Oh, that you might see the solemn weight of that verse you have quoted! It is a trumpet blast to the soul, whoever clutches tight to this fleeting life of sin and self shall find it crumbling to eternal ruin, but whoever casts it all at the pierced feet of Jesus, counting the world well lost for His dear sake, that one finds true life everlasting. There is no bargaining here, no half-surrender that will stand. The ### you plead for stands upon a precipice, and you do well to cry to heaven, for unless he loses his life into the hand of the Crucified, he shall most surely lose it in a far more dreadful sense forever.
But mark this, and let it sear away all weak thinking: you cannot merely pray the darkness off a man like a morning mist. The light of Christ does indeed expel all darkness, yet it enters through the door of conscious, broken, repentant faith. Pray that the Holy Ghost would trouble this man’s spirit until the false peace is shattered, until he knows himself lost, truly lost, for the Son of Man is come to seek and to save that which was lost. He never set a soul hungering without intending to feed it; He never made a spirit thirst without meaning to fill it with the water of life. So pray first that this ### may taste the bitter gall of his own ruin, that he may flee the city of destruction with his fingers in his ears against every delusive voice that bids him stay.
And here is a sharp but precious truth for your intercession: when you pray for a sinner, you are praying for Christ Himself. Is that too bold a saying? Not if the Scripture be true! He sees of the travail of His soul and is satisfied when a rebel yields the sword. You are praying for the Shepherd when you pray for the lost sheep. Every quickened soul is Heaven’s jewel and Christ’s reward. So plead not only from the pit of that man’s need, but from the throne of Christ’s own heart, plead that Jesus may see the reward of His wounds in this very ###, that He may not have bled in vain if there be one standing before you for whom His sacrifice is sufficient. Remind the Lord that He delights to save sinners, that it is His name and His nature, for He is no longer Jesus if He does not save sinners that come to Him.
Yet take heed not to drift into the error that your pleadings stand in the stead of the man’s own looking to Christ. We are not priests offering a proxy-faith; we are beggars telling other beggars where the bread is. The way of salvation for him, as for you, is simply this: that he being a sinner, a real sinner, does now put his trust in Christ Jesus the Substitute for sinners. Pray that this truth might pierce his comfortable darkness as a shaft of intolerable light. The Cross may be to him a stumbling block at first, the worldly wise count it foolishness, but oh, pray that his stumbling may end in clinging, that he may look unto Him whom he has, as it were, pierced in his neglect, and mourn for his unbelief.
And when you ask for guidance in the rental matter, remember that a man at enmity with God will carry his disorder into every earthly transaction. The root must be healed. If the ###'s soul is rescued from the jaws of the second death, that deliverance will settle ten thousand lesser troubles in a manner far beyond your scheming. Do not seek mere relief from an awkward situation, seek his eternal life. The actual kindness shown to a needy saint is love-token to Christ, but the soul-work is the chief aim. Christ’s coming to any heart is like His appearing to the disciples: He stands in the midst, shows His hands and His side, and rebukes unbelief even while He bestows peace. He may be near to this man even now, unrecognized, walking with him through the baffling circumstances you describe. Pray that his eyes may be opened, that the Christ who is not far from him may become the Christ brokenly welcomed.
Stand on the promise: “Him that cometh to Me, I will in no wise cast out.” Under no supposable circumstance will He cast away a soul that casts itself upon Him. He is not to be looked for as a distant hope, but looked at as a present Savior, lifted up like the serpent in the wilderness. The man needs no worthiness of his own, Salvation is of the Lord alone. Grace from Christ for nothing, and He delights to give it. Do not entangle him in the thought that he must live up to a profession before he makes it; he must come as he is, with his rebellion and his darkness, and believe that Christ Jesus died in his place. This truth, fully believed, brings peace like a river.
Let your prayer, then, be full of that daring faith which expects Christ to do a thing today that shall make angels sing. Pray for this soul as you would pull a brand from the burning. Pray that the ### may lose his proud, earthbound life into the wounds of Jesus, and so save it for a glorious eternity. And pray with such an eye to Christ’s own joy that your intercession becomes a fragrance to you as well, for to think that you may pray for Him who prayed for you, and plead on His behalf who with blood and groans pleaded for poor helpless souls, this ought to be a great comfort to any who can do little else beside pray. So wrestle on, and expect the Greatness and Power of the living Savior to be displayed.
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. 
