Who would you most like to see come to know Christ as their Savior? Your spouse? One of your children? A dear friend? A grandchild?
If you’re like me, every time you think of this person, your heart aches, because you know if they don’t accept Christ, they will die one day and spend eternity in hell. This frightens me—that someone I love could spend eternity separated from God (and from me). May it never be.
But the reality is that one day we will all stand before the judgment seat of Christ and give an account. The entrance exam to heaven has one question:
The entrance exam to heaven has one question:
Who are you trusting in?
There’s only one right answer: “I’m trusting in Jesus Christ as my Savior.”
For years I couldn’t give that answer. The best I could do was hope my good works outweighed my bad works on judgment day. Some of my acquaintances, friends, and loved ones can’t give this answer because they haven’t yet come to faith in Jesus Christ. They’re still trusting in their works to get them into heaven. They don’t understand the truth of Ephesians 2:8-9:
“For by grace you have been saved, through faith, and that not of yourselves, it is a gift of God, not of works, lest any man shall boast.”
Because I love them, I witness to them, serve them, and do my best to demonstrate God’s love to them. But the most important thing I can do is to pray for them.
I ask God to open their hearts to believe. Scripture tells us that no one comes to God unless the Father draws him (John 6:65), so it makes sense to ask God to draw our loved ones to himself and open their hearts to believe.
The book of Acts tells of a woman named Lydia. She was a religious woman who was trying to worship God as best she knew how. But she hadn’t trusted Jesus as her Savior. Paul shared the Gospel with her, like we should with our unbelieving loved ones. And then something miraculous happened. Acts 16:14 describes it this way:
“The Lord opened her heart to respond to Paul’s message.”
Apart from God opening a person’s heart to believe, the message of the Gospel falls on deaf ears. The spiritually dead cannot receive the life-giving truths of Scripture unless God opens their hearts. This is what we should pray for.
The take away from Acts 16 is simple: Pray for the people you love who don’t know Christ as their Savior. And when you pray, ask God to open their hearts. Pray and don’t stop.
“For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved” (Rom. 10:10).
If you leave your loved one’s first name in the comment box below, I’d be honored to pray for them.
Does Your Faith Need Refreshing?
That’s in the Bible? I’ve never noticed that before.
It’s probably been too long since you’ve newly discovered a story that speaks to your soul or a verse that pops with truth. But that’s about to change!
Refresh Your Faith contains 66 culturally relevant, story-driven devotions, one from each book of the Bible. Each real-life story spotlights an unusual verse or Bible passage that you may have overlooked in your usual Bible reading. Lori Hatcher challenges you with additional features like an uncommon thought to ponder; an unusual faith action step; and an unfamiliar passage suggestion for additional Bible reading.
When the fabulous has become familiar and your quiet times are more like nap times, it’s time to step out of spiritual boredom and ignite the spark that will keep you growing. No matter where you are on your faith journey, Lori’s conversational and engaging style will challenge you to think about things you’ve never thought about before.
“Real-life inspiration and candid wit. These 5-minute devotions will change your life.” —Psychologist and best-selling author Dr. Kevin Leman, commenting on Lori Hatcher’s devotional style
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