Praying For the Lost
Paul writes to Timothy: "God our Savior… wants all people to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth. For there is one God and one mediator between God and mankind, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all people. This has now been witnessed to at the proper time." (1 Timothy 2:3-6 NIV11)
Can you think of anybody who God doesn't want to be saved?
The Debate Over Who God Wants to Save
Some people believe in limited atonement. They believe that only God's elect have a chance to be saved - that the non-elect have already been predestined for damnation. They believe that if God hasn't elected you, then you will remain lost no matter what.
But I want us to note the two phrases here: God "wants all people to be saved" and Jesus "gave himself as a ransom for all people". ALL people. Not just the elect.
God created each and every single human being, and longs for them to freely choose to accept His saving grace and be reconciled to Him.
This is one of those great debates in the church! In fact, in an article in Holiness Today, our denominational magazine, I read about Jacob Arminius, who famously believed in free will, and people's ability to accept or reject God of their own volition - which was in stark contrast to the people around him at the time. His friends taught that you can only believe in God if God has elected you. He believed that you are only elect if you believe in God. A subtle difference, but a crucial one.
Here's why I think this is important. I believe that if we take the position that God saves who He wants and rejects who He wants, then there's no real need to pray for the salvation of anybody, because God has already decided. But if we take the position that people are responsible to respond to God's gracious invitation of salvation, then we have a great deal of praying to do for those who still haven't made that decision!
Paul says that God wants all people to come to a knowledge of the truth. We need to be the ones who make that happen - sharing the truth with people in our lifestyles and in conversations, and praying, praying, praying that the eyes of our lost friends and family will be opened and they will see God's outstretched hand and accept Him into their lives!
George Mueller's 52-Year Prayer
George Mueller was an evangelist who had a great heart for children, opening an orphanage, and writing much about his faith. I want to read you his own words about how he prayed for his friends who didn't know Jesus:
"In November 1844, I began to pray for the conversion of five individuals. I prayed every day without a single intermission, whether sick or in health, on the land, on the sea, and whatever the pressure of my engagements might be. Eighteen months elapsed before the first of the five was converted. I thanked God and prayed on for the others. Five years elapsed, and then the second was converted. I thanked God for the second, and prayed on for the other three. Day by day, I continued to pray for them, and six years passed before the third was converted. I thanked God for the three, and went on praying for the other two. These two remained unconverted."
Thirty-six years later he wrote that the other two, sons of one of his friends, were still not converted. He wrote, "But I hope in God, I pray on, and look for the answer. They are not converted yet, but they will be."
In 1897, fifty-two years after he began to pray daily, without interruption, for these two men, they were finally converted - after Mueller had died!
How to Pray for the Lost Around You
I have a list of 10 non-Christian people who I pray for. I believe there will be fruit from these prayers.
Remember how Jesus said we should pray in line with God's will?
Remember how He said we should pray thy will be done on earth as in heaven?
Paul reminds Timothy here of God's great will to save all people. Let's be faithful in praying for those who God longs to save, if they would only reach out and take His hand.
God wants every single person to be saved, and calls us to keep praying for those who don't yet know Him, however long it takes. Write down the names of a few people who don't yet know Jesus, and commit to praying for them daily.