If there is someone for whom you are especially praying, someone you want to lead to the Savior, the apostle John has given some particular counsel in 1 John 5:15, 17: "If we know that He [the Lord] hears us, whatever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we have asked of Him. If anyone sees his brother sinning a sin not to death, he will ask, and He will give him life for those who commit sin not to death." (We pause here: this must mean prayer for anyone who has not committed the unpardonable sin--but of course you may not know; you would have been sure that Saul of Tarsus was too far gone to be saved.)
Then John continues: "There is sin to death. I do not say that he should pray about that. All unrighteousness is sin, and there is sin not to death" (literal rendering). In other words, there is hope for those who have not committed the unpardonable sin. They can still be reached with the gospel. Makes sense. Now, how can you pray for such an individual effectually?
The answer seems to be: God gives you spiritual "life" for that person! You become a "life"-saver; you are to give that person spiritual mouth-to-mouth resuscitation. (Don't ask me exactly how; the Lord will show you! This is personal--you are abiding in Him!)
If you will pardon the crude illustration: it's like a mother bird feeding its young. She has pre-digested the morsel she puts in its mouth. God gives YOU the "life" for this person you are praying for. In other words, it won't suffice for you to send him a missionary magazine, or the missionary book of the year and pray, "Lord, help him to understand; and then flip on your TV and trust that some angel will give him "life." No, the Lord gives YOU "life" for that person. You must pre-digest every truth you want him to come to understand! It must be YOU who communicates the saving truth. An offering in the plate on Sabbath is wonderful but it won't suffice here. You must get deeply involved personally.
From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: October 11, 2005.Copyright © 2010 by Robert J. Wieland.
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