Have you been praying for someone to be saved and nothing seems to be happening? Jesus says, “Men ought always to pray, and not to faint” Luke 18:1, KJV). The point is that the answers to our prayers seldom come immediately. After we have prayed to the Lord, we must have faith and wait on Him, if we are to receive.
My sister’s experience with her husband is a good example of what it means to never give up. To date, they have been married for 40 years. Most of those years, she was a Christian and he was not. She prayed for his salvation for tens of years. Nothing seemed to be happening. My sister complained that her husband was not being the leader in the home he should be, but she never gave up on him.
It is understandable that any husband or wife who truly knows the Lord wants her spouse to be saved. The Lord’s salvation increases our quality of life on every level.
My sister’s persistence in prayer payed off. Her husband gave his life to the Lord about eight years ago. A couple of years later, he became a deacon in his local church.
This testimony gets even better. This same sister has a son who preaches. He came from out of town to preach at the local church my sister and her husband attends. After preaching, my sister’s son the preacher extended an invitation to those who wanted prayer. His dad, now saved, now serving on the Deacon Board, came to assist his son in praying for the people.
Who would have imagined that one day my sister’s son and her husband would be partners in a ministry event?
God Always Wants to Save the Lost
Like my sister was, perhaps you have been praying for the salvation of someone for years. It may seem to you as though nothing is happening. But I want to encourage you to never give up. Keep on praying and believing.
Remember that we walk by faith and not by sight (2 Corinthians 5:7). You can’t tell what God is doing on your behalf merely by what you see. He may be powerfully working in the heart of those you are praying for, although it may not seem that way to you. Like seed taking root in the ground, it may be some time before you see any fruit manifest itself.
It’s always the will of God for us to pray for the salvation of others. Remember the reason Jesus came. God sent His Son that through faith in Him sinners might be saved. It is not God’s will for any to perish but for all to repent and believe on His Son (2 Peter 3:9). That’s why we can be sure God is all ears when we pray for others to be saved.
As Jesus says, always pray and never give up.
Copyright © 2022 by Frank King. All rights reserved.