DEVOTIONAL: “This is good, and it is pleasing in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.” 1Timothy 2:3-4, ESV.
CHALLENGE: Praying for the lost should be of utmost importance. Kendrick opens chapter 30 with a statement as to why we tend to not follow this truth. “If we are honest, we properly pray for ourselves more than for anyone else. After all, who among our family and friends knows our hopes, struggles, and concerns more completely than we do?” Praying for the lost is what we, as Christians, should be doing. We do not necessarily need to know their “hopes, struggles, and concerns” to be praying for them.
Praying for their salvation is enough (for now) because we are in a spiritual war and prayer is our weapon. “Satan knows he’s lost the war. His desire now is simply to cause as much damage as he can…while he can.” Kendrick says, “we can stand against him in prayer, asking God to open the eyes of the lost…” Easier said than done, right?
We all know someone who is not yet a Christian: a friend, family member, co-worker, teammate, fellow student, neighbour, etc. How can we continuously pray for them to come to saving knowledge of Christ our Lord and Saviour? Kendrick answers this with five statements: (see pages 191-192 of The Battle Plan for Prayer for more details.)
- “We pray for God to begin working in their hearts…”
- “We pray against the enemy…”
- “We pray for opportunities and boldness…”
- “We pray for conviction of sin to agitate their hearts…”
- “We pray for God’s blessing, guidance, protection and presence to be on all those who obey Him and seek Him.”
Praying for the lost in our lives and in our world—let us watch God’s transforming power at work as we do this as a church and as individuals.
PRAYER: Pray for Tapestry Church as you transition to Cochrane. Pray for the community of Tuscany.