Prayer Evangelism: Part 1 - Pray for the Lost
“How can I evangelise? I can’t go out as I’m old and frail, so what am I supposed to do for the Lord?” I have heard these kinds of questions many times over the years, and normally they come from goldy Christians who wish they could be doing more for Jesus, but due to a variety of reasons they cannot. I remember one older lady several years ago coming to me in tears because she couldn’t join me for the open-air outreach; yet this lady probably did more to help our evangelism, not by joining us on the street, but rather by the fact that she spent hours each day praying for the work.
I would suggest that every Believer can be active in supporting the work of evangelism, even if they can never leave their homes. One of the most vital and needed aspects in our evangelistic ministry is to have people who are willing to pray for the spread of the gospel.
R.A. Torrey said, “The most important human factor in effective evangelism is prayer.”
So often in our witnessing we can spend time focusing on ensuring that we have the latest studies, research and methods to reach the lost, that we actually end up forgetting the key ingredient – prayer. Just like a person may have the nicest car around, but if that car doesn’t have fuel in the tank, then it isn’t going anywhere. The same is true for evangelism; we can be kitted out for the outreach, but if we are not praying then there will be no movement.
God-willing, over the next few weeks I will write a series of blogs on the topic of “Prayer Evangelism” commencing with the exhortation to Pray for the Lost.
Pray for the Lost
In 1 Timothy 2:1-4, the Apostle Paul exhorts Timothy to prayer. In that passage, we see that young Timothy is instructed to pray for those in authority, and indeed for all people. This should go without saying, but prayer evangelism actually begins by praying for the lost. We know that Paul intends for Timothy to pray for the lost to be converted, because in v3-4 we are told that God desires the conversion of those who aren’t saved.
Timothy at this stage was facing hardship in the ministry, it is believed that due to the trials he was facing, that he had become discouraged. Discouragement proves to be fatal for our evangelistic zeal; a depressed and discouraged Christian won’t seek to evangelise, so Paul seeks to remedy this problem by exhorting Timothy to prayer. Before Timothy can speak to the lost about God, he needs to speak to God about the lost.
The starting point for all evangelistic efforts must be prayer. If we want to reach our communities with the gospel, then we need to be praying for them. If we desire to see the lost converted, then we must commence with praying for them.
We know from Scripture that salvation is completely of the Lord (Jonah 2:9), so we need to spend time speaking to the Lord who saves. It doesn’t matter if we have the best outreach program, the greatest evangelistic Sunday School, or even the right theological understanding of how God saves, if we don’t have prayer then our efforts will be futile.
As Christians, we must pray for the lost in our weekly prayer meetings at church, in our own devotional times, and throughout the day. A good practice to develop is to have a prayer list for those you know who aren’t converted, then daily bring those people before the Lord pleading with Him to rescue them. Pray for those you meet, pray for your neighbours, pray for your co-workers, pray for your family – pray for the lost.
Another tool to help in praying for the lost is the JoshuaProject and Operation World. Both of these resources will equip you to pray for the nations and unreached people groups. If you have missionaries which your church supports, then include them on your prayer list (I know that would greatly value your prayers). Without leaving home you can impact the nations for Jesus!
Now, I know that prayer evangelism can be hard and at times discouraging. It may appear that you are praying for years for someone to be saved, but as yet that prayer hasn’t been answered. If that is the case let me encourage you to keep going. Your prayers are not in vain; God promises to answer in His timing and in His way. It isn’t our job to convert the lost, our role is to pray for them; so, keep on praying. Pray with persistence and pray in faith asking that the Lord would intervene.
I know of one lady who prayed every day for the conversion of her son-in-law. This man had told her not to pray as he’d never become a Christian; but for years she kept on praying. Today, that man is a follower of Christ. Keep praying, don’t give up!
We need more prayer for evangelism. Pray for the work of the gospel in your community, in your church, and in all the nations. If we are going to see our communities transformed, then we need to pray. If we don’t pray, then we cannot expect the lost to be saved. Salvation is a work of God, so if we labour without prayer, then our actions show that we are relying upon ourselves. Rather, what we need to do is pray for the lost, then look for ways to make Jesus known.
Keep making much of Jesus by praying for the lost.