Praying Evangelistically Sermon by Eric Allen for Find It Here 2011 Story of Sid Taylor - Several years ago -terrible tragedy happened to Sid Taylor and his wife Christy. Sid was underneath Christy s car when the jack suddenly gave way and the chassis of the car came crashing down. He couldn t breathe and he couldn t call for help so he frantically kicked his toolbox over with his feet. Christy heard all the noise and found her husband trapped underneath the car. Terrified, she ran back in and called 911 for help. Sadly, before the fire and rescue squad arrived, Sid had already died of asphyxiation. Only 6 months later, similar tragedy occurred. A man was putting an exhaust system on his truck when again the jack slipped and the truck came down on him. He was able to get out one short yell for help; his wife came running - saw the truck on him - only minutes away from death-- she didn t run for the phone to call 911... didn t go to get neighbors to help. None of these common sense thoughts crossed her mind, she simply grabbed hold of the truck s bumper, and this forty-six year old woman lifted the front of that truck up high enough for her husband to roll out from underneath it! Thanks to his wife, the man survived this incident with only two broken ribs and a whole new respect for the woman he d been married to for twenty five years. Needless to say, it required an awesome amount of power to save this man s life-- where did this power come from? Sure, it came from God. But a lot of people would tell me- that s not a miracle- God didn t do that-haven t you ever heard of adrenaline? They can even go as far as to explain that it is a hormone secreted by the adrenal gland. That this particular hormone is secreted all the time but an extra amount is injected into the system in times of distress. And large quantities of this chemical could sometimes provide a person with almost super-human strength. After they have done their best to explain this in medical and scientific terminology, I would just smile and nod my head in agreement and say; just as I said, God did it! Now, why did I tell you both stories? Well, because the power to save was present in both instances, but it was only summoned in the second. The first lady looked at the car on her husband and used her head knowing that she couldn t pick the car up and tried to get help somewhere else. The second lady saw her husband dying underneath his truck and knew only one thing; that truck was going to move. And with that attitude and faith, the truck did indeed move and her husband was saved. In the same way that most all of us have this extra boost of potential strength within our grasp through adrenaline, we also have another form of power available to us as Christians; the power of prayer!! I m not sure we really understand the power of prayer. But, just like that first lady that failed to save her husband because she didn t realize that this power was available, many Christians fail to recognize the power of prayer. Do you believe in the power of prayer?
Do you believe that God can save people in response to your prayers? Do you know of someone that is lost and needs Christ? Close your eyes ask the Lord to bring someone specific to your mind. Do you believe that God can save THAT PERSON? 1 Timothy 2:1-4 - God wants everyone to be saved. Survey on Prayer: On March 31, 1997, Newsweek magazine published the result of a survey on people s prayer beliefs and habits. The title of the survey was Is God Listening? 87%-- believe that God answers prayers. 54%-- pray on a daily basis. Did you notice the BIG difference between those who believe that God answers prayers and those who actually pray? How persistent / frequent have you been in praying for that person? I m reminded that our actions/persistence are indicative of what we really believe not simply in prayer but in everything. Tell personal story of house fire next door and my actions to get children out, explaining that I was persistent because 1). I cared for my neighbors 2). I believed that my actions could make a difference 3). And I knew that the fire would kill them if they didn t get out. (compare each point above to praying for the lost as compared below) - How frequently you pray specifically for a lost person by name may indicate one of three things: 1). How much compassion you have for the lost. 2). How much of a difference that prayer can make. 3). Your belief about hell and a lost person s destiny. The Times-Reporter of New Orleans, LA, reported in September, 1985 a celebration of a New Orleans municipal pool. The party around the pool was held to celebrate the first summer on record without a drowning at the New Orleans city pool. In honor of the occasion, 200 people gathered, including 100 certified lifeguards. As the party was breaking up and the four lifeguards on duty began to clear the pool, they found a fully dressed body in the deep end. They tried to revive Jerome Moody, 31, but it was too late. He had drowned surrounded by lifeguards celebrating their successful season. (Times-Reporter, September 1985)
We who have the life giving message of New Life in Jesus are the Life Guards in this drowning world but, sometimes we re so caught up in our party that we fail to throw out the lifeline to those we are called to serve. How can we do better? What is the key to doing a better job with the charge we have been given? Prayer is the key, the centerpiece to salvation. When it comes to evangelization of the world prayer needs to be center stage. John 6:44 No one comes to Christ unless the H Spirit DRAWS them to want to come. We spend much more time learning how to witness (GOOD) and finding new resources for sharing our faith (GOOD) BUT it is only the Father/ H. Spirit that can draw them in SO we need to be persistently praying that God would do what we can t. Five Steps in Praying for the Lost: 1). Cultivate a Genuine Concern and compassion for the lost. History is full of folks who sacrificed health, comfort, and even family because of their burning desire to see the lost know Christ. William Carey agonized for 7 years as a missionary to India before he saw his first convert. Ask God to impress on you the penalty of being lost. Have we been saved so long that we ve forgotten what it s like to be lost? We ve become so comfortable as Christians that we ve become indifferent to the horrible eternity of HELL! Matthew 9:36-38 tells us that Jesus had tremendous concern for the lost He had compassion on them. When he saw them his response was to pray for someone to come. Shouldn t that also be our response. Pray for a messenger. Ask God to increase your fear of HELL and to give you a burden for the lost and a renewed vision for reaching them. 2). Discover Lost People in Your Circles of Relationship. Our prayers should be for specific people individuals we know. Not just Lord, save all the lost. Remember the name of the person you wrote down earlier? A friend, relative, co-worker etc. 3). Pray Specifically for the Lost. When praying we can only impact God s side of the relationship. We cannot touch anything God would not touch. God gives us free will. Those accepting salvation must decide to do so God does not force. BUT we can pray about : Effective witnesses coming across their paths. (children may need another child)
Circumstances in their lives that will point them to Christ. (personal story Caroline s cousin- witnessed to w/ no response barge accident killed friend that accident caused her to realize urgency of salvation). Power of Holy Spirit coming on them to convict of sin. Lost can -refuse to go to church -refust to listen to witness -throw away tracks -refuse to let visitor in -hang up phone on you BUT they can t prevent Holy Spirit from knocking on the door of their hearts in response to our prayers! For understanding through the Holy Spirit that they are lost and need Jesus. Prayer is necessary because lost people don t know they need Jesus because they have been spiritually blinded (2 Cor 4:3-4: if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost in whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ should shine into them. then pray for their obedience to follow God. 4). Persist in Prayer. Remember that God honors persistence. Jesus teaching on prayer in Luke 11:5-11, honors because of boldness/persistence. Keep in mind that delayed answers are sometimes a test of your faith. If you ve been praying for the same person for a while ask God to show you new ways to pray for that lost person. (Ex: prod their memories w/ scriptures they ve heard; for their needs to point to Christ sufficiency; for individuals who may be able to influence their lives for Christ;) Galatians 6:9 Let us not grow weary in well doing, for in due season we will reap IF we faint not. Share personal story of Terry coming to Christ after years of faithful intercession by wife Nancy and church. 5). Thank God. Ask God to sensitize you to the progress the person you re praying for is making toward salvation. Regularly Thank God for the progress though it may seem slow and even invisible to you. T.W. Hunt told about a friend that he and his wife were praying salvation for. He became meaner as they prayed for him and T.W. says we were elated! This indicated
that the Holy Spirit was convicting him of his sin. He was only experiencing the normal reaction of the flesh to the Spirit s work. The church (every believer) should be praying for and reaching out to the lost world. However, the AVERAGE church spends more time praying sick people out of heaven than we do praying lost people out of hell. Where are you? Lost searching need salvation; I m sure that your decision to follow Christ will be an answer to someone s prayer. Christian with no concern /compassion for the lost. Believer grown weary in praying for that special someone in your life. Wherever you are in your Christian walk will you commit to pray for that lost friend or family member that God brought to your mind?