Summer of Prayer 4: Praying for the Salvation of Others - Pastor Annie Bullard
Why pray?
Because he bends down to listen, I will pray as long as I have breath! Psalm 116:2 NLT
What does praying for others' salvation look like?
Psalm 5:1
“Lord, listen to my words.
Understand my sadness.” NCV
“Listen to my words, Lord,
consider my lament.” NIV
"O Lord, hear me as I pray;
pay attention to my groaning.” NLT
“Listen to my words, Lord;
consider my sighing.” CSB
How to contend for others salvation:
God’s Perspective
Connection with God
Focus on Redemption
Complete Surrender
God’s Perspective:
Jonah 1:1–3, 4:2 - God sends Jonah to Nineveh, which was a brutal and godless city, calling them to repentance.
The Lord isn’t really being slow about his promise, as some people think. No, he is being patient for your sake. He does not want anyone to be destroyed, but wants everyone to repent. 2 Peter 3:9 NLT
Connection with God:
Jonah tried to run from his portion of implementing the will of God for those far from Him.
Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. Point out anything in me that offends you, and lead me along the path of everlasting life. Psalm 139:23-24 NLT
Focus on Redemption:
Jonah eventually did go to Ninevah…
“Then the Lord spoke to Jonah a second time: “Get up and go to the great city of Nineveh, and deliver the message I have given you.” This time Jonah obeyed the Lord’s command and went to Nineveh, a city so large that it took three days to see it all. On the day Jonah entered the city, he shouted to the crowds: “Forty days from now Nineveh will be destroyed!” The people of Nineveh believed God’s message, and from the greatest to the least, they declared a fast and put on burlap to show their sorrow.” Jonah 3:1-6
When God saw what they had done and how they had put a stop to their evil ways, he changed his mind and did not carry out the destruction he had threatened. Jonah 3:10 NLT
Jonah was angry at the Lord’s compassion!
Complete Surrender:
Jonah ran from God’s will to save a people far from him. He ended up swallowed by a whale.
I will offer sacrifices to you with songs of praise, and I will fulfill all my vows. For my salvation comes from the Lord alone.” Then the Lord ordered the fish to spit Jonah out onto the beach. Jonah 2:9-10 NLT
Jonah would have had a different plan for Nineveh. Praying for others includes complete surrender to God’s plan.
What NOT to do in praying for others salvation:
BEWARE of losing hope
BEWARE of cutting their journey short
BEWARE of blocking Holy Spirit
BEWARE of making others your idol
BEWARE of allowing your trust in Jesus to be robbed
BEWARE of losing hope.
Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade. This inheritance is kept in heaven for you, who through faith are shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time. In all this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. 1 Peter 1:3-6 NIV
BEWARE of cutting their journey short.
But you must not forget this one thing, dear friends: A day is like a thousand years to the Lord, and a thousand years is like a day. 2 Peter 3:8 NLT
Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. Galatians 6:9 NIV
BEWARE of blocking Holy Spirit.
And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ. Philippians 1:6 NLT
“Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4: 6-7
BEWARE of making others your idol.
So, my dear friends, flee from the worship of idols. 1 Corinthians 10:14 NLT
BEWARE of allowing your trust in Jesus to be robbed.
If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free. John 8:31-32 NIV
How to contend for others salvation:
God’s Perspective
Connection with God
Focus on Redemption
Complete Surrender
Truly I tell you, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you. Matthew 17:20 NIV