how your words affect your entire life please read the study called “THE POWER OF OUR WORDS!”

#5. You must know the WEAPONS of our enemy, Satan or the Devil, and how to effectively overcome his devices. For an in-depth study on the weapons of the enemy and how to overcome them please read the studies called “WEAPONS OF OUR ENEMY SATAN”, “JESUS THE NAME ABOVE ALL NAMES”, and “THE POWER AND AUTHORITY OF THE BELIEVER!”

So then, let us now take an introductory look at point #1, which is to know God's WILL.

The word of God clearly teaches us that it is God's WILL that ALL men should be SAVED and that no one should perish.

Please read 2 Peter 3:9, which says.

“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.”

So right from the very start, you must KNOW that it is God’s WILL that ALL people be saved. For you see, if we ask anything, ACCORDING to His WILL then we know that God HEARS us. And since we KNOW that God hears all prayers according to His Will then we KNOW that we have received that which we have desired of God that is His Will. We also read in Timothy that God DESIRES or WILLS that ALL men come to the knowledge of the truth and be SAVED.

Please read 1 Timothy 2:4.

“Who will have (Or who DESIRES as His WILL for) ALL men to be SAVED, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth.”

Now, if you come from a reformed church that teaches Calvinism and you are having trouble believing that Jesus died for ALL of mankind, then please read the eight-part study called “CALVINISM - TRUE OF FALSE? PART 1” But for now, KNOW that Jesus did, in fact, die on the cross for ALL of mankind in order to reconcile man back to God. And the true reason why some people will not be saved is that the ENEMY has blinded their eyes to the gospel of salvation. Please read 1 John 2:2, which clearly and plainly states that Jesus made the atonement not only for our sins but ALSO for the sins of the WHOLE WORLD.

1 John 2:2.

“And he (Jesus) is the propitiation (Or the ATONEMENT or SACRIFICE) for OUR sins: and NOT for OURS ONLY, but ALSO for the sins of the WHOLE world.”

So then, you can be ASSURED that Almighty God desires and wills for those you love to be SAVED, more than you yourself desire them to be saved. God is for you, God is with you, and it is God who is leading you to pray for those you love to be saved.

Now let us take a look at point # 2, which is to KNOW that God both HEARS your prayer and that he is faithful to ANSWER your prayers. Please read 1 John 5:14,15, which teaches us that if we ask anything that is ACCORDING to God's WILL that God will answer our request.

1 John 5:14,15.

“And THIS is the CONFIDENCE that we have in him, that, if we ask ANY thing according to his WILL, he HEARS us:

15. AND if we KNOW that he HEARS us, WHATSOEVER we ask, (So long as it is according to his WILL) we KNOW that we HAVE the petitions that we desired of him.”

So then, now we KNOW that it is God's WILL and DESIRE for ALL men to be SAVED. Therefore, whenever we pray from now on for those we love to be SAVED then we KNOW that Almighty God HEARS our prayers and that we shall HAVE our prayers ANSWERED according to the desire of our petition. Some of you may be thinking or saying to yourself something like, I have been praying for my sister to be saved for 30 years and she still has not come to the knowledge of the truth to be saved.

Please be patient and continue reading this study in God's word. You see, when we embrace the TRUTH of knowing that Almighty God Himself desires our loved ones to be saved MORE than we do, then it takes the focus off the question WHY Lord have you not saved my sister yet and puts the focus on WHAT do I need to do differently Lord for my sister to come to the knowledge of the truth and be saved? In other words, there is more to unanswered prayer than just the matter of it NOT being God's WILL. Many Christians question WHY their prayers are not answered. And rather than going to God and asking for understanding, some Christians lay all the blame on unanswered prayer for not being God's WILL.

Let me just briefly say that IF you do not KNOW God's WILL, then HOW can you have FAITH? Everything we receive from God requires us to have faith. You cannot be saved without faith. In other words, you must first BELIEVE that it is God's WILL to save you before you can be saved. The same is true with everything that we ask of God. You must first KNOW that it is God's WILL. Then once you have eliminated the possibility of your request not being God's will you will have CONFIDENCE knowing that God not only HEARS your prayer but also that he has ANSWERED your prayer as well.

This brings us to point #3 which is that we have a need for PATIENCE when praying for others because THEIR own WILL and desires sometimes will hinder our prayers. It is kind of like alcoholics need to see for themselves that they are indeed alcoholics. In other words, those who are lost must FIRST recognize that they are indeed lost and need a savior. There are many HINDRANCES to our prayers, which I cover throughout the studies I have on prayer that I have given links to at the end of this study.

So then, the first point of your prayer after you have cleansed yourself by asking forgiveness of any sin that may be in your life is to ask God to open the eyes of understanding of those you love so that they will recognize that they are sinners and that they need to be saved.

For example, you might pray something like:

“Heavenly Father search my heart and if there be any wicked way in me cleanse me of my sins. Father, I come boldly to your throne of grace in the name of your Son Jesus to ask that you open the eyes of understanding of my sister (say the name of the person for whom you are praying. Also it is good to write down your prayer and date it so that you can refer back to it) that she may see that she needs to turn from her wicked ways and call upon you to be saved.”

Now after you have prayed know that God has heard your prayer and that he is ANSWERING your prayer. Be PATIENT! Sometimes it takes time for the person for whom you are praying to respond to the drawing of God's Holy Spirit. Add to your prayer THANKSGIVING. Please read Philippians 4:6,7 which teaches us that we should give thanks not only when we first pray but also continue to give thanks until we see and receive the answer to our prayer.

Philippians 4:6.7.

“Be careful about nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with THANKSGIVING let your requests be made known unto God.

7. And the PEACE of God, which passes all understanding, shall KEEP your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.”

Adding thanksgiving to your prayer can be expanded to include another form of prayer that I call our everyday CONFESSION of our mouth. Please read the in-depth study called “HOW YOU CAN HAVE PERFECT PEACE!” which will teach you how not to worry about those you love, by rather have FAITH that God will lead them to Jesus. This brings us to point #4, which is probably the number one HINDRANCE to the prayers of many Christians.

What I mean by this is that I have heard my fellow brothers and sisters pray the soundest Biblical prayer that I have ever hear and then turn right around and CANCEL their prayer by the NEGATIVE WORDS of their everyday speech. In other words, after praying a prayer of FAITH they prove that they do not BELIEVE the word of God nor their own prayer, because when they are asked by another Christian, “How is your sister?”, They respond with something like, “It seems the more I pray the worse she gets. I don't know if God even hears my prayers”.

Again, I implore you to read the study called “THE POWER OF OUR WORDS!” This is NOT a “name it and claim it” type study, but rather, it is an in-depth study in God's WORD that covers the many, many verses of Scripture that clearly teach us that we form our future by the words of our mouth. Satan has mocked and ridiculed Christians who teach this TRUTH from God's word because he knows the POWER of the spoken word. There is a very good chance that the reason your prayers are not being answered is that you are undoing your own prayers by your everyday speech. However, this is not the only hindrance to unanswered prayer. This brings us to point #5, which is knowing the WEAPONS of our enemy. You see, God sent the ANSWER to Daniel’s prayer the very first day Daniel set his heart to seek God. But the fallen angel DELAYED the answer from getting through to Daniel. And IF Daniel had WAVERED in his faith the ENEMY would have succeeded and Daniel would have not RECEIVED God’s ANSWER that God SENT the very first day that Daniel prayed.

Please read 2 Corinthians 2:11, which says.

“Lest (Or for fear that) Satan should get an ADVANTAGE of us: for we are NOT ignorant of his devices.”

Now the verse that comes before this verse is talking about FORGIVING others, because if we do NOT forgive others then Satan can ACCUSE us before God. You see, my dear brothers and sisters in the Lord, if we have sinned in our lives, then God will not HEAR our prayers. This is why I say that we should begin all our prayers by asking God to forgive us and cleanse us from all our sins lest Satan uses his device of accusing us before God. For a deeper understanding of the devices and weapons of Satan our enemy please read the study called “WEAPONS OF OUR ENEMY SATAN!”.

For the remainder of this study in God's word of how to pray for others to be saved, we will look at some ways or things we can pray and give thanks to God for doing that will cause the ones we love to receive Jesus as their Lord and savior.

First, we find Scripture so that we know that it is God's will. Then we pray the word of God or we pray Scripture putting God in remembrance of His word. After we have prayed this Scriptural prayer then we give God THANKS for doing what he said that he would do in his word. Try not to continually ASK or pray this same prayer over and over, BUT RATHER, just give God THANKS in a POSITIVE confession of faith over and over until you have perfect peace or until you have received that answer to your prayer. This does not mean that you must stop thanking God for answering your prayer after you receive what you have requested because continued thanksgiving only reinforces and strengthens the situation.

Let me see if I can explain what I just said so that you can understand what I mean. First, you must find it in the word of God, so that you will KNOW that you are praying God's WILL. Please read Romans 2:4, which teaches us that it is the GOODNESS of Almighty God that LEADS us to REPENTANCE.

Romans 2:4.

“Or despise you the riches of his goodness and forbearance and long-suffering; not KNOWING that the GOODNESS of God LEADS you to REPENTANCE?”

So then, give God THANKS for LEADING the lost to repentance by CONFESSING something POSITIVE like,

“Heavenly Father, I THANK you for opening the eyes of my sister's understanding. I KNOW that it is your GOODNESS that is LEADING her to REPENTANCE.”

Can you see how you can pray God's WORD to KNOW that God is always faithful to PERFORM His word? God’s word IS His WILL and because you know that it is God's word then you know that it is his WILL. And if you know that it is His WILL then you KNOW that He HEARS your prayer and that you HAVE already the answer to your prayer in the spiritual realm, as in, God has already SENT the answer. It is now only a matter of PATIENCE, waiting and giving God thanks until the manifestation of your prayer comes to pass. Always remember that there are HINDRANCES to end the manifestation of our prayers.

Here is another example of using Scripture to pray. We know that God chose the foolishness of preaching to save those who believe. So, therefore, it is needful for those we love to HEAR the gospel of Jesus Christ. Now there are many ways to use this knowledge of God's word in your prayers and thanksgiving.

For example, you yourself can witness to those you love and then BELIEVE that the word of God which you have planted will GROW. Please read the parable of the sower sowing the seed of God's word in Mark 4:1-20 for Jesus said that if we do not understand this parable then how can we understand any parable.

After you yourself have shared God's love with them then you can add to your faith that God will send others to witness to your loved ones as well. Please read John 4:35,36, which teaches us that there are some who plant and some who reap, but that we all rejoice together sharing the harvest.

John 4:35,36.

“Say not you, (Or you should not say) There are yet four months, and then comes harvest? Behold, I say unto you, Lift up your eyes, and look on the fields; for they are white already to harvest. (In other words, the day of salvation is now. Your loved one is ready to receive Jesus as their savior. We are to labor today to bring in the harvest and not say we have plenty of time before Jesus returns)

36. And he that reaps receives wages, and gathers fruit unto life eternal: that BOTH he that sows and he that reaps may rejoice together.”

You might pray something like.

“Heaven Father I thank you for opening the eyes of understanding of my sister. She has heard your word of truth spoken to her by me and I know that your word will not return to you void and that you will hasten to perform your word and it will do what you sent it to do. I thank you Father for your goodness and your Holy Spirit is leading my sister to the knowledge of the truth to repent of her sins. I ask that you send forth other laborers to witness to my sister. You know what she has the need to hear right now that will further cause her eyes of understanding to be opened to the truth of your word. I thank you now Father for all those who are reaching out to preach the gospel to my sister. I thank you for all the radio, television, and Internet gospel messages that you are bringing before her to hear. I thank you Father for other believers that you are bringing into her life laborers to witness to her by word and by deed.”

It is when we give THANKS to God for saving the ones we love that God can honor and perform His word because our sincere heartfelt prayer of thanksgiving shows our FAITH and confidence in God and His word. Ask God to reveal to you some more POSITIVE CONFESSIONS of FAITH for the ones you love to be saved. Again, please read the following studies for a deeper understanding of how to pray for yourself and others and what hinders our prayers. Be PATIENT when praying for others, for you see, THEIR own will can hinder or even prevent your prayer from being manifested. God will never FORCE anyone to be saved even though it is His WILL for all people to be saved.

“PRAYER #1 THE FAITHFULNESS OF ALMIGHTY GOD!”

“PRAYER #2 WISDOM IS THE PRINCIPLE THING!”

“PRAYER #3 HOW TO BE FREE FROM WORRY!”

“PRAYERS THAT GET ANSWERED!”

“EFFECTUAL FERVENT PRAYER!”

“THE POWER OF OUR WORDS!”

“JESUS THE NAME ABOVE ALL NAMES!”

“THE POWER AND AUTHORITY OF THE BELIEVER”

“WEAPONS OF OUR ENEMY SATAN”

“SOME EXAMPLES OF CONFESSIONS OF FAITH”

“WHAT IS GOD'S WILL?”

“YOUR WILL BE DONE!”