How to Pray for Lost Loved Ones
May 10th, 2008
How to Pray for Lost Loved Ones
by Dutch Sheets
This book is small but awesome and to the point if you have lost loved ones. And, if someone in your life is unfaithful in marriage, this book can help learn what it takes to become effective in prayer.
Eileen and I both went through Evangelism Explosion several years ago as did my parents, and my father and I helped bring this program back to our church. However, most recently, Eileen and I purchased the Way of the Master beginning and intermediate programs as well as the crash course and the children’s evangelism book and brought our church though the beginner’s evangelism program.
I highly recommend Ray Comfort’s and Kirk Cameron’s Way of the Master program and materials. It is by far the best program I have found for getting people to present the Gospel in a way that is truly Biblical and effective and avoids many of the pitfalls of many other evangelism programs that all too often lead people into a false conversion.
Another gentleman named William Lau and his wife came and presented the Elijah Challenge training in our church a couple times, and it, too, is an excellent program in that it introduces another Biblical side of evangelism and that is evangelism though miracles and healing.
I think it is vital to keep a proper balance. The conversion does not happen merely because someone sees a miracle and decides to go along with God. In that situation, you very well may end up with a person like Simon the magician willing to pay to get the power to create miracles, and that’s not good, and it is not a true conversion.
God does do miracles. There are indeed miracles that can take place and open the eyes to the people to the Gospel. But, still, whether miracles are used or not, people need to be brought to the place where the know without a shadow what it is to be a sinner and why this puts us into a bad relationship with God. Many evangelism programs try to give the answers and lead a person through a sinner’s prayer but too often leave people in a state where they have merely carried out yet another ritual or program or rattled off the words of a prayer without really coming to a place of true repentance and salvation.
The Way of the Master goes into the 10 commandments. From the start, a person might be asked, “Do you consider yourself to be a good person?” Of course, most people would naturally say, “Yes”. The feeling is that we haven’t done anything seriously wrong like robbing a bank or murdering someone. However, have you ever lied? What does that make you? Ouch. Have you ever stolen anything? What does that make you?
The point here is not to condemn anyone but rather to bring us all to realize we are already rightfully condemned before a holy and just God who must tell the truth about our character and therefore cannot allow us into a place as holy and good as heaven or else our character would bring utter ruin to heaven if our selfishness were to allow to continue unchecked. Sin brings more sin. One lie requires more to cover the first sin. Addictions and habits take hold and deepen and take over a person, and over an infinite number of years, any place where a sinner resides would eventually become ten times worse than hell is right now.
But, God has to honor our freedom to choose who we will be and what we will love and hate. Will we be faithful to Him? Will we love Him? Will He be our Lord, or will we choose to trust and obey ourselves and our lusts and our fears instead?
So, with the Way of the Master, we all learn we really are sinners and are in big trouble with God. If we have a false repentance and are continuing to live in sin, that is exposed and we have no plea for our defense before God. God gave us the ten commandments as examples to show whether we really do love Him and our fellow human being or whether we do not. And, we all stand as violators of God’s commandments. We have all thwarted the authority of an infinitely loving and worthy and holy God. We all hang treacherously from a very thin thread of life over the pit of hell mocking God, abusing God, disobeying God, daring Him to snap the thread and waiting for the flames of hell to lick that thread in two before we turn from our sins and accept the salvation bought by Jesus Christ as He died on the cross to pay the penalty for our sins.
If you have not repented and turned from your sin, you are in a very dangerous place. Why not repent from your sins right now and ask God to forgive you? Why not thank Him for taking your place on the cross and paying for your sins? Why not throw yourself on the alter and offer your life a living sacrifice to God leaving your sin behind right now? Later is not an option you can depend on. Now is the only moment you have. If your heart fails, if you have a sudden aneurysm in your brain and it takes your life suddenly, if you cross in front of a car and are hit, or if you die in your sleep, where will you be? With God? Or lost forever with no hope? Can you lead your loved ones to Christ and up and out of sin if you will not give yourself to Christ in repentance yourself?
We need to be saved ourselves and then turn and learn how to lead others out of sin and away from a path to hell and to salvation through Jesus Christ, and the sooner we give ourselves to this service, the more God can use us to reach more people for Christ. Truth is, soon is not soon enough. The only thing that is soon enough is now. Right now. Here and right now. Don’t take another step. Don’t wait for something else to happen or for a better time. If you have to cry right there at your computer before others in your workplace and it costs you your pride, you will have to lose that pride to receive Jesus as your Lord anyway, and this may be why you are reading this at this time because now is the time of your salvation. Do not let it slip away for one minute longer. Surrender to Jesus. Put down your weapons of sin and rebellion and pride and self-righteousness. Give it up. They way to rule you as your lord, but Jesus will not share the throne of your life with any other lords. Dethrone them. Refuse them. Repent from ever having surrendered to them. Give up your slavery to them. They do not seek your well being but only bait you for your own destruction. Give it up and turn to Jesus Christ right now and have for the remainder of eternity a Lord who loved you dearly enough to die for you.
Chances are the lord you chose to rule over your life will be the one you chose tomorrow and the next day. Don’t let this time of decision go unaddressed. Surrender to Jesus Christ and repent and be saved from a life of sin and ruin.