Lisa Loraine Baker

Sure, we can close a prayer without saying Amen, but why would we want to omit a verbal exclamation point which highlights God and His character? Our Lord and Savior is our King, and as His subjects (and as children of God), to proclaim Amen to His truths (and what He has done, is doing, or will do) identifies us as those who love and obey Him.

Christians know what it means to pray. The Bible tell us “the effective fervent prayer of a righteous man avails (helps) much” (James 5:16, emphasis added). We are commanded to love the Lord our God with all our heart, and when we love Him with all we are, we pray with a full and fervent heart.

These days, half-hearted prayers abound, and there is no fervency in a prayer which lacks heart. This is spiritual war, brothers and sisters, and prayers for unbelievers (and for all other requests) are our best offense and defense.

How Should We Pray for Unbelievers?

As during any time of prayer, we should approach God’s throne of grace:

Prayerfully – Pray before we pray? Sure!

Humbly – It’s His will we are seeking. 

Gratefully – We may be the only ones praying for a particular person or group. What a privilege to come before the God of the universe and know He hears us.

Urgently – People go one of two places: heaven or hell. Imagining our unbelieving loved ones in hell should bring us all to our knees.

Submissively – We are commissioned to pray for unbelievers of all walks of life.

Joyfully – God desires all to be saved. Isn’t that great news?

Expectantly - Not with our personal expectations — but with an expectancy of God’s will, which is always perfect.

Collectively – We join the whole of God’s church in praying for unbelievers.

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A prayer for your baby or a loved one’s baby blesses the baby and the baby’s family (and you too). Here are 30 prayers you can say for the baby.  

Open a dictionary and you will find many common words often have different meanings. For example: The man hit the bat with a bat. The first bat is a nocturnal animal, and the second is a sports accessory. We know by its placement and usage which is which. The meanings of words, phrases, and sentences are based upon how they are used in different contexts.

What Is Biblical Context, and Is It That Important?

For correct biblical interpretation, we must heed contextual clarification. Every Bible student understands a critical part of Bible study is consideration of context. Lay-students of the Bible often misinterpret Scripture because they miss this very important principle: Context rules. It is of vital importance when interpreting Scripture.

Biblical context encompasses four areas which have to do with a passage of Scripture:

1. Surrounding words, sentences, and paragraphs

2. The chapter

3. The book

4. The whole of the Bible

One must also compare similar passages for clarification and research the historical, cultural, and grammatical context. 

Is it hard work? Yes. Eternally important? Absolutely.

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The question of the Divine inspiration of Scripture is one that has ebbed within society in recent years. Bodie Hodge, speaker and writer for Answers in Genesis, addressed a state school several years ago, and he reflected on his visit in a 2009 article. “I didn’t realize the importance of this question (Was the Bible written by men?) until I saw a statistical analysis of young people who had walked away from the church. Out of 1,000 young adults who have left church, 44% of them said that they did not believe the accounts in the Bible were true and accurate. When asked what made them answer this way, the most common response (24%) said that the Bible was written by men (not God, albeit inspiring men).”

What does a comparable 2022 statistic look like?

According to the American Bible Society, “Of five response options, the most popular (27%) was: The Bible is the inspired word of God and has no errors, although some verses are meant to be symbolic rather than literal. Last year (2021), this answer was chosen by 29 percent. This was the most popular choice of every age group except Millennials.
The second most chosen statement was: The Bible is just another book of teachings written by people that contains stories and advice. One in five people chose this (20%), up sharply from 13 percent last year. It is the favorite choice of Millennials (24%).

We saw the steepest drop in the fourth-place answer: The Bible is the actual word of God and should be taken literally, word for word. This had 15 percent agreement in this year’s poll, down from 26 percent last year. The highest support for this view came not from Elders, but from Boomers (19%).”

The Bible (which was completed almost 2,000 years ago) confirms what is currently happening, “For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths” (2 Timothy 4:3-4). While this passage is not explicitly directed at divine inspiration of Scripture, it fits within the growing unbelief in God and His Word. And God has not been taken by surprise.

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Our hearts are of great importance regarding righteousness, for they are desperately wicked (Jeremiah 17:9), and we are prone to wander away from the Lord. And so, to make a solid, godly stand against the schemes of the evil ones, we must put on that which covers (protects) our hearts — Christ’s righteousness. He gives us the only protection that guarantees success against the devil.

We humans cannot do anything with complete purity because our sinful hearts lead us into areas of vast sin, and there is only one way they can be fixed: Jesus Christ. He is the only way toward a pure heart, and He is the only One whose nature (heart) is perfect. 

The witch expected a satanic imitation, not the real Samuel. The witch’s description was enough to convince Saul it was Samuel who had been summoned. The witch of En-Dor did nothing but show up and call upon demonic powers, which always lie (John 8:44). She had no power, and God turned deception to­­­­ truth.

People may desire the power that comes with saying, “God told me such and such,” but it is misguided. The only power we trust is that of God and His Spirit working in our lives.

As Christians—first and foremost in relation to what the world sees—we are to be ambassadors for Christ. We are people called by God to represent Him to a lost and dying (secular) world, and as we become more and more like Jesus (2 Corinthians 3:18), the world will see His character in and through us.