Prophets are gifts to the body of Christ just like everyone. A prophet is specially gifted to know the mind of God concerning the church, the world and people around them. They spend quite an amount of time with God daily. And the speak the mind of God to the people of God.
Are all prophets? Of course not. But we are all expected to do the work of a prophet to some extent. Every disciple is called to spend time with God and learn to hear from God. We are also encouraged to speak words of encouragement, edification and comfort to the people around us.
“Pursue love, and desire spiritual gifts, but especially that you may prophesy.” I Corinthians 14:1 NKJV
When you spend quality time with God, you are investing in your spiritual development. You also learn to discern God’s voice and His plans for you and for the people that He placed around you. And God will give you words of encouragement for them.
“But he who prophesies speaks edification and exhortation and comfort to men.” I Corinthians 14:3 NKJV
We cannot all be prophets, but we can all do the work of a prophet in some little way or the other. The prophets are gifted to us by God to equip us to do the work of the prophet and to train new prophets. Glory be to God.
“And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ,” Ephesians 4:11-12 NKJV
When I here someone say “Don’t give up” I immediately know that it is possible to give up! When Jesus told the parable in Luke 18:1-8 what was His purpose?
Here is what it says:
“Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up.” Luke 18:1 NIV
I believe Jesus wanted them to know that:
When praying you would be tempted to give up especially when you don’t get an answer immediately! Don’t give up!
Some prayers don’t have definite answers. They are prayers of consecration. You may find yourself losing focus! Don’t give up!
You may get just a part of the answer and you may be tempted to stop! Don’t stop.
Our adversary the devil will work hard to try to discourage you from praying! Pray anyway!
You may not just be in a mood for prayers. Pray all the more and tell God about how you are feeling! Don’t give up!
God uses prayers and communion with Him to build and strengthen our faith in Him! If you know the God that you are talking to, you won’t give up! Rather you will listen for further instructions. This is how intimacy with God is developed!
Oh Lord I receive grace never to give up praying for your church to bring you greater glory!
Let’s keep praying that more disciples of Jesus will become regular disciple makers! Don’t give up! Also keep talking to God about everything and in all situations!
If you have not made any disciples for Jesus this year or last year! Let me show you how you can start to change that! Take the BiVo Minister Course! It’s Free!
We know that God answers prayers. We also know that not all our prayers have been answered. We prayed that the pandemic would stop but it did not! However we have prayed for other things over the years and we got amazing results! So how do we know what to pray for or not?
My answer is taken from the mouth of our Lord Jesus Christ!
“Then He spoke a parable to them, that men always ought to pray and not lose heart,” Luke 18:1 NKJV
We are to pray always about all things and in all situations! Sometimes we ask for directions and other time we ask for help and still other times we stand on what God told us earlier!
If every request we made to God was answered the way we asked it:
The earth would be a big mess because we are always asking for conflicting things anyway! Believe it or not, some people want what you don’t want. Someone most likely is praying for what you are praying against.
We would be right to call ourselves God because it would mean that we know the best solution to every situation and how each solution would affect the future.
We would come up with a theory that there is no God because no intelligent being would give in to every request from another intelligent being!
So we must pray always about all things and in all situations. That means we should involve God in the totality of our lives. Nothing should be off limits with God! Then we should be willing to believe God when God tells us that it is done!
When talking to God about those who don’t know Him we should ask for direction! Ask for grace to forgive and repent of our failure to care enough! Then stand in faith on God’s Word that he places on our hearts! We must also stand against the lies of the devil by speaking the words of God concerning the person and the situations! Prayer is communion!
If you are not used to church or Bible language you may not know what I mean by prayers for lost souls. If you became a disciple of Jesus recently you may not be familiar with the term lost souls.
In simple terms “lost souls” are people who have not received the salvation purchased for them by God through the blood of Jesus on the cross.
When I first thought of this title, I wondered if I should not use a more modern term – “Prayers for the unsaved”. I decided to use this title because I think it would remind us of the truth that anyone who is not saved is lost according to scriptures.
Yes I know that it doesn’t sound as cool as “prayers for the not-yet-saved” or “prayers for those who are yet to find Jesus” or even “prayers for unbelieving people”
My point here is that the Bible refers to anyone who is not a disciple of Jesus as lost. My aim in this blog post is to press this point to your heart, and my own heart as well because I thought about changing the title of this post.
Once we understand that these people are lost, we are already on the way to being properly positioned to pray effective prayers for lost souls. Prayers is always the place to begin the journey of making disciples.
Who are lost souls?
Okay you would not find the phrase lost souls in the Bible. However you may find it in some newer translations of the Bible. I use the New King James Version of the Bible most of the time and I did not find “lost soul” in there.
A phrase that is close to “lost soul” is “lost sheep” (Matthew 10:6). And with this phrase, Jesus referred to Israelites who did not believe in Him. The 12 apostles were to confine their initial ministry to Israelites. And they were instructed by Jesus to preach the message that the Kingdom of heaven is near.
So Jesus was first to call anyone who did not believe in Him or receive the message of the Kingdom as lost.
Jesus also called everyone whom He came to save as “The Lost”. In Luke 19:10.
So now you see that anyone who does not have the new life in Christ Jesus is lost. And Jesus is still seeking and saving them.
If you are reading this, it is because Jesus has found you and saved you. Not only have you been saved, you want to know effective prayers for lost souls, so that they can have and enjoy the blessing you are enjoying in Christ.
Why does Jesus call them lost?
Jesus calls anyone that does not believe in Him lost because God owns us all. Not only does God own us, but he also loves us. When we choose then to live as if God does not exist, or that He doesn’t care, we are truly lost.
There are many other scriptures that show us how terrible it is to be cut off from God. This is why we must pray for the lost souls. And we must encourage other believers to be involved in prayers for lost souls.
Prayers for Lost Souls? Why?
Have you ever been lost? I am not so good with directions so I have gotten lost a few times. When I was about 5 years old I remember getting lost.
I thought I was following my aunt one minute and the next minute (I must have gotten distracted) I did not see her anymore. Then I saw someone that looked like her, and I kept on getting more lost. Eventually she found me.
What is the point of the story? When a person is lost, in most cases, their actions only get them more lost especially when they don’t know that they are lost.
In the case of those who do not believe in Jesus, they are not only lost, they are also spiritually blinded by a wicked enemy – The devil.
Satan, who is the god of this world, has blinded the minds of those who don’t believe. They are unable to see the glorious light of the Good News. They don’t understand this message about the glory of Christ, who is the exact likeness of God.
2 Corinthians 4:4 (NLT)
How do I pray for lost souls?
So in praying for the lost, we need to pray to God so that the lost person is saved and at the same time battle against the devil so that the lost person is delivered from the deception of the devil.
There are 4 parties involved in the salvation of any person or soul. In this article, I use the word soul and person interchangeably. Although in scriptures, the word soul has more than one meaning.
The 4 parties involved in the salvation of a person are
The lost person
The Devil
God and the hosts of heaven
The people and circumstances around them (This party contains other lost people and systems and saved people and systems)
For a long time, I figured that if God wanted a person saved, all God had to do was to save him or her. But then I realized that it’s not that simple.
What I have discovered is that God has done all that He can do within the limits of His justice for the salvation of all of us. Although God is all powerful, He willingly laid aside His power, to give us free will. As a result, we get to choose God and love GOD.
This means that for a lost sinner to be saved, he or she has to willingly accept the finished work of Jesus on the cross.
What does this mean?
Well the first thing is this.
God wants whoever you are praying for to be saved more than you can ever want them to be saved (1Timothy 2:1-4)
Now that we have established that God wants the lost soul to be saved, we have great confidence when we come to Him about their salvation. We also know that we have God on our side. Our prayers for lost souls is not to convince God to save the lost. It is to partner with God to save the lost.
So what we need to pray for, is that the lost person would discover that they are lost. That they would know that Jesus is the way and that they would accept Jesus as their savior and Lord.
But for this to happen,
someone has to share the gospel of the kingdom of God with them
the devil’s power over them needs to be broken so that they can realize that the systems of the world only end in the world.
Okay, the stage is now set for us to begin to pray! After all, this article is about the prayers for the lost.
Pray from the Bible for lost Souls
Remember the reason why we pray is not so that we feel that we have prayed. Or to try to convince God to save the lost.
We pray because we want results. We want lost people to be saved.
I know that you want our loved ones to come into the kingdom of God. Which means that you want to be as effective as possible with your prayers.
What prayer can be more effective, than one that is directly from scriptures? Here are some prayers that I and many believers have used over the years to pray for lost souls and have gotten some results.
Thanksgiving Prayers for lost souls
1 Tim 2: 1-6
[su_box title=”Sample Prayer” box_color=”#2aa9d5″]Dear Heavenly Father, I thank you for [ ]. I thank you because you want him to be saved. The blood of Jesus has been shed for [ ]. Thank you for placing [ ] in my life. I thank you that he is alive and still has a chance to receive the Lord Jesus as His savior. Lord, please let things work out so that [ ] would come to the knowledge of the truth about your Kingdom. I pray this in the Name of Jesus.[/su_box]
Mercy Prayers for lost souls
Ephesians 2:1-5
[su_box title=”Sample Prayer” box_color=”#2aa9d5″]Dear Lord, I agree that [ ] is lost. He is dead in trespasses and sins. He does what he wants, without regards to your laws and your love for him. I agree that he deserves the full punishment for his sins, just like I did. Dear Lord, I know that you are rich in mercy, and that your great love towards [ ] is being released right now. I agree that it is your mercy that has kept him alive till this moment. Let your mercy, continue to be extended over [ ] and please let him see how lost he is. Lord show your mercy to [ ], I pray in the name of Jesus. Dear Lord, open the eyes of [ ] to see how much you love her ! In the name of Jesus, I stand against the spirit of the power of the air, that is at work in [John]. I declare, that the blood of Jesus is against you. I break your powers over the life of [_____]. From now on, in the name of Jesus, [John] will no longer walk according to the lust of his flesh and mind. Rather, [ ] would submit to the love and lordship of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.text[/su_box]
Prayer for laborers – Ministers of the Gospel
Luke 10:2
[su_box title=”Sample Prayer” box_color=”#2aa9d5″]Heavenly Father, You asked us to pray to you, the Lord of the harvest to send laborers in the harvest of the world. Dear Lord, please send me and other believers into the harvest of [mention your community, city, or individual], to share the good news of your kingdom with them.[/su_box]
[su_box title=”Sample Prayer” box_color=”#2aa9d5″]Dear Lord, Let [ ] there be various opportunities for [ ] to be aware of your love and how lost they are without you. Please use social media, co-workers, literature and other means to bring awareness of their sin and your solution to them. I pray all this in the name of Jesus.[/su_box]
[su_box title=”Sample Prayer” box_color=”#2aa9d5″]Dear Lord, please give me an opportunity to share your love and the gospel of the kingdom with [ ]. And as you give me this opportunity, I receive boldness to share my testimony and the gospel of your Kingdom. Lord, let [ ] understand and accept your mercy and love. I pray in the name of Jesus.[/su_box]
Please take note that it is hypocritical to ask God to send laborers to anyone when we are not willing to be sent by God to that person.
It is true that in a lot of cases, you may not be the right person to share the gospel of the kingdom with them, but nonetheless, you must be willing to be sent by God.
I am learning everyday that our heavenly Father, asks us to pray because He wants us to be engaged with Him in the solutions that He provides.
Warfare against the devil on behalf of the lost
You may have noticed that a major part of our prayers for lost souls would be in the area of warfare against our enemy the devil. This is because the people we are praying for are lost and spiritually dead because of sin and deception of the devil. 2Cor 4:4 (NLT).
[su_box title=”Sample Prayer” box_color=”#2aa9d5″]In the name of Jesus and by the blood of Jesus, I stand against Satan, the god of this world that has blinded the mind of [ ], I demand that you release his mind so that he can understand the gospel of the kingdom of God. I pray in the name of Jesus, that the darkness around their minds would be lifted up and they would be able to see the glorious light of the good news.[/su_box]
[su_box title=”Sample Prayer” box_color=”#2aa9d5″]I pray that [ ] would begin to see sin as God sees it. That they would be disgusted by sin, convicted and seek freedom in the name of Jesus. I pray that the things of God and the words of Christ would have real meaning to them in the name of Jesus.[/su_box]
[su_box title=”Sample Prayer” box_color=”#2aa9d5″]I pray that every seed of the gospel that has been sown into the life of [ ] begins to bear fruit now in the name of Jesus. I pray that these things that seemed to make no sense to them begins to make sense in Jesus Name.[/su_box]
Supplication Prayers for lost souls (Prayer for natural needs of life)
When people who were not following Jesus came to Jesus for miracles, it was a sign that they had some level of faith in Him. Jesus did not turn them away.
I think the same is true today, if we have people around us who do not profess faith in Jesus and they are in need of a solution, we can give them an opportunity to look to Jesus for help.
I usually would use the opportunity to pray for them right there. At other times they may not ask. And you still wonder if to pray for them and how.
The answer is yes! We should also pray for solutions to the problems of the lost. Here are some examples
[su_box title=”Sample Prayer” box_color=”#2aa9d5″]Dear Lord, I pray in the name of Jesus that you have mercy on [ ] and bring [ the requested solution] to him or her. Let the situation begin to turn around now Lord. Let them see that you love them and that you have a plan for their lives. I pray in Jesus’ name.[/su_box]
Prayers for lost souls in the spirit
Ephesians 6:18
This may be the most important part of this post because if you are praying from your flesh, it has little or no effect. All prayers must be done in the spirit.
Praying in the Spirit means, praying by the strength and enablement of the Holy Spirit. It could be with your regular language or with an unknown tongue (1 Corinthians 14:13-15).
However, I want to add that, you should pray in tongues. Allow the Holy Spirit to inspire you to pray in tongues for the lost.
For those of you who have the gift of praying in tongues, you already know that while praying for a particular subject, after exhausting your language, the Holy Spirit would draw you to do more praying in tongues.
I encourage you to do a lot more of this. Stay in the place of prayer for as long as you can afford to. In my experience, I have found that after praying in tongues for the lost, I sense a deeper burden to share the gospel. I also sometimes find that I am guided by the Holy Spirit to minister more effectively to the particular individuals or to the lost in general.
How long should I pray for lost souls?
As long as it takes. I don’t think we can stop praying for lost souls. As long as a person is alive, they can still receive Jesus as their Lord and Saviour. As long as we are alive we can still pray.
Praying for the lost is one of the first steps in making disciples as a BiVo Minister. Before you try to speak to anyone about Jesus, you need to pray for them first.
Compassion for lost souls
If you have read this post up to this point, then I believe you have some compassion for the people out there who do not know how much God loves them. Jesus had great compassion for the lost (Matthew 14:14).
I believe that Jesus spent time praying for the people who were not following Him. He even prayed for those who were used to crucify Him (Luke 23:24).
As a part of my prayers for lost souls, I also ask the Lord to give me more compassion for those who do not know Him. I ask Him to help me to always remember to pray for the lost. As a family, we pray for our neighbors, friends, and family who are not disciples of Jesus daily.
Here is a testimony shared by Charles G Finney, about a woman who had compassion for lost souls and prayed until change came.
The first ray of light that broke in upon the midnight which rested on the churches in Oneida county, in the fall of 1825, was from a woman in feeble health, who, I believe, had never been in a powerful revival. Her soul was exercised about sinners. She was in an agony for the land. She did not know what ailed her, but she kept praying more and more, until it seemed as if her agony would destroy her body. At length she became full of joy, and exclaimed: “God has come! God as come! There is no mistake about it, the work is begun, and is going all over the region.” And sure enough, the work began, and her family were almost all converted, and the work spread all over that part of the country.
Sometimes, its difficult to pray for all the lost souls around us because some of them cause us great harm. They may try to get rid of you at work, they may be mean to you in the community or just evil to everyone.
This is why we must let the Holy Spirit lead us at all times. It is the Holy Spirit that convicts and draws anyone to Jesus (John 16:8, John 6:44). There is no one too far gone for the Holy Spirit to convict. The compassion you and I feel for the lost is God’s invitation for us to join Him in the works of seeking and saving the lost.
Conclusion
I hope that this post has helped you on your journey towards making disciples for Jesus by showing you how to pray for the lost. And providing some starter prayers for lost souls. Please make up your own prayers from scripture and pray until you something happens.
![Dear Lord open the eyes of [] to see how much you love her.](https://adesobanjo.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/open-the-eyes-683x1024.png)
