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Saturday, September 12, 2015

Adventures in Prayer: Kingdom Prayers for the Lost

Day 7 Jim and Kaye Johns' prayer guides



Kingdom Praying for the Lost
For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile — the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him, for, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”
How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? And how can they preach unless they are sent? As it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!” (Romans 10:12-15, All scriptures are NIV unless otherwise noted)

Praying the Scriptures
To pray effectively for the lost, we must first learn to pray with our mind (1 Corinthians 14:15), deliberately thinking through and selecting specific verses. This truly is praying in the Spirit (Ephesians 6:18) as we allow the Holy Spirit to bring His Word to mind as we pray.
Here are a few verses we might select in our prayers for the lost. We’ve paraphrased the verses.

Affirming God’s heart for the lost—
He is not willing for anyone to perish (2 Peter 3:9).
He wants all men to be saved (1 Timothy 2:4).
He gave His only Son so that anyone who believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life
(John 3:16).
      He sent His Son to be the Savior of the whole world (1 John 4:14).

Jesus has already paid the price—
Jesus gave Himself as a ransom for all men (1 Timothy 2:5-6).
He has taken away the sin of the world (John 1:29).
He suffered death for everyone (Hebrews 2:9).
He gave Himself as the atoning sacrifice for the whole world (1 John 2:2).

Acknowledging what we know to be true of the lost—
They will not seek after God on their own (Romans 3:11).
They cannot discern spiritual things (1 Corinthians 2:14).
God alone can draw them to Jesus (John 6:44).
God alone can enable them to come to Christ (John 6:65).
They must be born again (John 1:13; 3:3, 5-7).

Seeking God’s mercy to—
Make them alive with Christ even when they are dead in their sins (Ephesians 2:5).
Save them by His grace (Ephesians 2:4-5, 8-9).
Give them the gift of faith (Ephesians 2:8).
Help them hear His call on their life (Romans 11:29).
 
Asking God to—
Rescue them out of the kingdom of darkness and bring them into the kingdom of His Son
(Colossians 1:12-14).
Send someone to open their eyes and turn them from darkness to light (Acts 26:17-18).
Open their heart to respond to the truth of the Gospel (Acts 16:14).
Give them new birth and new life through the Holy Spirit (Titus 3:5, NLT).

 Requesting deliverance from Satan by—
      Binding the strong man from them (Mark 3:23-27).
Overcoming evil spirits in the name of Jesus (Philippians 2:9-11) and with the blood of the Lamb (Revelation 2:11).
Demolishing strongholds in their minds by bringing every thought captive to the obedience of Christ (2 Corinthians 10:4-5).

Protecting them from evil—
      Come against the father of lies (John 8:44) with the Spirit of truth (John 14:16-17).
Keep them safe from the thief who wants to steal the Word of God from their heart (Mark 4:14-15).
Let them remember every word of God’s truth they have ever heard, for His Words are spirit and they are life. (John 6:63).

Granting them receptive hearts that will—
Believe in Jesus (John 3:16; 3:36; 11:25-26).
Receive Christ and believe in His name (John 1:12).
Call on the name of the Lord and be saved (Romans 10:13).
Confess with their mouths “Jesus is Lord” and believe that God raised Jesus from the dead
(Romans 10:9).

Giving them yielded spirits that will—
      Repent, lest they perish (Luke 13:3, 5).
Hear the Holy Spirit as He convicts them of guilt in regard to sin and righteousness and judgment (John 16:7-8).
      Allow the Spirit to give them godly sorrow that brings repentance (2 Corinthian 7:10).

And in every prayer for the lost, no matter how far they seem from seeing and hearing the Truth,
we acknowledge our confidence in the Lord, knowing what is impossible with men is possible with Him (Luke 18:22-27)!

He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High shall abide in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say to the Lord, "He is my refuge and my fortress, my God in whom I trust." Ps. 91:1-2