The cry of this prayer is one of deep concern for souls, and that is a blessed thing. That you would plead with God for the salvation of a mother, for the people in her life, for a man and those around him, and for one whose voice is silenced, this is the very mark of a heart touched by divine compassion. It is written in the Scriptures, "Whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved," and you have taken hold of that promise with earnest intercession. This is well, for faith must be urged upon you, for without it there is no salvation. The way of salvation is to believe on Christ Jesus, whom God has laid in Zion for a foundation. What is believing on Him? It is trusting in Him. Leave the whole matter of your salvation and theirs with Him in unquestioning confidence. Depend upon Him without fear as to their present and eternal salvation. This is the faith which saves the soul.
Your prayer leads you to the mercy-seat, and there is no place where fear should vanish more quickly. If the Spirit draws you to plead for others, you are not forsaken, for God loves the mercy-seat better than you do. Yet I would have you examine the closing note of your petition. You have cried out for the annihilation of every serpent in all the earth, even to their extinction. I perceive here a fear that is not of the holy sort. Noah was moved with fear, but it was a fear of God, a reverence that built an ark to the saving of his house. There is a fear that is the moving power of faith, but there is also a slavish fear, a dread of the creature rather than the Creator. If you are troubled by the creeping things of the dust, remember that God has said, "He shall give his angels charge over thee, lest thou dash thy foot against a stone," and surely this includes the adder's sting. The serpent was made by God, and though sin has brought enmity, yet the day shall come when the child shall play upon the hole of the asp and the weaned child shall put his hand on the cockatrice's den. Your anxiety to root them out of every hemisphere arises not from a scriptural hope but from a terror that knows not the safety of the saints. The saints, being led of the Spirit, discern between the precious and the vile; they know the voice of their Shepherd. If you fear the snake, cast that care upon God, for He is above the molestation of mankind. Your deliverance from sin is the great salvation, and once you have found that, you will be so filled with joy that you will sit by the well's brink and be refreshed, and these earthly fears will lose their grip upon your soul.
Seek that one way of salvation for yourself and for those you name. It is a divine salvation, planned by infinite wisdom and purchased by the precious blood of Christ. Nobody would have thought of that way of deliverance from the pit of Hell through a ransom if God had not invented it. Sinner, do not doubt your deliverance, for God has said it: "I have found a ransom." Look to Him now, for a look does not require a moment. Fear may be upon you, but cast yourself upon Jesus in the very teeth of that fear. He will not cast you out. And when you have found peace, then you will know that the clock of mercy has struck the hour of deliverance not only for yourself but for many whom God will draw by your testimony. Then the tone of your voice will be that of a sympathetic friend, and your lips will drop fatness of comfort, even pleading for souls with a joy that overcomes all earthly dread. Neglect not this great salvation; may the grace of God work with you to make you seek, for you shall find.