Prayer and Evangelism

Pray for the salvation of those you know.

1 Timothy 2:1 “Therefore I exhort first of all that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks be made for all men…”

Pray that God would provide an opportunity to be a witness to those people.

Romans 1:16-17 “For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, ‘The just shall live by faith.’”

Pray every day.

James 5:16-18 “The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much. Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed earnestly that it would not rain; and it did not rain on the land for three years and six months. And he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain, and the earth produced its fruit.”

Don’t feel guilty if you miss a day or two, or three.

Psalm 51:16-17 “For You do not desire sacrifice, or else I would give it; You do not delight in burnt offering. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit, a broken and a contrite heart--these, O God, You will not despise.”

This is not about success or numbers. You are already successful because you are loved by God and are a lover of God, notwithstanding your failings.

Be ready to explain not only why you are a Christian but why it is reasonable to be a Christian.

1 Peter 3:15 “But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts, and always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you, with meekness and fear;…”

Don’t worry about not being able to answer every question or how eloquent you are. It is God who opens people’s eyes and saves them, and He will certainly not be restricted because you are not super awesome. In fact, He loves to choose those who are not super awesome to do His work so that in the end, everybody realizes that it’s Him who is super awesome.

Prayer and evangelism are inseparable.

Ps 51:11-13 “Do not cast me away from Your presence, and do not take Your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of Your salvation, and uphold me by Your generous Spirit. Then I will teach transgressors Your ways, and sinners shall be converted to You.”

Your heart will be softened and warmed by the fire of God’s word and His presence when you are praying. Your love for the lost and your desire to see them saved from death will grow in direct proportion to your experience of God’s love and mercy for you. Without this fire that is only found in prayer, you may get burned out because your motivation is misplaced.

Expect to draw near to God. There are no guarantees about anything else.

James 4:8 “Draw near to God and He will draw near to you.”

You may or may not experience outward success as you share the gospel. Bad things might happen to you as a result. People might not respond to the message. The Bible is full of examples of people who endured all kinds of external hardship and lack of external success while drawing near to God. (David, Jonah, Joseph, Abraham, Moses, Paul, John, and Jesus to name a few)