Tying Together Prayer and Evangelism

We’re in a series of articles about prayer, so it might seem odd that our focus this week is

also on evangelism. There’s a reason for this connection, however: we cannot separate telling the gospel to non-believers from asking God to open their closed hearts. The discipline of evangelism without the accompanying discipline of prayer is missing something vital.  

Praying for unbelievers 

Let’s look at some background to understand this point. Five times in the New Testament (in one case, as he quotes Jesus while telling his testimony), the apostle Paul describes non-believers in terms of spiritual conflict: 

• They are following the “prince of the power of the air” (Eph 2:1-2). 

• They are in the kingdom of darkness (Col 1:13).  

• They are blinded by the god of this age (2 Cor 4:3-4) 

• They are caught in the devil’s trap (2 Tim 2:26).  

• They are blinded, in darkness, and under the power of Satan (Acts 26:18). 

  
  

Whenever you see this kind of repetition in the Scriptures, you can assume you should pay attention. Paul clearly wants us to know that evangelism is not going to be easy; in fact, it’s an offensive battle seeking to take the gospel of freedom to people caught in bondage. 

God alone transfers people from darkness to light, frees them from the enemy’s trap, opens their blinded minds, and releases them from Satan’s power—so it makes sense that we must seek Him and His transforming power as we evangelize non-believers. With the same passion Paul had as he prayed for Israel to be saved (Rom 10:1), we can pray for others. 

Prayer in this case is again a confession that we cannot change hearts; only God does that work. In fact, I use these texts to guide my praying for loved ones and friends who don’t know Jesus. Here’s how I might pray, for example, for my one remaining family member who is not a believer: 

Father, I pray for (name). She’s following the enemy and doesn’t even know it. Help her to see the folly of the path she’s pursuing. Lord, I’m not sure what the devil’s doing to keep her blinded to the gospel, but I’m asking you to counter whatever his strategy is and open her blinded mind. Free her from Satan’s power and transfer her to the kingdom of Your Son. In Jesus’ name, amen.   

By praying the Word, I don’t have to manufacture my prayer. I can simply intercede for my loved one by letting the Word guide my praying. It’s really that easy—and that burdensome at the same time.  

Praying for the gospel witnesses  

At the same time that we’re praying for God to open blinded minds and save those for whom we are praying, we need others to pray for us, too. Again, it’s the apostle Paul who helps us think in this direction as he sought prayer support from the Ephesians and the Colossians.  

Hear first his words to the Ephesians: 

Pray also for me, that the message may be given to me when I open my mouth to make known with boldness the mystery of the gospel. For this I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I might be bold enough to speak about it as I should. (Eph 6:19-20) 

Then, read his similar words to the Colossians: 

At the same time, pray also for us that God may open a door to us for the word, to speak the mystery of Christ, for which I am in chains, so that I may make it known as I should. (Col 4:3-4)

“Pray that I will speak the gospel with courage,” Paul wrote, “and pray for me, too, that I will speak it clearly. Ask God to give me open doors and opportunities to evangelize.” What strikes me about these requests is that Paul was in prison as he wrote them for speaking the gospel boldly any time he had had opportunity. In essence, he sought prayer support that he would keep doing with boldness and clarity what got him in trouble in the first place! 

If Paul himself felt the need for prayer support to do evangelism, surely you and I need that help, too. Fear often keeps us from evangelizing—so we need others to pray for us to push past that fear. It’s also easy to worry about not having the right answers or speaking the wrong words; for that reason, the prayer support of other Christian brothers and sisters really matters. When it seems like no one wants to listen, it also helps for others to ask God to give us opportunity to speak. 

What might happen in your church if your small group or your entire congregation began to pray for everyone to have boldness, clarity, and opportunity in doing evangelism? When others seek God first on our behalf as witnesses, we can approach evangelism with more confidence and tenacity. Prayer from others simply takes us deeper into evangelism than we would have otherwise gone without praying.  

Praying with hope 

God saved my younger brother out of addictions after we had been praying for him for years. He, I, and others prayed for our dad for 36 years before he turned to Christ at age 71. Eleven years after our dad became a believer—after 47 years of our praying for her—our mom also followed Christ. In fact, I baptized her with my brother in the water with us!  

Perhaps you have loved ones not yet following Christ. I encourage you to pray for them using the biblical texts in the first part of this article. At the same time, enlist a few prayer warriors who will pray the Ephesians 6 and Colossians 4 texts for you.  

Pray.  

Get others to pray. 

Watch for opportunities.  

Speak with boldness.  

Speak with clarity.  

Keep on praying . . . and watch God work.