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Praying for Breakthrough in Evangelism

Many people have family, friends and work mates who do not know the Lord. We often pray and ask the Lord to impact their lives. But how should we pray? Is there a formula? Are there things we can pray specifically that will help?

These are questions that I have been pondering and asking the Lord about over the last few months. The following is some of the answers I have got back and I have started to put into practice.

1. Pray for your environment

By praying for your environment I don't mean laying hands on trees and shrubs! I mean praying for the place you spend most of your time or where you feel the Lord wants you to impact.

Pray that it will be a place where God's Word can be preached openly,
that God will raise up people to preach the Word,
that the Holy Spirit will impact people's lives and draw them to Jesus Christ, and
It is also very important to pray that God will bind the powers and principalities that rule over the area (see Ephesians chapter 6).

Illustration - Whenever we go out and deliver Jesus videos door to door we have someone praying in a car on the route and others at home praying also. The times when we have the best results are the times we have been petitioning the Lord for a particular area.

On one occasion, when we were finding it tough going, we rang back to our prayer warriors and let them know what was happening. Before long ten homes in a row took the video.

2. Pray for those around you

When praying for others I have found that it is best to pray for the Holy Spirit to start to move in their lives. The Bible says that the Holy Spirit has come to convict the world of sin, righteousness and judgement and to draw people to and glorify Jesus (John 16).

When I pray for someone that the Lord has placed on my heart I pray -

Holy Spirit convict them of their sin,
Holy Spirit show them their need for a Saviour,
Holy Spirit draw them to Jesus Christ,
I also pray that God will protect them and keep their minds open to the message. We have to remember that just as much as God wants to be a part of people's lives, Satan doesn't and wants them to continue as they are.

Illustration - I have had several times where the Lord has placed someone on my heart and I have started praying daily for these things. Before long they have almost "hunted" me down wanting to ask me questions to find out more about my faith.

3. Praying for yourself

I believe that it is equally important to pray for yourself when you are reaching out to those around you. Not only should we be praying for protection and covering for our families and ourselves, but we should be praying God will help us when the opportunity arises to share our faith.

I pray and ask God to give me the right words to say,
that I will have His peace with me when I am speaking for Him, and
that I will be open to His Holy Spirit for His leading.

That way I will be in the best position to play my part when opportunity comes my way!

A Prayer to help in your outreach efforts

Lord Jesus,

We just thank you now for what You have done for us.
We thank You that You came and died for us on the cross to pay the price for our sin.
We thank You that You loved us so much that You reached out to save us.
We pray today Lord for our friends and family who don't know You.
We pray that You will reach out to them with Your love.
Holy Spirit draw them to Jesus Christ.
Holy Spirit convict them of their sin.
Holy Spirit show them their need for a Saviour We also pray Lord for ourselves.
We pray You will help us to be prepared for when an opportunity arises.
We pray that You will bring people across our path who are ready to receive Jesus as their Lord and Saviour.
Give us courage and wisdom, help us to know what to say and help us to be a link in the chain that leads our loved ones, friends and neighbours to Christ.

We ask this in Jesus name,
Amen

Closing

So wherever you are in your outreach efforts I would encourage you to start praying for your environment, for those around you and for yourself. Before long you will start to see the results and remember, "It won't happen over night, but it will happen!"

By Dave Quinn
Founder PASSION Australia