Before I get into what I want to say today, some of you will know four things about me:
“Making disciples of all nations”/Evangelism and prayer are one of my favourite subjects.
I’m praying that the church that I attend will double in size within five (5) years.
When I was a pastor of a church in Cumbria, the congregation increased by approximately 50%. Now don't think,” Oh, look at him he has such a big head, it's all about him. If it were anyone, it would have been my wife. While I was working 170 miles away from my church, she was chatting to people in the village. So it was definitely not me. However, I put it down to God’s grace and mercy. The reality is that the Lord is the Lord of the Harvest and we are simply his harvesters. It's down to God to yield a harvest 30 fold or 60 fold or 100 fold.
I believe that prayer is an integral part of harvesting and at the heart of evangelism, and here are three evangelistic prayers ANYONE can commit to:
Charles Spurgeon said prayer was the engine room of the church. It is the vital piece of ministry that engages us with the Holy Spirit. Evangelism is always a spiritual battle and prayer allows us to keep moving forward in victory.
The most effective way to fight this spiritual battle is through prayer. We have observed churches that have experienced significant growth through conversions have leaders committed to intentional, leader-led prayer and fasting. Only the power of the Spirit at work can ‘make his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of God’s glory displayed in the face of Christ’. (2 Cor 4:6) Our work then is to join the work of the Spirit through prayer.
What motivates a commitment to evangelistic prayer is an understanding of what is happening through evangelism. 2 Cor 4:5-6 tells us the same God who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” is also the one who shines his light into the human heart to give us the knowledge we need for salvation.
This way of thinking about evangelism can be incredibly liberating because it reminds us, that we don’t convert anyone. Those who become Christians do so only by the power of the Spirit. But at the same time, we can be filled with an incredible confidence that some WILL respond to the gospel. Some WILL become Christians. We know this because God who created universes, is the God that healed the sick and raised the dead and is at work in people’s hearts.
Therefore, as Christians, we can engage in evangelism through prayer, preaching, and serving filled with an abundance of hope and freedom knowing that God is powerful and his Word never fails. We need not feel despair or fear because our confidence rests in God and his great power. Our work is simply obedience.
And this we can do!
What if evangelism was simply a faithful act of obedience?
The word ‘evangelism’ perhaps fills us with dread or fear. We may flinch from it like a door-to-door salesman or telemarketing call. And maybe, for some, there are even feelings of guilt, recognising perhaps this is an aspect of our Christian discipleship that’s being neglected.
These feelings are all valid and understandable, but actually unnecessary. From Matt 28:19-20 where Jesus commanded all his followers to “go make disciples” to Paul’s encouragement to Timothy in 2 Tim 4:5 to ‘do the work of an evangelist’, the Bible leaves little doubt that God’s plan for bringing the hope of Jesus to the world is through the Church, through you and me. But I don’t think this needs to fill us with dread, fear, or guilt.
Eugene Peterson said that Christian discipleship is “a long obedience in the same direction”. I believe evangelism requires this kind of discipleship, a simple, faithful obedience we are committed to for the long haul.
However, evangelism can be easier than we think or at least, if not exactly easy, then certainly more accessible. We needn’t be particularly courageous. We don’t need a theological degree and an outgoing personality is not required. I don’t think it’s even necessary to have a particular spiritual gift, though some will have that. What I believe you need is a commitment to the belief that evangelism is a spiritual act long before it ever becomes a physical one.
The gospel indeed needs to be spoken, however, serving others is also necessary as part of evangelism. Paul said as much in 2 Corinthians 4:5, ‘For what we preach is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, and ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake.’ But our speaking and serving will be infinitely more effective if it is driven by the work of the Spirit through the prayers of his people.
How exactly do you pray evangelistically?
There is great power in evangelistic prayer. But what exactly are we talking about when we say that we should pray evangelistically? I can break this down into three simple prayers that anyone could commit to praying regularly.
Five People
Your Five People are five non-Christians who you see and interact with regularly, from someone at the school gate to friends and neighbours to
co-workers and colleagues to family and loved ones. This is a list of just five non-Christians you interact with and hopefully get to speak to about Jesus.
I suggest you use scriptures to pray for these five, inserting their names into the Scriptures as you pray. Simply pray that the Holy Spirit would move their hearts toward Jesus.
I have also made prayer cards the size of credit cards and on these cards are the names of the people I am praying for. Each time I am a passenger on a car or on a train or bus, we can take the card out and pray.
Proclaimers
Your second prayer is for those people who regularly proclaim the gospel. Paul would often ask the church to pray for him with words like, ’And pray for us, too, that God may open a door for our message, so that we may proclaim the mystery of Christ, for which I am in chains.’ (Col 4:3) Use the same request from Paul to pray for the proclaimers we know, that God would use their preaching effectively, and God will touch the hearts of the people we are praying for.
Ourselves
The third prayer should be for ourselves. Scripture is filled with evangelistic prayers we can pray for ourselves with words like, ‘…make the most of every opportunity…let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt’ (Colossians 4:5-6)
and ‘…always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have.’ (1 Pet 3:15-16)
Sometimes, God will give us opportunities to speak the gospel and we must pray for ourselves that we will be prepared to share the good news about Jesus when those moments come. Pray that we can do what Jesus said when he said that the fields are indeed ripe for harvest.”Don’t you have a saying, ‘It’s still four months until harvest’? I tell you, open your eyes and look at the fields! They are ripe for harvest.” (John 4:35, NIV)
Everyone can be an evangelist
Evangelism is not ONLY prayer, but it is rooted in, motivated by, and made more effective through prayer. Evangelism is not only prayer, but perhaps, it cannot happen without it. I believe prayer is at the heart of what it means to be an evangelist. You don’t have to be particularly brave, theologically trained, or outgoing to pray. You just have to be faithful and obedient. And that’s why we believe that absolutely anyone can be an evangelist!
