Prayer for a Friend

Non-Christian friend. We’ve all got them, or at least we should. We should be striving to befriend the lost, especially those that society in general has rejected, and shower them with the love of Christ, shining out to them like ‘stars in the universe’ with God’s glory.
We may have non-Christian friends, but do we care about them? Truly, passionately care? Sure we care enough to spend time with them, to listen to them, maybe we even care enough to spend our money on them. But do we care enough to share Christ with them? Do we care more about their eternal destination, or what they think of us in this short life that will soon be past?
In Christian circles when we think of heaven we think of perfection, an end to sorrow, of being with God, of eternity. But eternity is a long time to spend without your close friends. And if you get to be wit God, why can’t they? Are you more worthy? And are they not equally in need of an end to their sorrow, of someone to wipe their tears away? For the bible tells us clearly that only by accepting Jesus as Saviour can we enter Heaven. And how will people accept if they don’t know they need to? And how will they know if no-one tells them with words and shows them with their lives?
You got non-Christian friends? That’s great – Jesus spent his time on earth with the sinners and the lost – but what are you doing to change them into Christian friends? Are you telling them about God’s love? Are you showing them God’s love through your life? Is your lifestyle causing them to ask questions, or is there nothing in it that sets you apart as not of this world?
Perhaps the simplest and maybe even most effective thing to do is simply to pray. Lift your non-Christian friends up to God, put them in His Hands. By itself it won’t cost you any credibility, and yet it could transform their lives. But the funny thing is, God has a habit of using the person praying to answer such prayers. In Matthew 9 Jesus tells the disciples to pray for more workers, then verses later in Matthew 10 sends them out to work for Him.
So pray for your non-Christian friends. Cry out on behalf of them. Ask that God would open their eyes, that they would hear Him calling out to them. But be ready to be an answer to your prayers. Be ready to tell them they need Jesus. Be ready to show them they are better with God in their life than without. And if that means praying for courage or wisdom or guidance for yourself, do that.
Maybe it will work. Maybe it won’t. But whatever you do, don’t let them go down without a fight!
Not sure what to pray? Why not use the Casting Crowns song prayer for a Friend as a basis. For your convenience in case you don’t have a copy of it, here is a video:
Prayer for a Friend