Home » How to Pray for Unsaved Loved Ones
We are instructed to pray for our unsaved loved ones. Sometimes it’s just hard to know how or what to pray. I encountered this same problem, so I did some study and research to find the best ways to pray for unsaved loved ones. I say “unsaved loved ones” but really these things could be prayed even for those who are saved that may have drifted away from God for some reason.
It’s very hard to see someone you love so lost or far from God or even questioning God. You want so much to help them, to fix them but you inevitably know that it’s not within your control. To receive Christ and to have a life-changing relationship with God is a personal and individual decision that we can never make for someone else, no matter how badly we want it for them. We can “plant seeds” (i.e. talk to them in a non-threatening and non-pushy way and/or show example in our own life), and we can pray for them. The rest is up to them. God gave us free will. Jesus Christ is his free gift to us, ours for the taking. However, a gift demanded or forced is no gift at all. We don’t have to take it. Sometimes we want something more for someone than they want it for themselves. It kind of stinks to feel this way, but guess what…You’re in good company. That’s how God feels all the time. All is not hopeless though! Prayers are extremely powerful!
“…The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and produces wonderful results.” James 5:16b (NLT)
I have heard numerous people tell stories, my pastor included, that they are where they are today as a result of someone praying for them. God will go to work on our behalf, but we have to ask.
After studying and researching how and what to pray for unsaved loved ones, I compiled a list of things that I started to use. I actually wrote the list of what to pray in my notes of my phone and would open it and pray through the list for my unsaved loved ones. However, you don’t have to pray ALL of these things all of the time. I have done that, but for the most part I just picked a couple of these things to pray for each day (or whenever my unsaved loved ones came to mind—not necessarily every day).
“Open their eyes, so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me.” Acts 26:18 (ESV)
Lord, please remove the blinders from _____’s eyes and open his/her eyes.
“Opponents must be gently instructed, in the hope that God will grant them repentance leading them to a knowledge of the truth” 2 Timothy 2:25 (NIV)
Lord, I pray that as _____’s eyes are opened that you would bring about situations and circumstances that would lead him/her to the truth.
“And I will give you a new heart, and I will put a new spirit in you. I will take out your stony, stubborn heart and give you a tender, responsive heart.” Ezekiel 36:26 (NLT)
Lord, I ask you to turn and soften _____’s heart. Put a new spirit in him/her. Take out _____’s stony, stubborn heart and give him/her a tender, responsive heart.
“For God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases him.” Philippians 2:13 (NLT)
Lord, please draw _____ to you and give him/her a hunger and desire for you.
Lord, please send laborers from variety of sources across _____’s path. Let him/her see you wherever he/she goes, so much so that he/she cannot escape you!
Lord, please put a hedge of protection around _____ so that any ungodly influences around him/her would lose interest and depart.
“For God will break the chains that bind his people and the whip that scourges them, just as he did when he destroyed the vast host of the Midianites by Gideon’s little band.” Isaiah 9:4 (TLB)
Lord, please break any chains, stronghold or barriers that bind _____ and free him/her from Satan’s influence over his/her mind, will and emotions.
How to Pray for Unsaved Loved Ones
How to Pray for Unsaved Loved Ones
“I urge you, first of all, to pray for all people. Ask God to help them; intercede on their behalf, and give thanks for them. Pray this way for kings and all who are in authority so that we can live peaceful and quiet lives marked by godliness and dignity. This is good and pleases God our Savior, who wants everyone to be saved and to understand the truth.” 1 Timothy 2:1-4 (NLT)We are instructed to pray for our unsaved loved ones. Sometimes it’s just hard to know how or what to pray. I encountered this same problem, so I did some study and research to find the best ways to pray for unsaved loved ones. I say “unsaved loved ones” but really these things could be prayed even for those who are saved that may have drifted away from God for some reason.
It’s very hard to see someone you love so lost or far from God or even questioning God. You want so much to help them, to fix them but you inevitably know that it’s not within your control. To receive Christ and to have a life-changing relationship with God is a personal and individual decision that we can never make for someone else, no matter how badly we want it for them. We can “plant seeds” (i.e. talk to them in a non-threatening and non-pushy way and/or show example in our own life), and we can pray for them. The rest is up to them. God gave us free will. Jesus Christ is his free gift to us, ours for the taking. However, a gift demanded or forced is no gift at all. We don’t have to take it. Sometimes we want something more for someone than they want it for themselves. It kind of stinks to feel this way, but guess what…You’re in good company. That’s how God feels all the time. All is not hopeless though! Prayers are extremely powerful!
“…The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and produces wonderful results.” James 5:16b (NLT)
I have heard numerous people tell stories, my pastor included, that they are where they are today as a result of someone praying for them. God will go to work on our behalf, but we have to ask.
After studying and researching how and what to pray for unsaved loved ones, I compiled a list of things that I started to use. I actually wrote the list of what to pray in my notes of my phone and would open it and pray through the list for my unsaved loved ones. However, you don’t have to pray ALL of these things all of the time. I have done that, but for the most part I just picked a couple of these things to pray for each day (or whenever my unsaved loved ones came to mind—not necessarily every day).
Take Some Practical Steps to Pray for Unsaved Loved Ones (text in red are example prayers):
- Pray for God to remove the blindness from their eyes, to open their eyes so they can see. The bible says the god of this world, Satan, has blinded the minds of the unbelievers.
“Open their eyes, so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me.” Acts 26:18 (ESV)
Lord, please remove the blinders from _____’s eyes and open his/her eyes.
- Pray that as they are able to see that the eyes of their understanding would be enlightened and that God would bring about situations, circumstances and grant them repentance in their lives to lead them to the truth.
“Opponents must be gently instructed, in the hope that God will grant them repentance leading them to a knowledge of the truth” 2 Timothy 2:25 (NIV)
Lord, I pray that as _____’s eyes are opened that you would bring about situations and circumstances that would lead him/her to the truth.
- Pray for God to turn and soften their heart to make it tender and responsive.
“And I will give you a new heart, and I will put a new spirit in you. I will take out your stony, stubborn heart and give you a tender, responsive heart.” Ezekiel 36:26 (NLT)
Lord, I ask you to turn and soften _____’s heart. Put a new spirit in him/her. Take out _____’s stony, stubborn heart and give him/her a tender, responsive heart.
- Pray that they will be drawn to God and develop a hunger and desire for Him.
“For God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases him.” Philippians 2:13 (NLT)
Lord, please draw _____ to you and give him/her a hunger and desire for you.
- Pray that God would send “laborers” across their path. Basically, this is just witnesses to speak into their lives. I read something once that said that “laborers” can come from a variety of sources: bumper stickers, billboards, magazines in a waiting room, something on the radio or TV, overheard conversations, or people who share the gospel with them personally. I like to pray that God would just surround them with all things “God” that they can’t escape Him!
Lord, please send laborers from variety of sources across _____’s path. Let him/her see you wherever he/she goes, so much so that he/she cannot escape you!
- Pray for God to put a hedge of protection (or of “thorns”) around them so that any ungodly influences would lose interest and depart.
Lord, please put a hedge of protection around _____ so that any ungodly influences around him/her would lose interest and depart.
- Pray for any chains that bind them to be broken, any strongholds to be removed and that they will be free from Satan’s influence over their mind, will and emotions.
“For God will break the chains that bind his people and the whip that scourges them, just as he did when he destroyed the vast host of the Midianites by Gideon’s little band.” Isaiah 9:4 (TLB)
Lord, please break any chains, stronghold or barriers that bind _____ and free him/her from Satan’s influence over his/her mind, will and emotions.
How to Pray for Unsaved Loved Ones - Happy, Healthy & Prosperous
We are instructed to pray for our unsaved loved ones. Sometimes it’s hard to know how/what to pray. Learn some specific things to pray and what to expect.
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