How To Pray For Your Friends Salvation And Have Your Prayers Heard

This brief study will show you the Biblical way to pray for the salvation of your friends. Most information in this can be used to find out how to have prayer in general to be heard, but some information will be specifically for prayers of salvation.

(1) God The Father Calls People To Faith In Christ.

John 6:44 “No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him: and I will raise him up at the last day."

This means that even you, dear believer, did not come to Christ, but instead the Father drew you to Him. So we should pray that the Father draw our friends and loved ones to faith in Christ [a prayer for salvation in general is the same thing, but since Jesus spoke this plain truth, I feel it is good to ask for the very specific thing that He described, which is for God to draw one to Christ], but is that the end of it? No, no it is not.

(2) Three Criteria For Having Prayer Heard/Answered

I John 3:22-23 “22 And whatsoever we ask, we receive of him, because we keep his commandments, and do those things that are pleasing in his sight. 23 And this is his commandment, That (A) we should believe on the name of his Son Jesus Christ, and (B) love one another, as he gave us commandment."

I John 5:14 “And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, (C) if we ask any thing according to his will, he heareth us:"

So we must keep His commandments, which are to (A) believe on Jesus Christ, and (B) love one another as Christ loved us; and we must also (C) pray that His Will be done regardless of our own desires.

Three Questions

This raises three questions; (A) what does it mean to, or how do we, believe on Christ, and (B) love one another? And (C) how can I know God’s Will? Remember that ALL three of these must be present in order to be guaranteed that your prayers will be heard. If any of the following information is lacking in your life, then they need to be addressed right away for your own sake, and for the sake of those that you pray for.

(A) What Does It Mean To Believe On Christ?

It means to believe that He [Jesus] is the Christ, which is to say the prophesied Messiah: I John 5:1 “Whosoever believeth that Jesus is the Christ is born of God: and every one that loveth him that begat loveth him also that is begotten of him."

Believing on Christ means to believe that He is the Son of God John 20:31 “But these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his name.” See also Acts 8:36-37.

Believing on Christ means to believe ALL the Scriptures concerning Him: John 7:38 “He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water.” There are two ways to compartmentalize this passage. You may be tempted to think that Jesus is quoting a Scripture that says “out of his belly …etc.” “As the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water.” but because He is not directly quoting any specific Scripture that I can find, nor that is noted in my Bible, I believe for the time being that He is saying that the ones who believe according to the testimony of Scripture, “He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said” meaning that it is necessary to believe all that Scripture says of Him.

Believing on Christ means to believe God in general: John 12:44 “Jesus cried and said, He that believeth on me, believeth not on me, but on him that sent me.”
Believing on Christ means to believe that there is no other means of salvation: Acts 4:12 “Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved."

Believing on Christ means to believe that God has raised Jesus from the dead: Romans 10:9 “That if thou … shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him [Jesus] from the dead, thou shalt be saved."

Believing on Christ means to believe that those whose faith is in Him will be raised from the dead just as He was: I Thessalonians 4:14 “For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him."

Believing on Christ means to believe God’s ability to perform His promises: Romans 4:21 “And being fully persuaded that, what he had promised, he was able also to perform."

(B) What Does It Mean To Love One Another?

It means that we are to love one another as Christ has loved us: John 13:34 “A new commandment I give unto you, that ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another.” And Christ loves us as the Father loves Him: John 15:9 “As the Father hath loved me, so have I loved you: continue ye in my love.” The Father loved the Son because He laid down His Life: John 10:17 “Therefore [for this reason] doth my Father love me, because I lay down my life, that I might take it again.” John 15:13 “Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.” I John 3:16 “Hereby perceive we the love of God, because he laid down his life for us: and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren.” See also I John 4:10-11 & 19-21.

Romans 13:10 “Love worketh no ill to his neighbour: therefore love is the fulfilling of the law."

Galatians 6:2 “Bear ye one another's burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ."

Loving one another as Christ has loved us means that if we have the means to help someone and we do not do so, we do not have the Love of God [meaning that we have not kept His command, so our prayers will not be answered]: I John 3:17-18 “17 But whoso hath this world's good [wealth], and seeth his brother have need, and shutteth up his bowels of compassion from him, how dwelleth the love of God in him? 18 My little children, let us not love in word, neither in tongue; but in deed and in truth."

Loving one another as Christ has loved us means to love your enemies as well as your friends: Matthew 5:44 “But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you;” Luke 6:32 “For if ye love them which love you, what thank have ye? for sinners also love those that love them.” See also Matthew 5:all and Luke 6:27-38.

Loving one another as Christ has loved us requires that we deal with iniquity, which causes love to grow cold. In other words, deal with sin when God brings it to your attention, or else the effectiveness of your prayers will be dampened when your love inevitably grows cold: Matthew 24:12 “And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold."

There are two answers to this question. The first is that only God knows His Will for certain individuals and specific situations. The other answer is that some things that fall under God’s Will have been revealed in Scripture. We’ll only be taking a look at a single example of the latter, as it is the only one that I know of that pertains to this study.

God’s will is that none should perish and all should come to repentance, II Peter 3:9 “The Lord is … not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.” See also Ezekiel 33:11.

Incidentally, even Jesus prayed for God’s Will to be done instead of His own, when He prayed that the “cup” would pass from Him in Matthew 26:39.

The Pattern

We have our petition of God if we keep His law, which is to believe on Jesus Christ and to love one another as Christ has loved us. If it is God’s Will that NONE should perish, and ALL should come to repentance, then it is according to His will that we pray for a person’s salvation. Since no one comes to the Son except the Father draws him, we should pray that God the Father would call [insert persons name here] to Jesus to be saved. In this we can have confidence that our petition is heard, and that we are praying according to God’s Will.

Let me be clear that keeping the law of Christ is not HOW we are saved, instead it is a token, or sign OF true salvation, in that the love of God is manifested in us. Salvation is by the Grace of God, through faith in Christ alone, Ephesians 2:8-9.

If you are in need of answered prayers from God, regardless of the nature of your petition, you must look at the condition of your heart in terms of what you truly believe about Christ, as well as how you love others. If you believe that faith in Jesus Christ is just one of MANY ways to be saved; if you refuse to forgive; if you hate those who come against you; if you can only seem to tear people down, either to their face OR TO OTHERS; or if you refuse to help someone in need when you have the ability to help them, then the love of God is not in you, and you need to be very worried. Of course if any of these are true for you then you can’t expect to have your prayers answered, but that is just a secondary problem. The real problem is one of two possibilities: either you are not truly saved, or else your love has grown cold due to lingering iniquity that you have refused to acknowledge. When God chastens you [deals with sin in your life], you should count it for joy, because He only chastens His own. If God does not deal with a sin that you’re aware of, then you should repent and pray for Him to deal with you, otherwise you have much to be afraid of.

Hebrews 12:1-17 “1 Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, 2 Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God. 3 For consider him that endured such contradiction of sinners against himself, lest ye be wearied and faint in your minds. 4 Ye have not yet resisted unto blood, striving against sin. 5 And ye have forgotten the exhortation which speaketh unto you as unto children, My son, despise not thou the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when thou art rebuked of him: 6 For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth. 7 If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons; for what son is he whom the father chasteneth not? 8 But if ye be without chastisement, whereof all are partakers, then are ye *illigitimate*, and not sons. 9 Furthermore we have had fathers of our flesh which corrected us, and we gave them reverence: shall we not much rather be in subjection unto the Father of spirits, and live? 10 For they verily for a few days chastened us after their own pleasure; but he for our profit, that we might be partakers of his holiness. 11 Now no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby. 12 Wherefore lift up the hands which hang down, and the feeble knees; 13 And make straight paths for your feet, lest that which is lame be turned out of the way; but let it rather be healed. 14 Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord: 15 Looking diligently lest any man fail of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up trouble you, and thereby many be defiled; 16 Lest there be any fornicator, or profane person, as Esau, who for one morsel of meat sold his birthright. 17 For ye know how that afterward, when he would have inherited the blessing, he was rejected: for he found no place of repentance, though he sought it carefully with tears.” Hebrews 12:25-29 “25 See that ye refuse not him that speaketh [the chastening]. For if they escaped not who refused him that spake on earth, much more shall not we escape, if we turn away from him that speaketh from heaven: 26 Whose voice then shook the earth: but now he hath promised, saying, Yet once more I shake not the earth only, but also heaven. 27 And this word, Yet once more, signifieth the removing of those things that are shaken, as of things that are made, that those things which cannot be shaken may remain. 28 Wherefore we receiving a kingdom which cannot be moved, let us have grace, whereby we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear: 29 For our God is a consuming fire.”