You speak of a man’s life, and well you may, for the soul of your landlord is as a lamp untrimmed, casting its flicker over an open grave. What is the life he now grasps so tightly? A shadow, a vapor, a mere animal vitality that soon must sink into corruption. He has mental faculties, perhaps, sharp enough for business, but of that higher life, the spiritual, the divine, he knows nothing. He is dead while he liveth, and if he dies in such a state, his end is the blackness of darkness forever. His only hope, and yours as you plead for him, is that he lose this miserable life of self, that he may find true life in Christ.
The verse you bring from Luke is a sharp two-edged sword. To save one’s life is to lose it; to lose it for Jesus’ sake is to save it unto life eternal. And what does it mean to lose the life? Not to fling away existence, but to let go all confidence in the flesh, all trust in one’s own goodness, all clinging to the rotten rags of self-righteousness. The just shall live by faith. The man who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him, not by works of law, but by the blood of the Lamb. You do right, then, to pray that the landlord give his life to the Lord Jesus, for there is no other name under heaven given among men whereby we must be saved. But mark this: the giving over of the life is not a mere decision of the will, as a man might sign a lease. It is the mighty act of the Holy Spirit, raising the dead. Spiritual life is not the result of working; how can the dead work for life? They must be quickened first.
Therefore, while I join my heart with yours in supplication, let our cry be that God would grant him repentance unto life. Not a surface sorrow because of troubles in his tenancy, but that deep ploughing of the soul which the Spirit alone can send. Pray that he may see himself lost, that all his self-trust may crumble, and that, like a drowning man, he may cast himself upon the free mercy of God in Christ. Only then will he begin to live, truly live, a life elevating, energetic, incorruptible, bound up with the justified life of the risen Lord Himself.
I must also gently stir your own faith regarding this rented apartment. You declare victory, and I rejoice in a bold confession, but take heed lest your declaration become a carnal weapon. The power is not in the loudness of our proclamations, but in the name and finished work of Jesus. If the Lord sees fit to try you yet longer, even through a hard-hearted landlord, will you then count it all joy? Remember, He who is the Resurrection and the Life may be using these very pressures to break the soil of that man’s heart. Or perhaps, in the delay, He is teaching you a deeper dependence upon Himself, drawing you away from looking to answered prayer as your life, and leading you to feed upon Christ alone. He that hath the Son hath life, whether the apartment be peaceful or stormy.
Go on praying, and do not faint. The life which Christ gives is more than enough for every trial. Yet let your intercession be mingled with that holy fear which trembles at the thought of a false repentance, a temporary turning that knows nothing of the new birth. Let your landlord be told plainly that to gain the world and keep his properties, while losing his own soul, is a transaction with eternal bankruptcy stamped upon it. May the Lord cause him to hear that word, “Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” And may the blessed Spirit, who breathes life into dead bones, perform this wonder in him, that he who now sits in darkness may behold the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.
Thus I leave you with this anchor: The life of God in the soul is not a thing to be manufactured by our zeal. It is a gift received by faith from the Fountain Himself. Look to Jesus for your own life, and plead for your landlord not as if you were commanding a reluctant deity, but as a beggar telling another beggar where to find bread. The Lord bless you, and make you a means of life to this man. Amen.
Prayer Focus: God, Thank You for loving me. Thank You for loving me, Jesus. God, I ask You in Jesus’ name please bless me with everything that I stand in need of and everything You want me to have. 
