Praying Over Your Loved Ones for Salvation
Are you praying for someone’s salvation?
If you nodded, I have an encouraging story for you.
Wow! and Praise Jesus! resounded in my soul. And I rejoiced. I cried happy tears over a long-awaited answer to a prayer I prayed over 5,000 times.
You see, when my twin sister and I were little, our father disappeared from our life. My mom and stepfather took us to church, but we didn’t understand much about God or prayer.
Along about fourth grade, my dad reappeared and wanted to be a part of my life again. I’ll never forget what he told me at nine-years-old, “People think there’s a God, but there’s not.”
Not understanding it at the time, I knew later my dad was an atheist. This confused my young heart, wondering, Is God real and does He love me?
Yet, I was in church and Sunday school each week hearing about the God of the Bible and about Jesus.
Do you have family and friends who need Jesus? Jesus loves us so much, He died for us. Christ died for you and me, our loved ones and the world.
Do you have family and friends who need Jesus? Jesus loves us so much, He died for us. Christ died for you and me, our loved ones and the world. #salvation Click To TweetMy Salvation Story
Then something wonderful happened. At sixteen, both my sister and I prayed to receive Jesus Christ as Savior at a church revival. Sixteen turned out to be sweet after all.
That night as I crawled into bed, I decided to pray daily for my father to believe in God and accept Christ. Even though I was a young Christian, I missed very few days praying for his salvation.
Soon I went off to college and continued to pray and asked others to pray, too. My husband and I met on campus and were both called into ministry. My dad knew what we believed and how our lives centered around the Lord.
But, I admit my faith waned many times. My dad seemed hard-hearted and unreachable. So when I was a young woman, a mentor encouraged me to insert my father’s name into Scripture about salvation and pray it out loud.
John 3:16, For God so loved Gene, that he gave his only Son, that if Gene believes in him, he will not perish but have eternal life.
Romans 10:13, If Gene calls on the name of the Lord, he will be saved.
Power When Scripture’s Prayed: Salvation and More
And there were other Bible verses; I looked up as many as I could find and faithfully prayed them over my father.
I still practice this idea by inserting my family and friend’s names in Bible verses for specific needs, salvation and others.
Fast forward a few years. We were having a birthday party for my paternal grandmother at her nursing home. Dad approached me teary-eyed, “Karen, did you hear the news? I accepted Christ as my Savior.”
My heart hardly believed it! I was thirty-two. A sixteen-year prayer finally answered. Sixteen long and often impatient years grew my faith in God and my firm belief in prayer.
When We Underestimate Prayer
Because many times we underestimate the power of prayer to change situations and people…to change us.
We move the spiritual world when we praise the Lord, recognize who God is, petition the Almighty, speak God’s Word in prayer, and intercede for others, including for someone’s salvation.
We move the spiritual world when we praise the Lord, recognize who God is, petition the Almighty, speak God’s Word in prayer, and intercede for others, including for someone's salvation. #prayer Click To TweetBut sometimes our own thoughts, the enemy or other people trick our heart into thinking God is holding out on us. Maybe a prayer went unanswered in how we wanted the situation to turn out.
Or, we’ve prayed for something so long, it seems impossible. Friend, keep praying for your loved one’s salvation. I still have family members who need Jesus.
1 Thessalonians 5:17 tells us to pray without ceasing. And the power of prayer and what it accomplishes is seen in James 5:14-16, pray for the sick and for each other, “The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working” (verse 16, ESV).
This passage is one of my favorites:
“Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen” (Ephesians 3:20-21, NIV, emphasis added).
Never Giving Up on Prayers Prayed
Maybe you’ve prayed hundreds or thousands of prayers for someone’s salvation.
Maybe you've prayed hundreds or thousands of prayers for someone's salvation. Never give up, I'm a testament to faithful prayer in seeing my father accept Christ. #Prayer Click To TweetRemember, we pray to a God who is able to do immeasurably and abundantly more than we ever imagine in our human minds and limitations. Like a daughter’s prayer for her atheist dad’s salvation, prayed for sixteen years, and over 5,000 times.
I’m a testament to faithful prayer in seeing my father accept Christ. Never, ever give up on prayer.
Share in the comments someone who needs Jesus I can pray for and I’ll add it to my prayer journal, i.e., “my husband, my brother, friend” and so on.
Also see, 12 Scriptures to Personalize With Names and Pray.
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Sometimes I participate in these link-ups:
Legacy Linkup/Inspire Me Monday/Tell His Story/Recharge Wednesday/Let’s Have Coffee/Tune in Thursday/Embracing the Unexpected (Grace & Truth) and Faith On Fire.
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I need to do a much better job of praying for the salvation of those I care about who do not know the Lord, or whose hearts are hardened to His message. Thank you for the conviction and inspiration!
We all need this reminder, Jessica. John 3:16, For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that if Gene believes in him, he will not perish but have eternal life.
Perhaps some of my most fervent prayers are those for the salvation of beloved family members. While I can’t know the heart of another, I can “judge” by their actions and reactions whose spirit they have controlling their heart and thoughts. While I dread the idea of eternity without my child, sibling, etc., I recognize that God won’t allow the heartache and heartbreak I have for them in this life into eternity. For me, it makes me pray even harder that they find their way to Him before it’s too late. I can’t fathom what they’ll have to suffer if they come to Christ post-rapture. Another great post Ms. Karen.
You bring up some valid points and thoughts to prompt us all to see the urgency in praying over lost souls in our family. It’s never too late to start faithfully calling out each of their names to the God who is mighty to save, before it’s too late for their salvation.
I love this one. Thank you so much for sharing.
Thank you, Rebecca. Glad this encouraged you in some way. Many times we underestimate the power of prayer to change situations and people…to change us. But it’s all that and more!
The most powerful praying I ever did was for a prodigal son who ran from God for about fourteen years of his life. Every time Jesus prayed, he wept. I read about Augustine, who ran from God, but who was followed wherever he went by his Christian mother, who prayed for him to return to the Lord, weeping with many tears. That’s exactly how I prayed for our son. At times it seemed impossible, but then, he called one day, and he had worked out his anger at the Lord, returning to Him wholeheartedly. He is still walking with Jesus decades later. God is good! Thank you for sharing this post, Karen. We always need to be reminded to trust the Lord in prayer.
A powerful testimony about your son, Melinda. Praying for prodigals is so important for their spiritual well-being. Thankful you endured through 14 years, believing it would finally happen. Thank God it did! God is faithful!
I wish I was more consistent with praying for family. Sometimes familiarity makes me forget to pray for their souls. I needed this reminder. Thanks Karen
Yvonne, it’s easy to forget those closest to us need prayer. We can ask the Lord to prompt our hearts and minds to pray over them. God bless!
I certainly need this encouragement today, Karen, as I do have family members that aren’t committed to following the Lord. I will be sure to keep on praying!
Blessings!
I will pray for them too, Martha! God bless!
What a wonderful testimony of God’s grace. I have several relatives for whose salvation I pray.
Praying for your relatives, Barbara. Praying the Holy Spirit draws them to the Lord.
Hope is alive…so with this statement, I am reminded daily to remain steadfast in praying for lost souls. Two in my immediate family need salvation. I pray for them daily. Their names are David and Cameron. Prayer is powerful.
Lisa, I will join you in praying over David and Cameron. Insert their names in these scirptures about salvation and pray them, sometimes out loud even. Thanks for sharing. Blessings.
We often feel like our prayers bounce off our ceilings. I’ve been praying for a friends son for a long time. Even so, I was waiting for THE phone call when she’d tell me he is gone.
When I recently talked with her, she informed me that he is doing great. He’s active in church and working to help others escape the trap he inhabited not that long ago.
Our loved ones need our prayers. We can never give up.
That’s a great testament to God’s power. Thanks for sharing it here, Nancy. That encourages us all to pray onward.
What a beautiful post. Please do pray for my husband.
Praying over your husband, Linda. Will put this in my prayer journal.
A good reminder that I can relate to. I prayed for my husband’s salvation for 30+ years before he came to Christ.
Wow, Ava. That is amazing! No, we never give up.
Hi
Greetings in the name of Jesus.
How can I be part of your ministry
Thanks for your comment, appreciate your kindness.
There are times when the ones we love most are the ones who need the most prayer.
That’s true, Melissa. Let’s keep pouring prayers over them before the throne of the Almighty.
What a moment that must have been for you when your Dad finally accepted Christ after 16 years of prayer! That is a true blessing. Thanks for sharing your story and reminding us to never give up!
It was a moment I’ll never forget, Lisa. We move the spiritual world when we praise the Lord, recognize who God is, petition the Almighty, speak God’s Word in prayer, and intercede for others, including for someone’s salvation.
Karen, this is so beautiful. Brought me to tears. I pray daily for those in my family and for friends for saving. Over the years I have seen some of them come to Christ. It is joyous! Blessings, Deborah
So grateful this encouraged you, Deborah. I still get teary thinking about my dad’s salvation. I’m a testament to faithful prayer in seeing my father accept Christ. Never, ever give up on prayer. God bless.
thanks for this powerful reminder not to give up prayer, not to give up hope. God is able …
Hi Linda, we pray to a God who is able to do immeasurably and abundantly more than we ever imagine in our human minds and limitations.
What an encouraging testimony, Karen … ❤️
Thanks so much, Lois. I never want to get over the power of prayer or someone coming to know Jesus as Lord and Savior.
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This was so encouraging! Thank you for sharing. Please pray for my son Rick who is 28 prodigal and my loved one Laquentin whi is 50 and a prodigal also. They both are being held captive by the enemy to addictions and strongholds . God bless you for agreeing and placing these names in your journal.
Oh, Stacy! I’m so sorry to hear about these prodigals you love so much. I don’t know how I missed this comment from several weeks ago! Satan is such a liar and very deceptive. Joining you to cover them in prayer, their names are in my prayer journal. I will be asking the Lord to put the blood of Jesus between Rick and Laquentin and the enemy, to put the cross of calvary between them and the enemy’s strongholds. In the name of Jesus!
Please, pray for Jason, Michele, Cale, and their families’ salvation. Jason doesn’t believe God exists. Michele doesn’t think he needs to have a personal relationship. Cale believes he should live for his pleasure. Please pray that they are saved, they return to Stacey, Tecla, and I, and we follow God together. Thank you!
Hello, I will definitely save your comment and pray over these loved ones.
Hi Karen,
Thank you for this encouraging testimony. Please pray for a girl I used to know named Jenna. She is carried away by the things of the world, as are her friends, and while she has heard the gospel, has not yet received it. Pray that God would chase after her heart as He did mine. Thank you!
Hey Grant, I am defintely in prayer over Jenna. I will be pleading the blood over the forces of this world swaying her in the wrong direction and that the Holy Spirit would lead her to Christ. Her name is now written in my prayer journal for salvation. God bless.
Hi, my son is only 13 and I gave him the salvation prayer to read and he didn’t read it out loud he just read it to himself. So I asked him did he believe what he read he shook his head yes. So I started getting excited then he said no. I am unsure if he is saved or not. Please pray for my son’s, Isaiah Berry-Friend, soul salvation and that I gain custody of him again and pray that he wants to come home with me. Because he’s been saying that he doesn’t want to come back to live with me. He’s living in a residential treatment facility right now but more than anything I am concerned about his soul salvation. Thank you.
Hi Christine, Thank you for sharing this with me. I will definitely be praying that your son’s eyes are open to the truth of the gospel message and that he will desire the Lord’s salvation-gift of eternal life. Praying that he will be back home with you. Praying for you too. This must be so hard on a mother’s heart.
Hi, I stumbled across your page while looking for the prayer for salvation in case I’m ever in a time to help someone..and I read your article, I love your testimony about your Father and I believe in the power of prayer too, although I do tend to get off course a bit and waver in my faith. I am about to marry my Fiancé in May, and was wondering if you might pray for him as he’s an unbeliever. I’m a believer and so at times we do bump heads, but I have seem him grow and come a ways to being more open to God. But still he has not received Jesus as his Lord and Savior. I pray that one day he will be saved
Hi Elizabeth, I’m glad the article spoke to you and you shared your story with me. I will absolutely pray for your fiance to accept Christ as Lord and Savior. There is power in prayer and I like to practice inserting names (my loved ones or my own) into scripture and praying God’s Word back to Him. It’s a powerful practice. God bless.