Luke 19:10, "For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost."
Christians are people of prayer (1 Thessalonians 5:17), and some of our prayer requests are in regards to the spiritual condition of our unsaved friends and relatives. We want them to be saved, and we pray to that end. In this we agree with Charles Spurgeon, who said, “If sinners be damned, at least let them leap to Hell over our dead bodies. And if they perish, let them perish with our arms wrapped about their knees, imploring them to stay. If Hell must be filled, let it be filled in the teeth of our exertions, and let not one go unwarned and unprayed for.”
We should be praying for the unsaved. Our Savior came to seek and to save the lost (Luke 19:10), and a principal theme of Luke’s gospel is Christ’s compassion for those often regarded as outcasts in Israel. Our Savior “wants all people to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth” (1 Timothy 2:4), so when we pray for the salvation of an unsaved person, we are simply sharing in the stated desire of Jesus.
We all have people in our sphere of influence who are unsaved, and we should be praying for them because we care deeply about them and because we know that God cares for them and wants none of them to perish. Consider the compassion Paul felt for his lost Jewish brothers: “I have great sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart. For I could wish that I myself were cursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my people” (Romans 9:2–3). Another devout servant of God’s—Moses—was, like Paul, ready to give his life for the sake of his people (see Exodus 32:32).
We have another biblical command to pray for the unsaved: “I urge, then, first of all, that petitions, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for all people. . . . This is good, and pleases God our Savior” (1 Timothy 2:1, 3). The Ephesian church (where Timothy pastored) had apparently stopped praying for the unsaved, and Paul was encouraging Timothy to make it a priority again. His desire was for the Ephesian Christians to have compassion for the lost.
God indeed hears the cries of His children. We know what happens to those who die in their sins, and that knowledge alone should prompt us to pray incessantly for our unsaved acquaintances in the hope that they, too, will respond to God’s call and join us in eternal life with our God.
We should be praying for the unsaved. Our Savior came to seek and to save the lost (Luke 19:10), and a principal theme of Luke’s gospel is Christ’s compassion for those often regarded as outcasts in Israel. Our Savior “wants all people to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth” (1 Timothy 2:4), so when we pray for the salvation of an unsaved person, we are simply sharing in the stated desire of Jesus.
We all have people in our sphere of influence who are unsaved, and we should be praying for them because we care deeply about them and because we know that God cares for them and wants none of them to perish. Consider the compassion Paul felt for his lost Jewish brothers: “I have great sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart. For I could wish that I myself were cursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my people” (Romans 9:2–3). Another devout servant of God’s—Moses—was, like Paul, ready to give his life for the sake of his people (see Exodus 32:32).
We have another biblical command to pray for the unsaved: “I urge, then, first of all, that petitions, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for all people. . . . This is good, and pleases God our Savior” (1 Timothy 2:1, 3). The Ephesian church (where Timothy pastored) had apparently stopped praying for the unsaved, and Paul was encouraging Timothy to make it a priority again. His desire was for the Ephesian Christians to have compassion for the lost.
God indeed hears the cries of His children. We know what happens to those who die in their sins, and that knowledge alone should prompt us to pray incessantly for our unsaved acquaintances in the hope that they, too, will respond to God’s call and join us in eternal life with our God.
Dear God, I am grateful for the spirit of compassion that you have placed in my heart for all who are not assured of their eternal life with You in Your presence. I pray for them all to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth.
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