Evangelistic Prayer

Along with a friend in my church, I am teaching a ladies’ class on prayer on Wednesday nights. The general theme is “What to Pray for as We Ought.” So, we’ve been looking at the patterns of prayer in both the Old and New Testaments.

The verse that was the foundation for this study is not a prayer per se, but rather Paul’s statement for what he desires and prays:

Brothers, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for them [Israel] is that they may be saved.” (Romans 10:1 ESV)

I then looked for examples of prayer for the salvation of others.

Old Testament Examples

Moses for Israel:

“Please pardon the iniquity of this people, according to the greatness of your steadfast love, just as you have forgiven this people, from Egypt until now.” (Numbers 14:19 ESV)

Samuel for Israel:

“Moreover, as for me, far be it from me that I should sin against the Lord by ceasing to pray for you. . . . Only fear the Lord and serve him faithfully with all your heart.” (1 Samuel 12:23-24 ESV)

Daniel for Israel:

“Listen to the prayer of your servant and to his pleas for mercy . . . . Hear; O Lord, forgive. O Lord, pay attention and act. Delay not, for your own sake, O my God.” (Daniel 9:17,19 ESV)

New Testament Examples

Jesus:

“Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.” (Luke 23:34 ESV)

Stephen:

         “Lord, do not hold this sin against them.” (Acts 7:60 ESV)

Paul, speaking prayerfully:

“King Agrippa. . . . I would to God that not only you but also all who hear me this day might become such as I am.” (Acts 26:28-29 ESV)

With these examples in mind, we then moved on to examine Paul’s instruction on praying evangelistically in 1 Timothy 2:1-8. Paul had left Timothy in Ephesus to deal with major problems in the church, and the first thing he addressed was evangelistic prayer for the salvation of all:

“First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way. 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. For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all, which is the testimony given at the proper time. For this I was appointed a preacher and an apostle (I am telling the truth, I am not lying), a teacher of the Gentiles in faith and truth. I desire then that in every place the men should pray, lifting holy hands without anger or quarreling.” (1 Timothy 2:1-8 ESV)

The Words Paul Uses

Supplication: There is a need and a plea to meet the need to the one who can meet it

Prayer: a term only used with God as the one addressed. We go to God in prayer. He is glorified in our worship to him in prayer for the lost.

Intercession: to plead on behalf of another; related Greek words imply a coming together, joining with another to advocate for them

Thanksgiving: we give thanks to God for his grace in salvation and for however he answers our prayers

The Extent of Our Prayers for the Lost

This prayer for salvation is a prayer for all people, not just the Jews or Gentiles. Paul narrows in and includes within this prayer for salvation for “all” kings and all in high positions probably because there was the tendency not to pray for their salvation. The emperor at the time of Paul’s writing was the wicked Nero.

The Side Benefits for Believers in Praying for the Lost

When people are saved, specifically our government leaders, their salvation increases a Christian’s ability to lead a peaceful, quiet, godly, and dignified life.

Assumed then is the fact that Christians should thus be viewed as peaceful, quiet, godly, dignified people who pray for the unbelieving, including our government leaders. If persecution comes, it should come solely from our gospel message, not from our being ungodly, unpeaceful, or undignified.

The Reasons to Pray for the Lost¹

1. “This” (praying for the lost) is good.
2. It is pleasing to God our Savior. Praying for the salvation of the lost pleases God because this is who he is. He IS the Savior. We pray to ask God to do what he does, consistent with who he is and what he has already done for us.

“But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that being justified by his grace we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life.” (Titus 3:4-7 ESV)

3. It mirrors the desire of God: that all men be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth.

 “Say to them, As I live, declares the Lord God, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his way and live; turn back, turn back from your evil ways, for why will you die, O house of Israel?” (Ezekiel 33:11 ESV)

4. It reflects the very nature of who God is–there is one God.

 “Or is God the God of Jews only? Is he not the God of Gentiles also? Yes, of Gentiles also, since God is one—who will justify the circumcised by faith and the uncircumcised through faith.” (Romans 3:29-30 ESV)

5. It reflects the nature of who Jesus Christ is–one mediator between God and man.

 “This Jesus is the stone that was rejected by you, the builders, which has become the cornerstone. And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.” (Acts 4:11-12 ESV)

6. It reflects the nature of what Jesus came to do––Jesus Christ, who gave himself as a ransom for all.

“I lay down my life that I may take it up again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord.” (John 10:17-18 ESV)

7. It reflects Paul’s mission: For this–the salvation of all–he was appointed a preacher, an apostle, a teacher of the Gentiles in faith and truth.

The Attitude of Praying for the Lost

Paul begins verse 8 with therefore. For all of these reasons listed above, Paul commanded that men should pray with holiness and without wrath or dissension. Paul directs his command to the men who were to lead in public prayer. (Some women in the church were usurping male leadership, as Paul later addresses.) What Paul emphasized was the purity of the heart and the outworking of that pure heart in the actions of one’s hands.

Takeaways

God commands that we pray for the salvation of all people, regardless of their age, gender, nationality, social class, political party, personal likeability, etc. We will be better motivated to do so when we understand why we should do so: God is the One God and Savior who desires that all be saved. Jesus is the One who mediates between man and God and gave himself as a ransom for all. We should have pure, holy hearts that desire the same thing as God, that all would be saved.

In his book, The Soul-Winner, Charles Spurgeon eloquently appealed to believers the same:

“The soul winner must be a master of the art of prayer. You cannot bring souls to God if you do not go to God yourself. You must get your battle ax and your weapons of war from the armory of sacred communication with Christ. If you are much alone with Jesus, you will catch His Spirit. You will be fired with the flame that burned in His breast and consumed His life. You will weep with the tears that fell upon Jerusalem when He saw it perishing. And if you cannot speak so eloquently as He did, yet shall there be about what you say somewhat of the same power which in Him thrilled the hearts and awoke the consciences of men. My dear hearers, especially you members of the church, I am always so anxious lest any of you should begin to lie upon your oars and take things easy in the matters of God’s kingdom. There are some of you, I bless you and I bless God at the remembrance of you, who are in season and out of season in earnest for winning souls, and you are the truly wise. But I fear there are others whose hands are slack, who are satisfied to let me preach but do not themselves preach, who take these seats and occupy these pews and hope the cause goes well, but that is all they do.”²

May we not be slack in our prayers, but may our desires match our Savior’s and may we fervently pray for the salvation of all. For this is good and pleasing to Him.

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Holly Huffstutler serves with her husband David, the pastor of the First Baptist Church of Troy in Troy, MI. She has a master’s degree in Biblical Ministries and blogs with him here where this post first appeared. Holly is a homemaker, raising and putting her four children through school.

Photo by Patrick Fore on Unsplash

1. John MacArthur’s sermons on this passage were very helpful in my entire study, but especially this section of my lesson: https://www.gty.org/sermons/54-13/evangelistic-praying-part-3 [↩]
2. Spurgeon, Charles. The Soul- Winner. Fleming H. Revell Company: Chicago, 1895, 245. [↩]