Today, as I began praying for the Unreached People Groups of the world... I felt like I was leaving out a lot of people who desperately need prayer--the many people around the world who have never heard the Gospel but do not belong to an Unreached People Group or those who have heard, but did not understand. What a blessing it is to pray for our future brothers and sisters in Christ who right now, are still among the lost. For the sake of simplicity--and since we don't know who will respond--let's just refer to them as the Lost.
God also showed me, through His word, that there is something missing from my prayers for the Lost. 1 Corinthians 2 makes it clear that without the Holy Spirit... things of the Spirit, which would include the Gospel of Jesus Christ, make no sense to the Lost. To them, it sounds like utter foolishness. So this simple prayer is very important:
Holy Spirit, please help the Lost to understand the Gospel.
In Jesus' name, Amen.
So starting with Prayer #1 for the Unreached, adding this new one and going through Prayer #5, let's pray for the Lost.
From Romans 1:5-16: Heavenly Father, help me, my local church and the world-wide Church as we call the Lost to the obedience that comes from faith for Jesus’ name’s sake. We know that they are called to belong to Jesus Christ. They are loved by you, God, and they are called to be your holy people. We pray that the Lost would hear the Gospel, which is the power of God that brings salvation. [From 1 Corinthians 2] Holy Spirit, please help the Lost to understand the Gospel.
From Jeremiah 24: 6-7. We pray that your eyes will watch over them for their good; that you will build them up and not tear them down. Please God, give the Lost a heart to know you, that you are the LORD! They will be your people, and you will be their God, for they will turn to you with all their heart.
Psalm 86:8-10: We pray that the Lost would come to know that among the gods, there is none like you! That no deeds can compare with yours. God, may they come and worship before you. May they bring glory to your name, for you are great and do marvelous deeds. We pray that they would come to know that you, alone, are God!
From 1 Peter 2:9-10: Heavenly Father, we pray for our future brothers and sisters in Christ, who right now, are still lost. They are a chosen people, God’s special possession. May they declare your praises, for you are calling them out of darkness into your wonderful light. Let it be said that, "Once, they were Lost, but now they are people of God."
Psalm 67:1-3 (verbatim): May God be gracious to us and bless us and make his face shine on us—so that your ways may be known on earth, your salvation among all nations. May the peoples praise you, God; may all the peoples praise you.Â
In Jesus' name, Amen!