A Prayer for the Lost
If you’ve been around here for long, you know I love creating free printable prayer guides. So when I got several requests recently for help in praying for unsaved friends and family, I got right on it. And today I’m sharing what I came up with: A Prayer for the Lost.
One of the readers who requested this resource admitted, “Most of the time I just don’t know how to pray for an unbeliever and my prayers fall flat, like I’m repeating the same few things over and over. One of the people God has brought to my mind to pray for is an atheist and hostile towards the idea of anything to do with God. I would love to have a scriptural base for my prayers for my unbelieving friends.”
Do you ever feel at a loss for how to pray? You’re in good company! Even the disciples asked Jesus, “Lord, teach us to pray…” (Luke 11:1 NIV)
And God makes provision for our being at a loss for words, as well:
"Likewise the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses. For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered." (Romans 8:26 NKJV)
That’s one reason I like to infuse my prayers with Scripture–so I can be confident that I am praying in accordance with God’s revealed will. And when it comes to praying for unbelievers, here are the verses I frequently use in my appeals….
A Prayer for the LOST
Lord, I pray for my unbelieving loved ones and ask that You would:
LEAD THEM TO REPENTANCE
God, You are gracious and compassionate, slow to anger, and abounding in love and faithfulness. You don’t wish for any to perish, but for all to come to repentance. Yet we, like sheep, have gone astray. There is none righteous, nobody who understands or seeks after You, none who come to faith unless the Father draws them. So I ask You to mercifully draw my lost loved ones to Yourself, LORD. Grant them the humility they’ll need to confess & turn away from their sin and to accept the forgiveness You so freely offer in Christ Jesus.
Psalm 86:15 — 2 Peter 3:9 — Isaiah 53:6 — Romans 3:10-11 — John 6:44 — 1 Peter 5:5 — Acts 3:19
OPEN THEIR EYES TO YOUR GOODNESS
O Light of the World, I pray that You would shine brightly upon the hearts and lives of my lost friends and family members. The heavens declare Your magnificent glory—please open their eyes to comprehend it. Allow them to taste and see that You are good. Let them observe Your goodness in the land of the living. Don’t permit them to walk in darkness any longer. Deliver them from the power of sin and from the evil that threatens to overcome them. Plant Your Word in their heart & let them behold wondrous things in Your law.
John 8:12 — Psalm 19:1 — Psalm 34:8 — Psalm 27:13 — John 3:19 — Matthew 6:13 — James 1:21 — Psalm 119:18
SAVE THEM BY YOUR GRACE
Thank you, LORD, that You are mighty to save! Praise be to Jesus, who conquered death and the grave and grants eternal life to all who accept it by grace through faith! Please make that true of my lost loved ones. They are dead in their sin, just as I was before you changed my heart & granted me salvation. Please do the same for them: Lavish Your grace upon them & give them a deep longing to know You. May they place their full trust & confidence in Jesus Christ, not in their own works or righteousness, which is as filthy rags.
Zephaniah 3:17 — 1 Corinthians 15:54-55 — Ephesians 1:7-8 — Ephesians 2:1-9 — Galatians 6:14 — Philippians 3:9-10 — Isaiah 64:6
TRANSFORM THEM TO YOUR IMAGE
God, I pray you would not only save my lost friends & family members, but that You would sanctify them, as well. Complete the good work You’ve begun in their hearts. Give them the mind of Christ & conform them to His image. Empower them to walk in the good works You’ve established beforehand for them to do. Develop in them the fruit of Your Holy Spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. May their redeemed lives accurately reflect Your character to others & bring glory to You.
John 17:17 — Philippians 1:6 — Romans 8:29 — Romans 12:2 — Ephesians 2:10 — Galatians 5:22 — 2 Corinthians 3:18 — 1 Corinthians 10:31
More Printable Prayer Guides
You will find many more prayer guides you can download individually for free by following this link: Free Printable Prayer Guides.
Or you can save time by investing in a copy of my Pretty Prayer Print Pack and then download a whole bundle of resources in a single click, including all our most popular prayer guides plus prayer lists and diaries, prayer-themed coloring pages, prayer cards, and beautiful printable artwork suitable for framing. Several of the resources in this collection are not available anywhere else.
