Praying For Salvation

The Apostle Paul was a man of deep, deep theology. God obviously endowed him with a very capable mind. God also granted him a heart that was so shaped by theology that it produced deep love for God and fellow man. Paul's theology didn't produce a man who was stiff, cold, harsh and careless for the souls of others. Sadly, that description has more or less fit numerous people over the years who had high, lofty theological thoughts. In the book of Romans, we see the depth of rich gospel understanding. We see Paul expound bedrock truths concerning sin, human corruption, imputation, righteousness, justification, faith, adoption, election, predestination, etc. Right alongside this stream of heady doctrines, we see a man who had profound love and concern for the spiritual well-being of fellow human beings

Paul longed to see the salvation of others. In the context of Romans 10:1, he particularly was speaking of his native people of Israel. The fact that so many in Israel had access to the Old Testament Scriptures, had been exposed like no other nation to the works and deeds of God...and yet still did not embrace Jesus in repentance and faith was a grief to Paul. This nation to whom Jesus first came and the gospel was first preached was marked by a reliance upon their own deeds and performance rather than upon the perfect performance of Christ. This was a burden to Paul. Let me clarify: when I say it was a burden to Paul, I don't mean it wasn't something Paul had a sad thought about every now and again. It was a source of “great heaviness and continual sorrow” to him (Rom. 9:2).

We see this same attitude when Paul talked with King Agrippa about the things of Christ. His words to Agrippa: “I would to God, that not only thou, but also all that hear me this day, were both almost, and altogether such as I am, except these bonds” (Acts 26:29). Paul's heart is screaming out, “Oh, that you and all that hear me could see what I see in Christ, could know the love that I know! I wouldn't wish my chains of imprisonment on you, but I would wish that you knew my Savior.” So, we see Paul had a deep desire for the salvation of others. He had a continual heavy sorrow, and as noted in Romans 10:1, he prayed for the salvation of others. A question for your personal consideration: do the desires of your heart and your prayers resemble those of the great apostle in this way?

Not only did Paul personally pray this way, he even solicited the prayers of other churches. He exhorted the Thessalonian church to pray that the gospel would run unhindered and be glorified “even as it is with you” (2 Thess. 3:2). How had the gospel been glorified among the Thessalonians? 1 Thessalonians 1 tells us. The Spirit brought Paul's preaching of the gospel to their hearts in such a way that they were radically changed. They repented of their former sinful lifestyle and embraced the crucified and risen Jesus in faith. They became imitators of Paul as he imitated Jesus. They turned away from idol worship and worshiped God through Christ alone. They were so committed to Jesus that they endured persecution for His sake. Paul was essentially saying, “Thessalonian brothers and sisters: pray that the Lord would cause His gospel to have such effect that what happened to you would happen to others!”

You have read the glorious truths Paul wrote about the Scriptural doctrine of election in Romans 9. You believe rightly that God has chosen a particular people from among the human race that He will most definitely bring to salvation. You rightly rest in the reality that God's purposes will stand; He will have mercy on whom he will have mercy (Rom. 9:15). And so you may think, “If God has already chosen whom He will save, it is useless to pray for the salvation of others. If one believes in election, it is inconsistent with election to pray for the salvation of others.” That may seem logical and fit neatly into a paradigm of thinking. However, it is not Biblical! Remember that the same Paul who the Spirit inspired to pen the blessed truths of election, prayed the prayer of Romans 10:1 and carried the continual sorrow in his heart for the spiritual well-being of others.

A right understanding of election is not meant to produce a spirit of fatalism (“What will be will be. It's none of my business. It's vain to pray for the salvation of others. God has already decided all that.”) If that or something like that is one's personal application of the glorious truth of election, it is a sad misapplication...it certainly was not Paul's application.

Here is the reality: Paul taught the precious truths of election, but he didn't know who all the elect were! In a faithful living out of “May your name be hallowed, may your kingdom come” and “love thy neighbor,” Paul prayed for the spiritual well-being of his neighbors. The truth is: the best thing that could happen to your child, your cousin, your co-worker, the sexually promiscuous and confused, and the person who relies on their own performance for salvation...the best thing that could happen to them is that God would open their eyes to see, know and embrace Jesus Christ. Thus, it glorifies God for us to love our neighbors in this world by praying for what would be most beneficial to their souls. The Lord doesn't tell us to know all His secret, eternal counsels concerning the list of the elect. He does give us the example of men like Paul who fervently loved and prayed for fellow man. The stream of Divine election runs right alongside the stream of warm-hearted love and prayer for the salvation of souls who were created in the image of God. The God who elected certain sinners to salvation is the same God who answers the prayers of His people according to His holy will.

Furthermore, such prayers are assumed to be with the spirit of submission to the will of God. We will commit to still trust that God is good and wise even if the ones we pray for don't repent of sin and believe on Christ. God's sovereign will is always good and right, even if it's not what we have prayed for. But, that shouldn't hinder us from praying! Just as we don't know if it is God's secret will to heal a friend from cancer, we know it is certainly pleasing and glorifying to Him to ask for that blessing.

The truth is, election is a great comfort to us. While Paul had continual sorrow, he wasn't in panic mode or despair. He knew and took courage that God would indeed save every last one of those who He predestined to eternal life. This surely helped Paul's confidence as he preached the gospel: favorable responses to Paul's gospel were not dependent on Paul's persuasive powers but on the mighty hand of a sovereign God. The truth of election saves us from unnecessary guilt in evangelism (“Was I persuasive enough? Did I share the right verse? Would a better illustration have gotten the job done?”) Rightly applying the truths of election and prayer for gospel fruit delivers both from deadening fatalism and from misapplied guilt and despair.

When Paul prayed for gospel fruit and the salvation of souls, his very act of praying glorified God as the Savior! The same is true when you and I pray for such. True prayer exalts and magnifies God because the petitioning acknowledges that God is the only source who can supply what is being asked for, in this case salvation. To illustrate: if a small, poor country requests a larger, more powerful country for military protection, it “glorifies” the capability of that larger country. It is an acknowledgment: “We are not strong enough; we don't have the ability to protect ourselves. But, you do. Help us!”

Back to the Thessalonians, when Paul thought about the work of saving grace in them, he said: “But we are bound to give thanks alway to God for you, brethren beloved of the Lord, because God hath from the beginning chosen you to salvation through sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth: Whereunto he called you by our gospel, to the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ” (2 Thess. 2:13,14). Paul noted that he was “bound” to give thanks to God for their salvation. “Bound” conveys the idea of a debt obligation. “Lord, you did this! You saved these believers in Thessalonica. We owe you thanks because you did it.” Both the asking and the thanksgiving exalt God as the only Savior of sinners.

Perhaps you have prayed for an unbelieving relative for years. You have tried to develop a relationship and share the good news of Jesus with a Hindu co-worker. But, you see no fruit. You get discouraged and weighed down by the thick spiritual darkness of the culture in which we live. You grieve over the precious little hunger for the things of Christ in our age. People seem distracted, addicted to entertainment, too busy for Jesus or church, or hardened in Christ-less religions. It is at times like these that we should be stirred up to prayer! But, it is also at times like these that prayer can seem ineffective.

My exhortation and encouragement is not: “If you will pray 6 times a day for the next 3 weeks for your Hindu co-worker, he will be knocking down your door begging you to explain the gospel to him in a month's time.” He may and praise be to God if he does. But, my encouragement is to remind you of the great God to whom we pray and the great things He has done. Jesus saved prostitutes, greedy and cold-hearted tax collectors, people blinded by Christ-less religion and even a criminal in his dying hours hanging on a cross. Keep praying! God is able to save. Regardless of what His hidden will is regarding the salvation of certain individuals, He is glorified in the attitude and prayer that follows the example of the Apostle Paul. Rock-solid, God-honoring theology that produces warm and prayerful hearts for the Savior to save!