To subscribe to Eternity Daily Bible Study click here
Practical Prayer Evangelism
Praying for the lost works. In 1993 I led a bible study series with a
group of twenty or so rather boisterous University students who asked to
be
taught about prayer. In the process we had a book for the prayer points
with
three columns, Request, Date Entered, and Date Answered. They started praying
for their friends salvation, and within a couple of weeks the converts started rolling
in, two or three a week, and often ending up at the bible study.
Every person “put in the book” for prayer came to Christ, and
naturally
enough the prayer journal became known as the “book of life”.
If memory
serves me correctly about 25 people came to Christ, through prayer alone,
that semester. Prayer worked, even with inexperienced believers, who hated
witnessing, and people were saved.
What are they key ingredients to such successful prayer evangelism?
1.A group of believers gathered in unity. (Matthew 18:19,20)
2.Being taught in how to pray. (Luke 11:1)
3.And praying in faith. (Matthew 21:22, Mark 11:24)
4.For the lost. (Romans 10:1-3, 1 Timothy 2:1-8)
5.Who are their “neighbours”. (Luke 10;25-37)
6.Lovingly by name. (Exodus 33:17, Isaiah 43:1)
7.Regularly and persistently. (Luke 18:1-8)
8.And recording the answers and building faith. ( 1 Chronicles 16:4)
That said, why does prayer evangelism work?
·Prayer wrestles against the powers and principalities
(Ephesians
6:10-20)
·That keep people in spiritual bondage (Ephesians 2:1-4, 4:17-19)
·And which can deceive them away from the truth (1 Timothy 4:1-4)
·Prayer also opens people’s spiritual eyes. (Colossians 1:9,
Ephesians
1:17-19)
·And assists with the Holy Spirit’s work of convicting them of
sin,
righteousness and judgment. (John 16:8)
For more on How To Pray For The Lost go to
http://www.aibi.ph/articles/praylost.htm
How then can a local church or home church undertake prayer evangelism?
Firstly teach your people how to pray. (Luke 11:1) Christians
generally
have to be taught in how to pray. It is a process of learning about who we
are
in Christ, our spiritual authority, and how the promises of God can be
claimed in faith. Free material on how to pray can be found at
http://www.aibi.ph/prayer/
Get a Prayer Journal and use it. Faith is built when we see
prayer
answered. It is good to record the deeds of the Lord. So get a large notebook
and rule it into three columns, a wide column for the prayer request and two
narrower columns for date entered and date answered. Make the Prayer Journal
part of every prayer meeting and weekly bible study for that group.
Pray regularly and persistently. Pray each week at the bible
study or home
church meeting. Pray for all the unanswered items, each week. Within four
to six weeks you should start seeing people saved.
Pray in faith and expect answers. (Matthew 21:22, Mark 11:24)
The
Scriptures tell us to pray “believing we have received”, faith
and holy expectation reach Heaven.
Pray lovingly by name for people. Names are important to God
who “knows us
by name” and “redeems us by name” (Isaiah 43:1 Exodus 33:17))
and for some
reason have great power in the spiritual realm. Pray that is directed
personally and lovingly, in faith , on the basis of redemption of a soul,
is powerful.
Pray for “neighbors who are lost”. God has put us
next to certain people
for their salvation. There is often a divine purpose in who we meet and who
the Lord places on our hearts. Ask God to give you a prayer burden for
specific people of your family, friends and neighbors.
Any group of three believers can do this. It does not require
you to “be
an evangelist”, to hand out tracts or to knock on doors. If someone
wants a
gospel presentation you can direct them to an online gospel presentation
such as: http://www.aibi.ph/starterkit/gospel1.php
Yu don’t even need to form a committee! Just get your
notebook, your
bible, a couple of friends – and pray for the lost.
Blessings!
John Edmiston
Visit the Asian Internet Bible Institute
