Written by: John Sernaque
Dear Reader,
Books / Pr - Prayer (2002) / Chapter 4—Prayer And Soul Winning
Pray for Souls—Begin to pray for souls; come near to Christ, close to His bleeding side. Let a meek and quiet spirit adorn your lives, and let your earnest, broken, humble petitions ascend to Him for wisdom that you may have success in saving not only your own soul, but the souls of others. Pray more than you sing. Do you not stand in greater need of prayer than of singing? Young men and women, God calls upon you to work, work for Him. Make an entire change in your course of action. You can do work that those who minister in word and doctrine cannot do. You can reach a class whom the minister cannot affect.—(Testimonies for the Church 1:513.) {Pr 45.1}
Let us also pray earnestly in behalf of those whom we expect to visit, by living faith bringing them, one by one, into the presence of God.—(Christian Service, 169.) {Pr 45.2}
Work among the lowly, the poor, and the oppressed. We should pray for and with the helpless ones who have not strength of will to control the appetites that passion has degraded. Earnest, persevering effort must be made for the salvation of those in whose hearts an interest is awakened.—(Testimonies for the Church 6:84.) {Pr 45.3}
Pray for others as you would pray for yourself. Your prayers for others should be heartfelt and earnest. Most importantly, when you tell someone that you will pray for him or her, follow through on your promise. Pray for them and pray with them. Do not let time pass. We all need prayer now, for tomorrow is not promised to anyone. Do not just pray for friends and family, pray for strangers and even your enemies. This will not only bring them closer to Christ, but it will also bring you closer to His bleeding side. For whatever you ask in His name, He will do.
Our Father, which art in heaven,
We come to the foot of Your throne, privileged to be in Your presence. Prayer is a great privilege and blessing You have bestowed upon us. We thank You for this lifeline to heaven that sustains us throughout our day. We thank You for granting us Your power from heaven. We thank You for Your grace, as You treat all Your children with care and love. Though we have sinned against You, You are a kind, loving, and forgiving God. It is our prayer, even though we all fall short of Your glory, that You forgive us of all our sins, the known and the unknown, and that You wash us clean in the blood of Christ. We have friends and family that we lift up before You. We also have strangers, and for even enemies we pray. Save us, dear Lord, hear and answer our humble cries. May our prayers rise up to You as sweet incense, especially our prayers for those who have not been coming to Your throne of grace. We pray that You do not pass them by, do not pass us by. Many of us are broken in different ways. We pray Lord that You fix us and heal us. Take the stony heart out of our flesh and give us a new heart of flesh. Create in us a clean heart, oh God, and renew a right spirit within us. Let this mind be in us, which is also in Christ Jesus. We pray to receive Your character that we may walk in Your ways. We pray that we can be an example unto others, and a source of strength to them. We pray that Your people come together under one accord, and what You have joined together, let not man put asunder. We thank You for hearing and answering our prayers, in the name of Christ Jesus, we pray. Amen.
