I think all of us have heard of the praying mother praying for the salvation of her children. The big question is does that prayer ever work? While prayer is often a mystery as to how it works we know from Scripture that God answers prayer and that He commands us to pray. I believe that prayer is one of our most powerful weapons, if not the most potent, that Christians can avail themselves of to help bring salvation to a lost soul. We read in (James 5:16): “…The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much.” And the combination of sharing God’s Word and believing prayer with a lost soul, can help mightily in bringing salvation to that individual.
Just why is prayer so important in the salvation process can be seen by understanding that man is totally dead in his sins and has no desire on his own to seek after God. I believe that believing prayer activates the hand of God to move on the heart of the unbeliever in some mysterious way making him receptive to the message of the gospel. While prayer can never overrule a person’s free will, believing prayer can maximize the chance that God will act on behalf of a lost soul.
Thus, not only must we present the gospel message to the unsaved but we must exercise the power of believing prayer to break the shackle of sin that bind those we are praying for. Some of the elements of the prayers for salvation that I believe God answers include praying in faith the promises of God, praying with intensity, earnestness, and fervency, praying marked by a sense of deep reverence and sincere humility, being watchful, and praying with perseverance until the answer comes.
In closing I would like to share a personal testimony of the persistent believing prayer for salvation exercised by George Müller. Müller today is best remembered as the founder of Christian orphanages in Bristol, England during the 1800’s and for his complete trust in God’s provision for the orphans under his care. And instead of soliciting funds for his orphanages from the community and government he relied solely on prayer to supply their needs. In his later years Müller traveled the world preaching the gospel and testifying how prayer was the key to having God supply his orphanage’s every need.
“In November 1844, I began to pray for the conversion of five individuals. I prayed every day without a single intermission, whether sick or in health, on the land, on the sea, and whatever the pressure of my engagements might be. Eighteen months elapsed before the first of the five was converted. I thanked God and prayed on for the others. Five years elapsed, and then the second was converted. I thanked God for the second, and prayed on for the other three. Day by day, I continued to pray for them, and six years passed before the third was converted. I thanked God for the three, and went on praying for the other two. These two remained unconverted.
“Thirty-six years later he wrote that the other two, sons of one of Mueller’s friends, were still not converted. He wrote, ‘But I hope in God, I pray on, and look for the answer. They are not converted yet, but they will be.’ In 1897, fifty-two years after he began to pray daily, without interruption, for these two men, they were finally converted—but after he died! Mueller understood what Luke meant when he introduced a parable Jesus told about prayer, saying, ‘Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up (Luke 18:1).’”1
1 https://www.georgemuller.org/devotional/george-muller-persistent-prayer-for-5-individuals#comments
Although my eyes might not see it, I know that I know that my loved ones will be saved. My job is to keep praying and keep believing in the promises of the One Who is Faithful! Because I know that my Redeemer lives!🙌🙏🏻