Only God can save a soul and each person must decide if he or she will believe in Jesus and accept the free gift of salvation. Prayer is an important part of the process.
Following are suggested ways to pray:
1. Claim the person you are praying for as God's purchased possession in the name of Jesus and on the basis of His shed blood. "In Him we have redemption through His blood" (Eph. 1:7, NASB).
2. Ask God to tear down the works of Satan, like false doctrine, unbelief, or other teaching that the enemy may have built up in his or her life. Pray for his or her thoughts to be taken "captive to the obedience of Christ" (2 Cor. 10:5, NASB).
3. Pray that the Holy Spirit will convict him or her of his or her sin and his or her need for a Savior. "The kindness of God leads you to repentance" (Rom. 2:4,NASB).
4. Pray that he or she will hear, receive, or read God's Word and that God's will and purposes may be accomplished through the Bible. "So will My word be which goes forth from My mouth; It will not return to Me empty, Without accomplishing what I desire" (Isa. 55:11, NASB).
5. Pray that his or her eyes will be opened and his or her ears unstopped so that he or she can hear the truth. "And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing, in whose case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelieving so that they might not see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ" (2 Cor. 4:3-4, NASB).
6. Pray with consistency and perseverance, not to persuade God but because of the resistance of the enemy. Read Daniel 10:12-13. "Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your toil is not in vain in the Lord" (1 Cor. 15:58, NASB).
7. Thank God for making us more than conquerors. "But in all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us" (Rom. 8:37, NASB). "Thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ" (1 Cor. 15:57, NASB).
"The Lord is not slow about His promise as some count slowness but is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance" (2 Pet. 3:9, NASB).
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