Praying effectively for the lost

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Remember the difficulty God encountered in getting Jonah to
Ninevah to preach His word? God literally “forced” him to go! A
similar situation occurred when the church was evidently reluctant in
propagating the gospel beyond their comfort zone. God allowed a “great
persecution against the church which was at Jerusalem; and they were all
scattered abroad throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria” (Acts
8:1), but “they that were scattered abroad went everywhere preaching
the word” (Acts 8:4).
Since the laborers are not only few in number but also puny in
duration and value, we ask the Lord to equip them with the essential
qualities that will make them effective witnesses. However, we must
understand that all of the equipping comes through the precious Holy
Spirit. Samuel Chadwick says, “The power of the Spirit is inseparable
from His person…God does not let out His attributes. His power cannot
be rented. It cannot be detached from His presence…He is not simply
the Giver of power, He wields it. No one else can” (Chadwick 89).
This is why Jesus commanded His disciples to tarry in Jerusalem
until “ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost” (Acts 1:4-5). Then He
said to them, “Ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come
upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in
all Judea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth” (Acts
1:8).
Although the fullness of the Holy Spirit is our birthright (Acts
2:38-39), the church as a whole knows very little of the “exceeding
greatness of his power to us-ward who believe” (Ephesians 1:19).
Consequently, all around us souls are plunging blindly into hell for we
are powerless to stop them without a mighty enduement of God‟s Holy
Spirit. Therefore, we must pray for the Lord to fill His workers with His
Spirit, equipping them with power (ability and force), boldness (Acts
4:31), wisdom (Proverbs 11:30), zeal (Colossians 4:12-13), compassion
(Jude 22-23) and divine insight (Jeremiah 33:3). And souls shall be
saved!!!
After we have prayed for the individuals to be saved and for the
workers to witness to them, we now pray for the word of God that is to
be shared with them. The reason for this is twofold: first of all, no one
gets saved without hearing the word of God (Romans 10:14) and,
secondly, Satan hates the word of God, continually and viciously
attacking it in his diabolic efforts to prevent people from receiving it.

 

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Since the word of God is necessary to convict (Acts 2:37), to free (John
8:32), and to save (I Peter 1:23) the lost, Satan vigorously opposes it
with distractions (Luke 8:11-15), fortifications (II Corinthians 10:4-5),
and substitutions (II Corinthians 11:3-4).
The word of God is to Satan as kryptonite is to superman – it
makes him weak and defenseless. It also decimates his kingdom by
freeing his captives for “Ye shall know the truth and the truth shall make
you free” (John 8:32). But notice, it is not the truth that sets you free,
but rather the truth you KNOW. So, Satan does everything he can to
keep people from “knowing” the truth.
In explaining the parable of the sower to His disciples, Jesus said
that Satan comes IMMEDIATLEY and steals away the word before
the person can understand it (Mark 4:15). This is why it is imperative
that we pray for the word of God that is being shared with the lost.
In praying for God to use His word to convert the lost, we make
five specific requests. First, that His word will “have free course” (II
Thessalonians 3:1). This simply means to be unhindered; that Satan
could in no way stop the flow of God‟s word. He tries to stop it in every
way he can imagine, from hindering and harassing the messenger of the
word, to distorting the word, to destroying the printed copies of the
word, to casting doubt on the word, ad infinitum!
Next, we pray for God‟s word to be glorified (II Thessalonians
3:1). This means to be highly esteemed and honored among those who
hear it. We will have a new reverence for His word when we see that He
has “magnified thy word above all thy name” (Psalm 138:2). Actually,
God is His word incarnated. “In the beginning was the Word and the
Word was with God, and the Word was God…And the Word was made
flesh and dwelt among us…” (John 1:1, 14).
We also pray for God‟s word to be multiplied (Acts 12:24); for
one of the laws of harvest is: “He that soweth bountifully shall also reap
bountifully” (II Corinthians 9:6).
We also pray for God‟s word to prevail or exercise force (Acts
19:20). Just as a small seed can crack a concrete slab as the force of life
bound up in it begins to emerge, so does the seed of God‟s word planted
in a heart.
My favorite prayer for God‟s word is that it will be effective. Acts
14:1 says that they “so spoke, that a great multitude both of the Jews
and also of the Greeks believed.” We can plead Isaiah 55:11, “So shall

 

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my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me
void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in
the thing whereto I sent it.” God intends for His word to be effective;
ask Him to make it so and you will be praying in His divine will and
your prayers will be answered!!
Let me remind you that Judas Iscariot lived in constant contact
with the living Word of God and yet he died and went to hell with Jesus
saying, “It would have been better for him if he had never been born”
(Mark 14:21). The Pharisees – the most religious people of their day –
wore the word of God on armbands and could quote large portions of
scripture, yet they were as far from the kingdom of God as one could
get.
We must understand that it is only as the Holy Spirit quickens the
word in the hearer‟s heart, that one can be saved. This is why we must
pray for God‟s word to be effective in the lives of those hearing it!!!
If we really want to see multitudes saved, then we need to pray for
revival. The classic scripture on revival begins this way, “If my people
which are called by my name shall humble themselves and pray…” (II
Chronicles 7:14). The kind of praying noted here is intercession –
praying for others. It was only after Job prayed (same Hebrew word as
above) for his friends that God dramatically changed his own situation
(Job 42:10).
During times of revival, all prayer is almost exclusively for others.
Duncan Campbell describes revival as “a people saturated with God”
(Edwards 26). When people are saturated with God, they are more
concerned about others than about themselves. His passion for souls
becomes theirs!!