10 Ways to Pray for the Lost

June, 2003

by: Dave Hintz

1. John 6:44 “No one can come to Me, unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up on the last day.” — Pray that the Father will draw them to Himself.
2. Romans 10:14-15 “How then shall they call upon Him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in Him whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher? ¹⁵And how shall they preach unless they are sent? Just as it is written, ‘How beautiful are the feet of those who bring glad tidings of good things!’” — Pray that they will hear a clear presentation of the Gospel.
3. 1 Corinthians 2:14 “But a natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God; for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually appraised.” — Pray that they will be able to understand spiritual truth.
4. 2 Corinthians 3:14-15 “But their minds were hardened; for until this very day at the reading of the old covenant the same veil remains unlifted, because it is removed in Christ. ¹⁵But to this day whenever Moses is read, a veil lies over their heart; 16 but whenever a man turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away.” — Pray that God will lift the veil from their hearts so that they might understand spiritual truth.
5. 2 Corinthians 4:3 “And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing, 4 in whose case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelieving, that they might not see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.” — Pray that God might prevent Satan from blinding them from the gospel of glory.
6. Matthew 13:3-8 “And He spoke many things to them in parables, saying, ‘Behold, the sower went out to sow; ⁴and as he sowed, some seeds fell beside the road, and the birds came and ate them up. ⁵And others fell upon the rocky places, where they did not have much soil; and immediately they sprang up, because they had no depth of soil. ⁶But when the sun had risen, they were scorched; and because they had no root, they withered away. ⁷And others fell among the thorns, and the thorns came up and choked them out. ⁸And others fell on the good soil, and yielded a crop, some a hundredfold, some sixty, and some thirty. ⁹He who has ears, let him hear.’” — Pray that their hearts will be like the good soil so that the Word of God when preached to them will sink in. Pray that Satan will not “eat” the seed of the Gospel.
7. Romans 16:18 “For such men are slaves, not of our Lord Christ but of their own appetites; and by their smooth and flattering speech they deceive the hearts of the unsuspecting.” — Pray that false teachers will not deceive them with spiritual lies. (Pray this especially when you know that the person you are praying for is under the false teaching of Mormonism, a Liberal Denomination, etc.)
8. 2 Corinthians 7:10 “For the sorrow that is according to the will of God produces a repentance without regret, leading to salvation; but the sorrow of the world produces death.” — Pray that they will have sorrow over their sin. Mourn in such a way that they will turn to God.
9. Matthew 5:4 “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.” — Pray that they will mourn over their sin.
10. Finally, pray that they will understand and embrace the specific elements of the Gospel (see the Gospel tract).