How To Pray For The Salvation Of A Family

There are many things that we can pray for our family. We can pray for good health, financial provision, fruitfulness in endeavors, prosperity, protection from fear and harm, and much more. However, if there is one crucial prayer we could pray for the family that would be topmost of everything we pray, that would be a prayer for salvation. Even if all family members have the most perfect health, all the wealth they could want, and the most successful life they could ever have, all is pointless if they are not saved and haven’t found life in Christ. They may have an excellent temporary life here on earth, but their eternal well-being is still damned. In Mark 8:36-37, Jesus teaches us that there is no profit if a man gains in the world but forfeits his soul. In the end, Christ, with His promise of eternal life, is the greatest treasure we could ever have (Matthew 13:44 “The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field.).

Father in Heaven, always remind me of the urgency of praying for my family’s salvation above everything else. May they indeed find life in Christ. In Jesus’ name, I pray. Amen.

 

Why Do We Preach the Gospel?

As a believer and follower of Christ, you probably already know the very essence of the Gospel and why we should preach it to everyone, including our families. The heart of the matter is that because of Sin, death came to the world; this causes physical decay when we die, but also eternal decay because we become separated from God in hell (Romans 5:12; Romans 5:18-19; Genesis 3:19). Sin placed an eternal gap between a holy God and sinful humanity (Isaiah 59:2 But your iniquities have separated     you from your God; your sins have hidden his face from you,     so that he will not hear.). 

That is why Christ came to save us all. Christ took our Sin and paid the penalty for it (1 Peter 2:24 “He himself bore our sins” in his body on the cross, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; “by his wounds you have been healed.”). Christ lived the sinless life we should have lived, died the death we should have died, and rose again on the third day. He proved that He is indeed the Son of God. He now offers eternal life and forgiveness to those who believe in His work and repent (1 Corinthians 15:20-22; Romans 10:9-10; 1 Peter 3:18). As people who are dying both physically and spiritually, we can find life only in Christ (John 1:4). When we do so, we get to have life and live it abundantly (John 10:10 The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.). We realize our purpose, we get to live our lives solely for the Lord (Galatians 2:20), we look forward to a glorious future, we have hope despite our sufferings (Romans 8:18 I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us.), and we enjoy many other blessings.

 

Knowing how the Gospel transforms lives from glory to glory and brings life to those who are spiritually dead, we are inclined to preach the Gospel that saved us to our loved ones, friends, and even our family.

The God Who Changes Hearts

Preaching the Gospel to our families could pose a challenge, especially if we come from a background opposed to the Gospel. However, there are still truths that we can bank on no matter how challenging it may be to preach the Gospel and disciple our families.

First, we must understand that repentance and believing in the Gospel is a matter of the heart. No matter how intellectual a person is, if their hearts are hardened, they will always reject the Gospel, just like the Pharisees, who were highly intelligent people. What delivers us is that it is God Who changes the hearts of the people and not us (Ezekiel 36:26). It is God Who turns hearts of stone to hearts of flesh so that they may be humble enough to believe, repent, and follow Christ.

The second truth is that it is God Who opens the spiritual eyes of the spiritually blind. Sometimes, no matter how much we preach the Gospel to our family, they don’t see Christ for Who He is or find God’s grace and mercy because they are spiritually blind. However, God can open their spiritual eyes so they may see Christ’s essence and worship Him (John 9:25).

How to Pray for Their Salvation

Given that it is God Who softens a family’s heart and opens its members’ spiritual eyes, praying for their salvation is praying that as your family hears the Gospel, God will turn their hearts of stone to hearts of flesh and open their spiritual eyes so that they may see Christ, believe in the Gospel, repent, and follow Him. That may happen immediately or over some time. Nonetheless, it is God’s work in their lives.

Father in heaven, I pray for my family. Soften their hearts and open their spiritual eyes so that they may understand the Gospel, see Your love, grace, and mercy, know that Christ is indeed Your Son, realize that life is only found in Christ, and repent and believe Christ. In Jesus’ name, I pray. Amen.

Just as we pray for our family to be saved, it is also imperative that we speak the Gospel to them. They will not believe the Gospel unless they first hear of it, so the Gospel must be preached.