Heat It Up!

“Brothers, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for them is that they may be saved.”—Romans 10:1

Paul was praying for his countrymen, the people of Israel, that they would turn to Jesus Christ as a nation and be saved. Paul’s prayer is an example that we can emulate as we pray for our family, friends and coworkers that they, too, may be saved. Why do we continually pray this way? Because we cannot change the human heart, only God can. We are simply to present the message, perhaps followed by prayer and fasting, and then allow God Himself to plow the ground of the hardened human heart so that His Word may take root and grow, resulting in their salvation.

In many ways, each time we pray for someone, we are laying our petition at God’s feet, much like placing a log on a fire. Each time we pray, we are laying another log on the fire. The temperature increases and each log raises the spiritual temperature in the room that our unsaved family and friends inhabit, causing them to sweat in conviction, finally resulting, by God’s grace, in their falling in exhaustion, ready to submit in sweet surrender to the offer of our Savior’s invitation to salvation.

My brother or sister, the icicle of sin and unbelief that covers the heart of our unsaved family and friends is great. And the only way it can be melted is through God’s Holy Spirit bringing conviction through the ordained tool of prayer. Our heart’s desire is red-hot for their salvation, and we continually pray that God may melt their cold hearts and make them able to respond to His amazing grace. To this end we hope and we pray. Amen.