The Truth About God’s Desire to Save Unbelievers

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Increase Your Confidence When Praying for Salvation of Others

We all know them. We all love them. As Christians we long to see them — our friends and loved ones who do not believe as we do — come to believe in God through Jesus Christ as a savior. We have likely strived to persuade them to not only believe that God is, but that He is a rewarder of them who diligently seek Him (Hebrews 11:6) and to convince them He loves them and wants to reward them by forgiving them, drawing close to them, walking with them. Then, somewhere along the way, we get the message from some of these unbelievers that they really don’t want to discuss this anymore. What is left to do? We continue living a Christian life in front of them and we pray for them.

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In my last two blog posts I shared with you practical guidance for praying powerful prayers and having confidence in those prayers. In the first post, Practical Guidance for More Confidence in Prayer, I illustrated how to pray scripture when facing difficult times in our own lives. In the second post, Practical Guidance for Praying Powerful Prayers for Others, I shared prayers found in the Bible and a method for analyzing those prayers in order to know who they were prayed for, what was prayed for, and what was expected to happen as a result of those prayers. All of the examples I shared in that post were prayed for Christians to strengthen their walk with God.

In this post I will address another type of prayer, which is a prayer for the salvation of unbelievers. I will first show how we can have confidence that God will answer our prayers for unbelievers when we realize it is God’s will that all people come to salvation through Jesus Christ. I will share particular scriptures that I often use when praying for unbelievers and give examples of such prayers. I will close by sharing what we are to do while we wait for our prayers to be answered and our unbelieving friends and loved ones to join us as believers.

God’s Will

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Although we are eager to see our friends and loved ones come to know Christ and salvation through Him, it is helpful to remember God wants that even more than we do. We need not wonder whether it is God’s will to forgive someone, even if we have been praying for that person for many years. God wants all people to come to repentance and patiently waits for each one to do so (2 Peter 3:9; 1 Timothy 2:4).

Jesus came to this earth for the express purpose of seeking and saving unbelievers (Luke 19:10). It is through the name of Jesus that we are saved (Acts 4:12). As Jesus explained to the crowds that followed Him, God draws people to Him (John 6:44). God’s goodness leads each one to repentance unto salvation (Romans 2:4; 2 Corinthians 7:10).

We also find in scripture that God can give someone a heart to know Him. God promised Moses He would circumcise the hearts of those who had been scattered abroad so they would love the Lord with all their heart and with all their soul (Deuteronomy 30:6). God showed the Prophet Jeremiah that He would give to them who had been taken captive a heart to know Him so they would be His people and He would be their God (Jeremiah 24:7). He can do the same for our unbelieving friends and loved ones.

By drawing on these scriptures we can pray to God confidently about the salvation of unbelievers.

Sample Prayer

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We can now confidently pray for our unbelieving friends and loved ones because we know it is God’s will to draw them to salvation. Suppose I have an unbelieving brother. Below is an example of how I might pray for him by referring to the scriptures above.

“Precious Lord, I thank You that it is Your will that all be saved. I acknowledge that You came to this earth to seek and to save the lost and that you are patiently waiting for them to come to you. I bring my brother [insert his name] to you now and ask that you draw him to you. Draw him to godly sorrow that leads to repentance unto salvation. Give him a heart to know You, that he would be Your child and You will be His God.”

There are many other scriptures we can draw on when praying for unbelievers. Below is a list of others you may find useful. I will continue with the example of praying for a brother and illustrate how these scriptures can be prayed.

• Romans 5:8 – Lord, help him to understand that You love him so much that while he does not yet recognize his need for a savior, You love him and died for him.
• Romans 3:23, 6:23 – Reveal to him that all have sinned, including him, and the price of that sin is death, but You offer him eternal life.
• Luke 13:5 – Draw him to repentance so he does not perish in his sin.
• 1 John 1:9 – Help him to understand You are faithful to forgive his sins if only he would confess them to You.
• Revelation 3:20 – Give him a vision of You knocking at the door of his heart asking to be let in. Help him to open his heart to You and invite you to be his savior.
• Matthew 22:37 – Draw him to love You with all his heart, soul and mind.

Scripture is powerful and we can pray it with confidence, knowing we are praying according to God’s will.

Waiting for Answered Prayers

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So, what do we do as we wait to see the answers to our prayers?

First and foremost, while waiting continue living a Christian life in front of all people, shining the light of Christ on everyone so they can see Him working through us and glorify Him (Matthew 5:16). When shopping, at family gatherings, at work, treat all people with love and kindness. When you learn someone is in need, help them.  Continue gathering with fellow Christians at church and worshipping God together.

Continue praying for the unbelievers with thanksgiving and watch for evidence of a seeking heart developing in them (Colossians 4:2). Behave wisely toward them and speak always with grace (Colossians 4:5-6). It isn’t necessary to push a conversation about God with them. Instead, watch and wait. They will let you know when they are ready to discuss Him again.

It is important to be ready to respond courteously and respectfully to questions your unbelieving friends may ask about why you live with hope as their hearts begin to soften toward God (1 Peter 3:15). Prepare for such questions by studying the Word of God to be able to back up your testimony with the truth of the scripture (2 Timothy 2:15).

Having done all of these things, remember we do not have the power to bring unbelievers to salvation. Each one of us has a responsibility for planting the seed of salvation in someone’s mind or watering the seed by living as a Christian example and sharing our experiences with them. But it is God who draws them to Him and who gives the increase (John 6:44; 1 Corinthians 3:7). It is the gospel of Christ that is “the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth” (Romans 1:16).

As I said at the beginning, we all know them, love them, and want them to come to salvation. As we remember that God also loves them and wants to them to come to salvation even more than we do, we can have confidence we are praying according to God’s will when we pray scripture for our unbelieving friends and loved ones. Unbelievers will come to salvation as we continue living a Christian life in front of them, praying with thanksgiving for the answered prayers, and trusting God to do what only He can do, which is to draw them to Him and impart salvation to them.