Beverley Shepherd talks about how we can prayer for our family and friends. Beverley's presentation gives tips on how to pray and gives scriptures to support that.

1. For Bev’s sermon notes in full:
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2. Praying for our families
& friends

3. Why Pray?

4. Before becoming believers the Bible
tells us that we
• Were spiritually 'dead in our transgressions
and sins' (Eph 2:1, Col 2:13),
• had 'blinded eyes and deadened hearts' (John
12:39-40, Isa 6:10, 2 Cor 4:4)
• were 'enslaved by all kinds of passions and
pleasures' (Titus 3:3, Gal 4:9).

5. Prayer in Evangelism:
(Lausanne Occasional Paper No. 42, 20),
"Many things happen when Christians pray for the unsaved in their
spheres of influence, their communities, and their world - things that
wouldn't have happened if they had not prayed (Eph 3:20). This is true
because all the power of prayer is God's power released through our
prayers. God's power, working in and through believers, changes hearts
(1 Tim 2:1-4), accomplishes great works (John 14:12-14), defeats Satan
(Eph 6:18), and shapes history. It has been said, 'Prayer is not a key to
evangelism, it is the key'!
• Something happens to those we pray for:
• hearts are softened and changed;
• people are convicted of sin and turn to God in repentance;
• people are delivered from bondage and Satanic deceit; and
• strongholds are broken such that individuals and communities are
transformed."

6. Seven Steps: How to Pray for Life

7. (1) Connecting with God's Heart
for the Lost

8. Luke 15: 1-2
Now the tax collectors
and sinners were all
gathering round to
hear Jesus. 2 But the
Pharisees and the
teachers of the law
muttered, ‘This man
welcomes sinners, and
eats with them.’

9. Ways to Pray
• Ask God to enable you to see
people as he sees them, and to
share his compassion for them
• Ask God daily to give you his love
for the lost
• Ask the Holy Spirit to help you to
pray
• Ask for wisdom to build patterns of
prayer, for example, I know one
mother who always prays for each
of her children when she irons
items of their clothing. Another
person uses their commute to pray.
What could become a helpful
pattern for you?

10. (2) Building Faith

11. Ways to Pray
(1) Clear out anything that might hinder your prayers - for
example:
 Confess any unbelief and the thought that person X
will never be saved
 Have you doubted God's power to save person X?
 Are you aware of any resentment or disappointment
that their conversion has taken so long?
 Have you found it difficult to persevere in prayer for
this person?
 Have you neglected prayer in favour of other
strategies to bring them to Christ?
 What are your motives in wanting to see this person
saved? For example, 'it would make my life easier' or
'they would then know I was right all along'.
 Confess any lack of love towards this person.
 Clear out anything else God shows you!
(2) Meditate on verses from Scripture that will help build
your faith: Psa 3:8; Isa 59:1; Matt 1:21; Matt 18:14; Luke
15:7; Luke 19:10; John 3:16; 1 Tim 1:15; 2 Pet 3:9

12. (3) Fighting for Life

13. Ways to Pray Spiritual weapons look weak!
Prayer
Fasting
Blessing
Declaration

14. (4) Praying Life for the Spiritually
Dead

15. Ways to Pray
 Pray that the Holy Spirit will
'overshadow' them
 Pray that the Holy Spirit will
quicken their spirit
 Pray that they will 'wake up' to
the truth of the gospel
 Pray for signs that new spiritual
life is growing in them - a more
sensitive conscience, a greater
interest in the gospel,
questioning about the meaning
of life, etc.

16. (5) Praying Sight for the
Spiritually Blind

17. 2 Corinthians 10:5
We demolish arguments and every pretension
that sets itself up against the knowledge of God,
and we take captive every thought to make it
obedient to Christ.

18. Three components of strongholds
• Arguments: the gospel is filtered through a
person's philosophy of life, views, mind-set and
existing beliefs.
• Pretensions: the self-promotion, pride, or
attitudes that desire to remain independent of
God and 'in charge' of one's own life.
• Every thought: all that goes on in a person's
mind, often coloured by what they read, watch or
access over the internet.

19. Ways to Pray
 Pray for insight into the mindsets,
pretensions and thought barriers
 Pray that these strongholds will be
demolished in people's lives
 Pray that the veil will be removed
from their spiritual eyes
 Pray for humility where there has
been pride
 Pray that they might see the truth of
the gospel
 Pray that they will exchange the lies
they have believed for God's truth.

20. (6) Praying Freedom for
the Captives

21. Ways to Pray  Thank Jesus for paying the 'ransom
for many'
 Pray that whatever passions and
pleasures are holding people captive
will lose their appeal
 Pray that any addictions will be
broken
 Pray for people to 'come to their
senses'
 Pray that people will desire true
freedom
 Praise God that freedom is possible!

22. (7) Praying for Opportunities

23. Ways to Pray
 Pray for opportunities to build bridges of
friendship
 Ask the Holy Spirit to empower you to be a
witness
 Pray for the courage to speak about your
faith to others
 Pray that love casts out our fears
 Pray for wisdom for what to say and how to
say it
 Pray for sensitivity to the leading of the Holy
Spirit
 Pray for eyes to see the opportunities to be a
witness that the Lord gives you
 Pray that your friends and family would want
to know more about your faith

25. Parties in Heaven!
I tell you, it will be the same in heaven. There
will be great joy when one sinner turns away
from sin. (Luke 15:7)