Grace Baptist Church, Nokomis, IL.

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The first verse that I think about in terms of praying evangelistically is Luke 10:2. Praying like this causes us to think more about the harvest. It makes us look for opportunities in our own lives to be the workers in the harvest field. But we must not only pray for ourselves, but for the field itself. There is a field ready for harvest. But there is also much soil not yet ready to be planted in. We need to pray that people would be broken of their sin and ready to hear about a Savior.

“And when they came to the place that is called The Skull, there they crucified him, and the criminals, one on his right and one on his left. And Jesus said, ‘Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.’ And they cast lots to divide his garments. And the people stood by, watching, but the rulers scoffed at him, saying, ‘He saved others; let him save himself, if he is the Christ of God, his Chosen One!’ “ (Luk 23:33-35 ESV)

The context of this verse, of course, is the crucifixion of Christ. Who was Jesus praying for when He said, “Father, forgive them”? He was praying for all involved in nailing Him to the cross and mocking Him (v. 32, 35). What type of forgiveness was Jesus praying for? I don’t think He was praying that God would forgive them of this one offense. That wouldn’t have ultimately mattered at all. Rather, Jesus was praying that God would forgive them of what this offense represented: a rejection of Himself as the Son of God. Jesus prayed for these unbelievers to be saved. Though it’s not implicit in the text, Jesus was praying that they would come to faith in Him. God does not save people because they are basically good people. God does not save people because they are sincere or nice. Salvation is only through faith in Christ. Jesus was praying that God would forgive them by their repentance and faith in Christ.

If Christ prayed for the salvation of unbelievers, we ought to as well. The simple, most direct prayer that we can pray is that God would forgive them. But we should also pray for specifically. Pray Ephesians 4:18 that God would open the eyes of their hearts to the gospel. Pray John 16:8 that the Holy Spirit would convict specific people of their sin. Pray John 6:44 that God would draw unbelievers to himself.

One of the greatest fears in evangelism is that we will be rejected by those we seek to reach. I wonder if we have that same fear in regards to praying for unbelievers. While it’s true that not everyone we pray for will eventually come to Christ, we must still pray for them. Jesus prayed that God would forgive those that crucified and mocked Him, but they didn’t all come to believe in Him. I’m reluctant to say that Jesus had unanswered prayer. He, being God Himself, had a perfect relationship with the Father. But it sure appears that way from our perspective, at least in the sense that it was not answered with a “Yes.” Sometimes God’s answer to prayer is “No” or “Not yet.” But we cannot know God’s answer to any particular prayer until we have prayed and waited on God in His timing.

I’ve heard some Christians imply that it would be a waste of time to pray for or seek to reach certain people because of how opposed to Christ they are. It’s never a waste of time to pray. God can change any person completely. Salvation is a work of God. Anyone who says otherwise doesn’t understand the extent of sin or the depths of grace. In 1 Timothy 1:15, Paul called himself the worst of sinners. God saved and changed Paul, and God can do the same for any person alive today.