“Dear brothers and sisters, the longing of my heart and my prayer to God is for the people of Israel to be saved.” (Rom. 10:1 – NLT)
The Apostle Paul believed in the absolute sovereignty of God and in the responsibility of man. He knew that God would bring His elect people to salvation (Eph. 1:3-6; Rom. 8:28-30; Jn. 6:37, 39, 44), but he also knew that the means to salvation included prayer and the proclamation of the Gospel (Eph. 6:18-20; Col. 4:2-4; 2 Thess. 2:13-14; Rom. 10:8-15).
It is a high & holy privilege to pray for the salvation of lost individuals, especially loved ones. But it can also be frustrating and exhausting if we pray for years and don’t see them come to saving faith in Jesus or at least be more open to the Gospel. That is why I am so encouraged by the story of George Müller. In the 1800s, he was a Christian evangelist and director of an orphanage in Bristol, England. He was one of the founders of the Plymouth Brethren movement. Later when it split, his group was called the Open Brethren. He was a man of great faith and diligent prayer, especially for lost individuals. This is what he wrote in his journal:
“In November 1844, I began to pray for the conversion of five individuals. I prayed every day without a single intermission, whether sick or in health, on the land, on the sea, and whatever the pressure of my engagements might be. Eighteen months elapsed before the first of the five was converted. I thanked God and prayed on for the others. Five years elapsed, and then the second was converted. I thanked God for the second, and prayed on for the other three. Day by day, I continued to pray for them, and six years passed before the third was converted. I thanked God for the three, and went on praying for the other two. These two remained unconverted.”
Thirty-six years later he wrote that the other two, sons of one of Müller’s friends, were still not converted. He wrote, “But I hope in God, I pray on, and look for the answer. They are not converted yet, but they will be.” In 1897, more than fifty-two years after he began to pray daily, without interruption, for these two men, they were finally converted—but after he died!
Müller understood what Luke meant when he introduced a parable Jesus told about prayer, saying,
“Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up” (Luke 18:1).
Diane and I recently experienced this (by God’s grace while still alive) when our oldest son repented and placed his trust in Jesus alone for forgiveness, righteousness, and eternal life. He is 39-years-old, and we started praying for him before he was born. Although not as long as George Müller, 40 years seemed like a long time as we kept on praying for his salvation. When he called us last Saturday to tell us when, where, and how he surrendered his life to Jesus, we were in our car in the parking lot at the Walk For Life. We both started crying and screaming at the same time. After 40 years, the Lord had answered one of the deepest longings of our hearts. Even now, while typing this, my eyes are filling with tears of gratitude to our great God and Savior.
Our son knew the Gospel, believed it was true, and even defended the Bible and conservative values to others, but until last week he was not willing to surrender his life to Jesus. Last Saturday, the angels of heaven rejoiced over a sinner who repented and acknowledged Jesus as Savior and Lord.
Perhaps you have been praying for specific people for a long time. Please don’t grow weary in doing good. I don’t know what the Lord will do or when He will do it, but I know He wants us to pray.
As Jesus commanded us in Matthew 7:7-8,
“Keep on asking, and it will be given to you; keep on seeking, and you will find; keep on knocking, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened.”
And I hope and pray that someday you will experience the exhilaration and joy like we did when we got that phone call from our son.