Prayer for Unbelievers to come to Faith in Jesus

Top 7 Bible Verses To Share With Unbelievers

Prayer for Unbelievers to come to Faith in Jesus

JOYFUL!! EXCITING!! PURPOSE-FILLED!! These three words are just the beginning when we attempt to describe the wonderful life we can have as Christians. Following God is an amazing adventure full of life, fun, and love.

So why wouldn’t we want to share that joy with others? I believe that as Christians, we can offer hope, meaning, and courage to a world that often screams of fear and powerlessness.

Here are my top 7 Bible verses to share with unbelievers to encourage them in their life’s journey.

I really this whole chapter in Ecclesiastes, because it addresses some big problems for unbelievers.

Many will ask why does humanity have to deal with death, wars, or other challenges if there is a God? This verse addresses these issues by explaining that there is a time and a season for all things.

God is not to blame for the consequences of man’s actions. Hardships and trials will come, but God has it all under control. Once we choose to follow him, then our lives will be overrun with blessings.

Bullies, television shows, and the news often put individuals down, and they try to make others feel powerless, stupid and insignificant.

But what the Lord wants us to know from this verse is that as Christians we can accomplish great things in our lives. What the world says is impossible, Jesus says is possible for those who believe.

Faith in God provides us with a “can do” attitude that benefits us in so many ways.

I love this verse, because it clearly states how much God loves us. He cares for us so much that he gave his one and only son for our salvation. Love gives, and God is love.

God created the world around us, and he made everything good for us (Genesis 1). That is how much he loves us.

It is all for our pleasure– parents creating a beautiful room to welcome their newborn child into their home, God also created a whole world to welcome in humanity. This gives us security in our lives.

As I mentioned earlier, the media and even family and friends, can tear us down and discourage us in our daily journey through life. Discouragement, sadness, and hopelessness permeate our society, and depression runs rampant as well.

Jesus himself, though, reminds us in this verse that he came to give us abundant life. I believe that means that our walk with him can be fun, exciting and a daily adventure.

The Lord gives us vision and purpose and power in our quest through life, and there is never a dull moment in the Kingdom of God.

As Christians, we can do more than just survive life here on earth. I believe that this verse points out that we can thrive.

God’s love and support makes us more than conquerors in everything that we do and say. Once we overcome our fears and anxieties, we can see the possibilities are endless.

We can go forward in our quest through life with enthusiasm, meaning and a greater purpose than ourselves.

Our lives can be full of challenges and trials and even prisons of our own choosing. However, this verse includes an important truth for both believers and unbelievers combined.

Jesus Christ died on the cross for our sins, so that we can be set free from any yoke of slavery. Addictions, depression and other “stinking thinking” can be gone when we fully embrace the Christian walk.

The apostle Paul goes on in this same chapter to encourage us to not only enjoy our freedom ourselves but to use it to serve one another in love (Galatians 5:13).

One of the most wonderful things that we could ever hear as human beings is that we are loved. The love of our parents, our spouses, or our children can encourage us tremendously, but fully knowing that we are loved by the creator God, can change our lives beyond measure. this verse says, “God is love.

” This is very refreshing to hear in a world where it seems that everyone is looking to find fault in everyone else. Laws and punishment are the norm, but it is imperative that an unbeliever understand that our God is not that. He loves us so much, and he offers us peace, hope and forgiveness.

He is not out to get us, but rather he gives us free will to choose our own path. Unfortunately, there are consequences to our bad choices and actions, but God’s heart is for us. His perfect love for us casts out fear (I John 4:18).

In other words, I want unbelievers to know that God’s unconditional love encompasses all of our lives.

CONCLUSION

The Bible is full of great verses to share with an unbeliever. There are verses that will appeal to a person’s intellect and logic, and there are other verses that will touch an unbeliever’s emotions and heart.

These are my top seven verses, because I believe that God wants us to share about the many wonderful aspects that are a part of following him each day as a Christian.

With God, life is a wonderful adventure, and I want to share that good news enthusiastically with all of my family, friends, neighbors, and co-workers.

Written by Karla Hawkins

I feel blessed to be the pastor’s wife of a thriving church in northern Michigan and the mother of four amazing grown children. It is also very rewarding to be a Christian author, editor and translator for the Kingdom of God.

Some of my favorite pastimes include supporting my children’s contemporary Christian band ONLY9AM, singing on the worship team at church, traveling, and connecting with family and friends via social media.

When I am not working, I love spending time with my family and especially with my precious three-year-old grandson.

Источник: //www.patheos.com/blogs/christiancrier/2015/02/05/top-7-bible-verses-to-share-with-unbelievers/

Prayer for unbeliever

Prayer for Unbelievers to come to Faith in Jesus

A friend asked the question: How do I pray for unbelievers? How do I pray effectively? I trust that every Christian regularly prays for family or friends or colleagues or neighbors who do not yet know the Lord. And while we can and must pray for matters related to their lives and circumstances, the emphasis of our prayers must always be for their salvation. Here are some ways the Bible can guide our prayers.

Prayers for Salvation

We begin with prayers for salvation. Each of these prayers seeks the same thing, but in a different way or from a different angle or using different language. Each of them is grounded in a specific text of Scripture.

Pray that God would circumcise their hearts. Circumcision was the Old Testament sign of entering into God’s covenant, of being God’s people.

To have a circumcised heart symbolizes having a heart that is fully joined to God, fully submissive to him.

“And the LORD your God will circumcise your heart and the heart of your offspring, so that you will love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul, that you may live” (Deuteronomy 30:6).

Pray that God would give them a heart of flesh. The Bible contrasts a heart of flesh, a heart that is alive and responsive to God, to a heart of stone, a heart that is cold and unyielding.

Pray that God would work within these unbelievers to change their hearts. “And I will give them one heart, and a new spirit I will put within them.

I will remove the heart of stone from their flesh and give them a heart of flesh…” (Ezekiel 11:19).

Pray that God would put his Spirit within them. The great joy of salvation is being indwelled by God himself. Pray that God would grant this honor to those unbelievers, that he would choose to take up residence within them. “And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules” (Ezekiel 36:27).

Pray that they would come to Christ. If unbelievers are to come to salvation, there is just one way. They must come through Christ and Christ alone.

“Jesus said to him, ‘I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me’” (John 14:6).

Remember, too, that he is the one who calls them to come and to be relieved of the burden of their sin (see Matthew 11:28-30).

Pray that God would open their hearts to believe the gospel. Once more, God must initiate and people must respond. So pray that God would open the hearts of these unbelievers so they can in turn believe, just as Lydia did. “The Lord opened her heart to pay attention to what was said by Paul” (Acts 16:14).

Pray that God would free them from the slavery of sin. Unbelievers may believe they are free, but they are in fact enslaved. They are slaves of sin, bound by their sin and sinfulness.

Pray that God would liberate them by his gospel.

“But thanks be to God, that you who were once slaves of sin have become obedient from the heart to the standard of teaching to which you were committed” (Romans 6:17).

Pray that God would remove Satan’s blinding influence . Unbelievers have been blinded by Satan and will only ever be able to see and appreciate the gospel if God works within them.

So pray that God would give them sight—spiritual sight.

“In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God” (2 Corinthians 4:4).

Pray that God would grant them repentance. Unbelievers cannot repent without the enabling grace of God. So pray that God would grant them repentance, that this repentance would lead them to a knowledge of the truth.

Pray as well that they would come to their senses and that they would escape from the devil’s snare.

“God may perhaps grant them repentance leading to a knowledge of the truth, and they may come to their senses and escape from the snare of the devil, after being captured by him to do his will” (2 Timothy 2:25-26).

Prayers For You

You have prayed for unbelievers using different words and approaching from different angles. But you should also pray for yourself.

Pray that you will develop relationship with them. For people to be saved they must first hear the good news of the gospel. For them to hear the good news of the gospel, they must first encounter Christians—Christians you.

Pray that you would develop deeper, more significant relationship with them so you can, in turn, speak truth.

“How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching?” (Romans 10:14).

Pray for opportunities to minister to them. Many people come to faith after seeing Christ’s loved displayed through the ministry of Christians.

Pray for opportunities to minister to unbelievers so that your ministry can have an evangelistic effect.

“In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven” (Matthew 5:16).

Pray for them faithfully and persistently. Our temptation is to grow discouraged in prayer, to pray for a while and, when we see no visible results, to give up. But God calls us to persevere in prayer. “Continue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful in it with thanksgiving” (Colossians 4:2). (See also the parable of the persistent widow in Luke 18:1-8.)

Pray for a burden to plead for their souls. Paul was willing to tell the church at Rome of his great longing to see the salvation of the lost. Do you share this deep longing? Pray that God would give you a great burden for souls. “Brothers, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for them is that they may be saved” (Romans 10:1).

Pray for boldness in generating and taking opportunities to speak the gospel. Even Paul longed for this boldness and for the confidence that he was speaking the right and best words.

Pray that God would give you the boldness and, that when you take the opportunities, that he would then guide your words.

“ also for me, that words may be given to me in opening my mouth boldly to proclaim the mystery of the gospel…” (Ephesians 6:19).

Pray for other believers to encounter them. God almost always uses a succession of people to share the gospel with people before they are saved.

Pray, then, that God would lead other Christians into the lives of the unbelievers you love, that they too would provide an example of Christian living and that they too would speak the gospel.

“I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth” (1 Corinthians 3:6).

Other Prayers

Here are a few more biblical emphases to guide your prayers.

Pray that God would use any circumstance to do his work in them. We pray to a God who is sovereign and who sovereignly works his good will. Often he saves people through difficult circumstances, through bringing them to the very end of themselves.

Pray, then, that God would arrange circumstances, whether easy or difficult, to lead them to salvation. “Before I was afflicted I went astray, but now I keep your word” (Psalm 119:67).

As you pray for the unbelievers you love, always pray to God: “your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven” (Matthew 6:10).

Pray that God would extend his mercy to them. God assures us that he wishes for all people to turn to him in repentance and faith. He receives no joy from seeing people perish.

Pray, then, that God would be glorified in the salvation of these people.

“The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance” (2 Peter 3:9).

Pray with confidence. Finally, pray with confidence. God expects we will pray, God invites us to pray, God commands us to pray. Why? Because God loves to hear us pray and God loves to respond to our prayers. So as you pray for unbelievers, pray with confidence that God hears your prayers. “The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working” (James 5:16).

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Messiah, King of Kings and Lord of Lords, we praise Your holy name. We magnify You, Oh great Lamb who sits on the throne. We lift the unbelievers before You, Oh God, have divine intervention in their lives. Grant them the privilege of hungering and thirsting after You, for life with You is so wonderful.

Hebrews 3:12  Take care, brethren, that there not be in any one of You an evil, unbelieving heart that falls away from the living God.

May they taste the sweetness of having You in their lives. Bless them with a witness to Your Holy Presence. Touch their hearts Oh God, help them to turn from their wicked ways. Interject change within them that they would come to the realization that Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life and no one can enter Your heavenly kingdom except through Him.

1 Timothy 1:13  Even though I was formerly a blasphemer and a persecutor and a violent aggressor. Yet I was shown mercy because I acted ignorantly in unbelief

And, as they begin to seek You, reveal Yourself to them, Oh Saviour, for the enemy will try to attack with force. Protect them from all evil, give them strength to overcome the darkness, peace in their hearts, joy in their souls and faith that will last for eternity. Every mountain, every hill and every valley will be removed in Jesus name!

2 Corinthians 6:14-15 Do not be bound together with unbelievers; for what partnership have righteousness and lawlessness, or what fellowship has light with darkness? Or what harmony has Christ with Belial, or what has a believer in common with an unbeliever?

Remind them that Your love never fails, and Your mercies and grace endure forever.

Remind them also of the blood that was shed for them, to save lowly sinners such as ourselves Your love of humanity and hope that we would one day change.

Give us the power to fulfill Your will as we obey Your word daily and we claim that unbelievers will be saved and find their way at the sound of Your great name. Amen.

Hebrews 4:2  For indeed we have had good news preached to us, just as they also; but the word they heard did not profit them, because it was not united by faith in those who heard.

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Heavenly Father,

This is our prayer for the lost. We ask that You continue rescuing unbelievers from the domain of darkness and to continue bringing them to the cross of Jesus. You alone can draw and enable them.

Please send Your Holy Spirit with power to convict them of the sin in their life and their need to believe in the truth of Jesus’ death, burial, and resurrection.

Show them the truth that Jesus is the only way to You, and that He alone is the way, the truth and the life.

Father, we thank you for forgiving the sins of the lost when they make that eternal choice to believe. We ask in Jesus’ name to demolish the strongholds in their minds that those sins have allowed. We ask in the authority of Jesus’ name to overcome the power of the enemy in their lives, and to ask You to bind evil spirits away from them in the name of Jesus.

We ask that You surround them with spiritual individuals, influences, and resources to open their eyes and turn them from darkness to light. Father please do not let their hearts be hardened, but instead open their hearts to receive Your truth.

Rip away any veil that covers their hearts, and any false teaching that confuses their minds. Help them to hear your Word with power and conviction as the Word of God and not the word of man.

Give them understanding, so that the enemy will not be able to steal Your Word from their hearts.

Father, we know that you desire for all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth. Help them see their need for a Savior. Help them choose Your mercy and Your gift of grace, and to believe with their hearts and their minds. We ask in Your will, that not any should perish. In Jesus’ precious and mighty name. Amen.

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Источник: //4prayertoday.com/prayer-for-unbeliever/

Prayer, As An Expression of Our Faith In God

Prayer for Unbelievers to come to Faith in Jesus

To many prayer is telling God about one’s requests. But I want to give it a different type of definition, not one what we do, but what we believe. Prayer is believing God. Those who do not pray, do not believe God. Those who believe God will pray. Prayer is an expression of faith. It demonstrates the reality of our faith.

A Heavenly Calling Card

In Genesis 4:26, the last statement in the first section of the book of Genesis is:

Then they began to call on the name of the LORD.

This is the beginning of a storyline that runs throughout the pages of Scripture.

  • In Genesis 12:8, Abraham moved to the Promised Land near Bethel (house of God), set up an altar, and called on the name of the LORD.
  • In Genesis 13:4, Abraham returned from Egypt to this same place and called on the name of the LORD.
  • In Genesis 21:33, Abraham again called on the name of the LORD.
  • In Genesis 26:25, God appears to Isaac and Isaac calls on the name of the LORD.
  • In Exodus 34:5, using the same Hebrew phrase, God appeared to Moses and “called” on the name of the LORD (here this same Hebrew phrase is translated “proclaimed” the name of the LORD).
  • In 1 Kings 18:4, 36-37, Elijah confronts the prophets of Baal on Mt. Carmel by calling on the name of the LORD.
  • In 2 Kings 5:11, Naaman was furious because Elisha did not call on the name of the LORD.
  • In Psalm 116:4, calling upon the name of the LORD is linked to deliverance.
  • In Psalm 116:13, calling on the name of the LORD is linked to salvation.
  • In Psalm 116:17, calling on the name of the LORD is linked to thanksgiving.
  • In Lamentations 3:55, Jeremiah calls on the name of the LORD from the lowest pit.
  • In Joel 2:32, we are told that whoever calls on the name of the LORD will be saved.
  • In Zephaniah 3:9, God promises in the future to restore to the peoples a pure language so that they may all call on the name of the LORD.
  • And, of course, the Joel passage is quoted by Peter at Pentecost in Acts 2 and by Paul in Romans 10 as the way to salvation.

At the core of this phrase is the word “call.” In Genesis 3:9, God called to Adam. The concept of calling is not much different from what we do today.

When I say, “I will call you,” I am expressing my plan to contact you verbally.

It may be by telephone, or it may be by opening the door and calling you for dinner, but in any case it involves communication. That is prayer. It is communication with God.

But it is more than simply any communication. It is a communication about who He is. In 1 Kings 18:24, 36-37, Elijah’s simple prayer said more about who Elijah believed God to be than anything else Elijah could have done.

In Psalm 116:4, the phrase is linked for a cry for help, again who the psalmist believed God to be (see verse 5), then in verse 13 it is a response to who God is in verse 12, and in verse 17 it is a response to the psalmist’s relationship with God (verse 16).

In Lamentations 3:55, it again is a cry for help who God is.

In Zephaniah, it is a communication to God what He has done, as was the situation with Abraham in Genesis 12:8, 13:4, or 21:33.

There is a call to God in Joel 2:32 God’s great promises, and there is the proclamation of God in Exodus 34:5 based upon His name.

In every place, the Hebrew phrase is the same. What links all of these together is that the people who called believed God to be who He said He was. Their prayer was the expression of their faith.

Prayer, then, is communication with God what we have come to know about Him.

Prayer shows Faith

Now, I ask the question. What does your prayer life reveal about what you believe about God? I submit that it reveals a great deal.

Let me illustrate. Suppose I have a neighbor who is a master gardener who offers me help with anything dealing with plants and my neighbor has a beautiful, thriving zebra plant. Someone else gives me a zebra plant, but despite my best efforts my plant dies and I go into depression. I never ask my neighbor for help. What might my failure to ask say about my view of my neighbor?

We come to God. He has promised to help us in our time of need (Hebrews 4:16). He has encouraged us to call upon Him time and again. We do not call. What do our actions say about how we view God?

Prayer is an expression of our faith. If we truly believe God is who He says He is and if we truly believe His promises, then we will live a life of prayer that demonstrates this.

If we do not pray, we thereby demonstrate that we do not truly believe (Job 21:15). Prayer is our expression of faith. How much we believe will be reflected in how and how much we pray.

The nature of the God in whom we believe should be seen in the frequency and content of our prayers.

The Bible is full of prayers. People who believed, prayed. Abraham believed and he called on the name of the LORD. He expressed his faith. Moses believed and he talked with God until he died. He was the great intercessor to God for Israel. He expressed his faith. Samuel believed God and he prayed. David believed God.

We read some of his prayers in the Psalms. Solomon believed God. We have his great prayer at the dedication of the temple. The prophets believed in God. Their prayers are scattered throughout their books. Mary believed in God; we have her payers. Jesus believed in the Father; we see His prayers throughout the gospels.

He continues to plead for us. The apostles believed in God; they gathered in the upper room to pray as they awaited the coming of the Holy Spirit. Paul believed in God; you can see it in his many prayers. Prayer is our expression of faith in God.

All these people expressed their faith through the volume and sincerity of their prayer.

We have a nickname for James, the brother of Jesus. He is called Old Camel Knees because he prayed so much in the temple that his knees grew callouses a camel’s knees.

Is it just coincidence that the church exploded? When the disciples came to Jesus in Luke 11:1, they did not ask Him to teach them how to pray. They asked Him to teach them to pray.

And what did Jesus do? After providing a short pattern of prayer, He told them about the Father.

Prayer changes history. The cries of Isaac reached the ears of God and we have a nation of Israel today. The cries of Israel reached God and He delivered them in a mighty way from the land of Egypt. The cries of Moses reached God and He saved Israel from the Amalakites. The cries of Hannah reached God and Samuel was born.

The cries of David reached God and He established a great kingdom. The cries of Solomon reached God and God gave him incredible wisdom. The cries of Hezekiah reached God and Jerusalem was the only city in the entire region not captured by the Assyrians. The cries of Manasseh reached God and he was restored back to his throne.

The cries of Jeremiah reached God and he was rescued from a dungeon. The cries of Daniel reached God and dreams were interpreted. The cries of Jonah reached God and he was saved certain death. The cries of Jesus reached God and the church exists today. The cries of the thief on the cross reached God and he is in Paradise.

Obstacles to Prayer

The Tyranny of the Experience

As new Christians, we often are excited about our fresh relationship with a God who can do anything. We pray, believing, and we receive. But then we pray, believing, and nothing happens. Then we grow in doubt and begin to change our theology. Some change is good.

If we think that God is a genie in the sky who will always do what we ask, then that theology needs to change. Some change is bad.

If we think that God is going to do whatever He wants and that prayer is ineffectual as a change agent in this world, in our lives, or with God, we err, not knowing God.

When we pray, three results may occur.

  1. God may not hear our prayers. If there is known, unconfessed sin in our lives, then God will not hear our prayers (Psalm 66:18; Proverbs 28:9; Isaiah 1:15; John 9:31).
  2. God may hear and decide to grant the request (Exodus 32:10-14; Joshua 10:12-14; 1 Samuel 1:10-11, 20; 1 Kings 18:36-38; Amos 7:2-6; 1 John 5:14-15).
  3. God may hear and decide not to grant the request (Genesis 17:8-20; Deuteronomy 3:23-27; 2 Samuel 12:16-23; 2 Corinthians 12:8-9).

Results 2 and 3 are not arbitrary results, but both are the desired result of one who really seeks God in prayer. When we pray, two wills are involved, His and ours. Sometimes, as in any relationship, one party has to align with the other. Sometimes our will has to align with His. Sometimes His will aligns with ours.

Prayer acknowledges these different outcomes. When God says, “Ask what you will,” He is saying that He is eager to align His will with ours. He delights to give good gifts to those who ask (Matthew 7:11).

But though we may not realize it at the time, sometimes our will is not in our best long-term interest, nor in the best long-term interest of others or this world. God knows what is best.

Therefore, we need not fear to pray for what we want as long as we trust that if what we want is not best, God will take our request and do with it what is best. Again, our prayer is an expression of faith, because we pray knowing that sometimes we may not get the outcome we desire.

Sometimes, however, we adopt the attitude that God will do what He will do and therefore we have no need to pray. This is simply not true. James 4:2 tells us that we have not because we ask not.

Job tells us that the unbelievers are those who believe there is no profit in prayer (Job 21:15). There are far too many answered prayers in Scripture and in this world to adopt a theology that prayer is not effective in bringing about change in this world.

God accomplishes our wills and His will through our prayer.

So pray. Let us learn, grow and express our faith in those times when we pray and it does not seem that God is answering. We should remember that God does not drop prayers, but treasures them up.

As Jesus tells us, those who cry out to God day and night are being heard, even though the answer does not come soon  (Luke 18:7-8).  James says the same thing in James 5:3-6. Our prayers touch His heart.

And when He answers our prayers, we should praise Him for those answers (Psalm 9:10-14; 18:6-19; 30:2-12).

The Tyranny of the Immediate

Everything we do is important and prayer often gets pushed aside. But what about its importance? (Acts 6:4; Ephesians 6:18-20; Philippians 4:6; Colossians 4:2-3; 1 Thessalonians 5:17; 1 Timothy 2:1-4, 8; 5:5). We should always pray, whether we are talking with the king (Nehemiah 2:4), preparing for a difficult job (Luke 22:39-45), or simply washing the dishes or mowing the lawn.

Making Prayer Meaningful

  • Pray believing (Matthew 21:22; James 1:6-7).
  • Pray persistently (Luke 11:5-8; 8:1-7; 1 Kings 18:41-46; Romans 1:9-10; Ephesians 1:15-23; Philippians 1:3-4; Colossians 1:3, 9; 1 Thessalonians 1:2; 2 Timothy 1:3; Philemon 4).
  • Pray for kingdom values (Matthew 6:9-13).
  • Pray for others (Ephesians 6:18; 1 Timothy 2:1).
  • Pray with thanksgiving (1 Corinthians 1:4; Philippians 4:6; Colossians 3:5; 1 Thessalonians 5:18; Hebrews 13:15).
  • Make prayer a conversation with God (John 12:27-28; 1 Timothy 2:1). The word “supplications” comes from a word meaning to make conversation or to converse, and in Greek literature included the meaning of having intimate intercourse with or the close communion of one person with another. Prayer is learning to walk together throughout the day with God.

Источник: //truthsaves.org/articles/prayer-expression-faith/

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