Alone With God: Rediscovering the Power and Passion of Prayer

by John F. MacArthur Jr.

(Phil. 1:27–28).

walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, to please Him in all respects, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God;

(Col. 1:10–11).

The soul-winner must be a master of the art of prayer. You cannot bring souls to God if you go not to God yourself. You

far be it from me that I should sin against the LORD by ceasing to pray for you;

history shows that the church has, in fact, become content with itself and often neglectful of sinners.

To carry out their mission in the world, they must be made to understand the breadth of the gospel call. And the first feature in understanding that is to come to grips with evangelistic praying.

it. As we look out on the masses of lost humanity, the enormity of the need should drive us to our knees in evangelistic prayer.

Prayer for the lost is ultimately directed at God as an act of worship,

Praying for the lost should never be cold, detached, or impersonal,

If the church today took the effort it spends on political maneuvering and lobbying and poured that energy into intercessory prayer, we might see a profound impact on our nation.

Christians are to be known for their quiet demeanor, not for making disturbances. Unbelievers should see us as quiet, loyal, diligent, virtuous people. Although we may hate the evil world system that is the enemy of God, we are not to see those in it as our personal enemies. They are captives of the real enemy, the devil (cf. 2 Tim. 2:24–26). They are not our enemies; they are our mission field.

Since God “desires all men to be saved,” we are not required to ascertain that a person is elect before praying for that person’s salvation. God alone knows who all the elect are (2 Tim. 2:19). We may pray “on behalf of all men” with full assurance that such prayers are “good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior.” After all, “The LORD is gracious and merciful; slow to anger and great in lovingkindness. The LORD is good to all, and His mercies are over all His works” (Ps. 145:8–9).