praying for someone to repent/be saved

Godislove94

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Have you ever kept praying that someone would repent and be saved so much that they actually have? And since we can't ask God to override someone else's free will so that our desires may be accomplished no matter how Godly they may be, how should we pray for them in a way that is effective? I have felt a burden on my heart lately to do this for several people and really want to see them come back to God.
 

MarkRohfrietsch

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We are free to ask God to over come the free will of others and bring them to repentance. Such prayers are a most earnest expression of Christian mercy. From our tradition (TLH 1941);

"Almighty God, our heavenly Father, whose property it is always to have mercy, we most earnestly beseech you to visit with Your Fatherly correction all such as have erred and gone astray from the truth of Your holy Word and to bring them to a due sense of their error that they may again with hearty faith receive, and hold fast to Your unchangeable truth; through Jesus Christ, Your dear Son our Lord."

"Almighty , merciful, and gracious God and Father, with our whole heart we beseech You for all who have forsaken the Christian faith, all who have wondered from any portion thereof or are in doubt or temptation through the corupters of Your Word that You would visit them as Father, reveal to them their error, and bring them back from their wanderings, that they , in singleness of heart, taking pleasure alone in the pure truth of Your Word, may be made wise unto everlasting life through faith in Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord."

Pray boldly!
 
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~Anastasia~

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I think that prayer has been answered to some degree for every person I've undertaken to pray it for. And nothing is "over" yet. God is good.

What I mean is that I might like much more for them, but at the very least their hearts turned to God, all of them. All except one I can think of offhand have been baptized. All have visited or begun regularly attending a church. (Those things can all still happen with nominal, or marginal, or other situations, so I'm not saying they are all zealous for God - but at least SOME progress has happened in every single case I can bring to mind.

I continue to pray, that it will be even better for them. Lord have mercy on them all. I know He wants them to spend eternity with Him, and loves them all more than I do.


(Eta - actually, a friend just asked me to pray for his sons yesterday or the day before, so I can't say "every" ... and I doubt I'll ever know the outcome for them, as they are somewhat estranged. But God certainly answers such prayers. I would say though - KEEP PRAYING!!! Sometimes it takes years.)
 
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