prayer for an old best friend

[Twooron]

I am requesting a humble and heart felt prayer for one of my friends who needs christ, he hasn't given his life to jesus yet, even I'm not sure if I've actually given my life to jesus, this verse has come up a lot in so many random places "lord lord but I did this in your name...go away I do not know you... " etc... I know Jesus is the ultimate grand truth I just am struggling to fully submit to Him and choosing Him over the world, in small decisions especially, regardless, I would love for my friend to have a genuine relationship with Jesus, I think I'm not sure how to have a relationship with Jesus, what I do know is that in Him alone ANYTHING can be redeemed... AND he is the Ultimate TRUTH ... but I am also praying for myself to be passionate about christ, ...

 

[Articles]

We hear the honesty and humility in your heart and we join with you in bringing both your old best friend and your own walk before the Lord together in Jesus' name. We are encouraged that you recognize Jesus as the ultimate truth and that only in Him can anything be redeemed, and we want to come alongside you in this struggle to fully submit to Him in every small decision.

The verse that keeps coming to you is a solemn warning from Jesus Himself, Not everyone who says to me, Lord, Lord, will enter into the Kingdom of Heaven, but he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will tell me in that day, Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, in your name cast out demons, and in your name do many mighty works? Then I will tell them, I never knew you. Depart from me, you who work iniquity. Matt 7:21-23. We take this seriously with you because it shows that a genuine relationship with Jesus is not just knowing about Him or even doing religious things in His name, but truly knowing Him and being known by Him, obeying Him from a heart that has been made new.

This is why we want to gently encourage and also rebuke what is holding you back, choosing the world over Christ even in small decisions reveals a divided heart that the Lord calls us to surrender fully. Friendship with the world is hostility toward God. Therefore whoever wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. James 4:4. And Jesus said, If anyone desires to come after me, let him deny himself, take up his cross daily, and follow me. Luke 9:23. We cannot follow Jesus passionately while still holding onto the world with the other hand. The Lord desires not lukewarmness but wholehearted devotion, and He graciously calls us to examine ourselves, Test your own selves, whether you are in the faith. Test your own selves. 2 Cor 13:5.

We want to remind you what it means to truly give your life to Jesus and to have a relationship with Him. It begins with repentance and faith. If you will confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. Rom 10:9. For there is no other name under heaven that is given among men, by which we must be saved. Acts 4:12. Jesus Himself said, I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father, except through me. John 14:6. A relationship with Jesus is not a vague feeling but a living union where we hear His voice in His Word, speak to Him in prayer, obey Him because we love Him, and abide in Him. If you keep my commandments, you will remain in my love. John 15:10. Be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. James 1:22. When we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 1 John 1:9. And when we are in Christ we become a new creation, old things have passed away, behold, all things have become new. 2 Cor 5:17.

We pray for you and for your friend now.

Father in heaven, we come before Your throne of grace in the name of Jesus Christ Your Son, and we lift up this dear one who is hungering to know You truly and to see his old best friend come to know You as well. Lord we ask that You grant repentance and faith to his friend, that You open his eyes to see his need for a Savior, that he would turn from sin and trust in the finished work of Jesus on the cross and His resurrection. Draw him by Your Holy Spirit and let him hear the gospel clearly through the life and words of his friend. For this dear one praying, Lord we ask that You give full assurance of salvation, remove doubt and double mindedness, and give a heart that loves You above the world in every small decision. Help him to deny himself daily, to take up his cross and follow You with passion and obedience. Teach him how to walk with You, to abide in Your Word, to pray without ceasing, to fellowship with other believers, and to obey what You show him. Kindle a fire in his heart that cannot be quenched, that he would present his body as a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to You. Rom 12:1. Let him know that he is Yours and that You know him, and let his life bear fruit that remains. We ask that You make both of these lives testimonies of Your redeeming power, for You are the truth who sets us free. In Jesus' name we pray, amen.

We encourage you to seek the Lord daily in His Word, beginning with the Gospel of John and Romans, to pray honestly as you already are, to confess any known sin and turn from it, to gather with a faithful Bible believing church where Christ is preached, and to share openly with your friend what Jesus is teaching you, not just as an argument but as a living testimony. Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, then I will come in to him and will dine with him, and he with me. Rev 3:20. Open the door fully to Him today and keep opening it every day, and you will find that He is faithful to keep you and to give you passion for His name. We continue to stand with you in prayer that you both will know Him deeply and be known by Him.

 

[Violetblue]

Praying in Jesus Name. Amen.

 

[hostadmin]

We thank you for sharing this so honestly. Bringing both your old best friend and your own heart before the Lord the way you did takes humility, and we are grateful you trusted us to pray with you.

We hear how deeply you want your friend to know Jesus in a real way, and at the same time you are asking sincere questions about your own walk. When that verse keeps coming up and small daily choices feel like a tug between choosing Jesus and choosing the world, it can leave you wondering where you stand. That wrestling itself shows you care about truth and about belonging to Him.

What has helped many of us is remembering that growing with Jesus is gradual, more like training over time than trying harder in a moment. It is a lifelong process with highs and lows, and what matters is staying close to Him over the long haul. That closeness grows through simple, steady ways, time in the Word to hear His voice, honest prayer about where you feel torn, and worship with other believers who can encourage you. We cannot make ourselves grow by effort alone, God Himself brings the growth as we keep turning to Him.

A gentle next step could be setting aside a few unhurried minutes most days to read a short passage and pray plainly about what you read, even about the small decisions you mentioned, and talking with a trusted pastor or mature believer about the questions you are carrying. Keep bringing your friend to God by name as you do.

We pray for you both. Father, draw this friend toward Yourself and draw our brother into deeper confidence and love for You. Give him clarity, peace, and a growing passion to walk with You day by day, trusting that in You alone all things can be redeemed. Guide you both step by step as you seek Him. In Jesus' name, amen.

 

[EnricoLange]

Praying for this request in Jesus Name. Amen.

 

[Spurgeon]

The Lord has graciously stirred your heart to honesty, and honesty before God is the beginning of mercy. Your confession that you are struggling to fully submit to Christ, even in small decisions, and your trembling at those solemn words, Lord, Lord, and I never knew you, shows that the Spirit is dealing with you. That warning was spoken by Christ Himself not to drive sincere seekers to despair, but to call all who hear to examine whether they have truly come to Him, and to come indeed.

Salvation is of the Lord, in its provision and in its application. Father, Son and Spirit have provided everything, and the Lord must also make the unwilling willing and bring the rebel to the feet of Jesus, or salvation will never be accomplished. It is not found in creation, nor in the reasonings of men, but in the Scriptures only, and the peculiar doctrine of revelation is salvation through the name of Jesus Christ alone. There is no other name by which we must be saved, and He is able to save to the uttermost, however far you or your friend may have gone, even to the very regions of vice where mercy seems to cast but a few rays, there the light of salvation can reach you.

What is needed is what Scripture calls coming to God by Him, and that coming is an unconditional surrender. It is to write yourself down as the chief of sinners, to cast the weapons of your rebellion from your hands forever, and to say, I desire that You would take me and make me what You would have me to be. Seeing You are a God of grace, have pity upon me. You have appointed a way of salvation by Jesus Christ, and I cast myself upon that free mercy. Submission to His divine will is the essence of salvation. He bids you trust His Son Jesus, will you do so or not. If you will, you are saved the moment that you believe, saved from the guilt of sin by trusting Jesus.

You ask what it is to have a genuine relationship with Jesus. It is not a vague feeling, but a living faith that looks to His atonement alone for pardon, that hears His voice in Scripture, that speaks to Him in prayer, that loves Him with an extravagant love and shows that love by doing something for Jesus only, for Jesus wholly, out of pure love to Him. He who truly loves Christ will not give sleep to his eyes when he is in doubt about his heart belonging to Jesus, but will cry, Search me, O God, and try me, and will appeal to the boundless mercy of God in Christ. Faith is the milk and full assurance is the cream upon it, and when faith has stood long enough you may see the rich cream of holy confidence. Adherence to the truth of God, obedience in small things, love to His people, and answered prayer become tokens of His love toward you. To choose Him over the world in small decisions is not legalism, it is love proving itself. There you learn to acquiesce in all the trials of His providence and to surrender yourself at discretion to His method of operating upon you.

Every man ought to be ashamed of not loving and not trusting such a Savior as the Lord Jesus Christ is. That shame, when it makes you hide from the gaze of men and run rather to His open arms, is a mark that He has come to seek and to save that which was lost. That is the kind of sinner Jesus loves to save, not one who would divide the glory with the Lord, but one who will give Him all the praise.

We will pray with you.

O Lord God of grace, have mercy upon this dear soul who confesses struggle and longing, and upon the old best friend who has not yet given his life to Jesus. Thou art able to save to the uttermost, salvation is of Thee alone. Make the unwilling willing. Grant to both the gift of repentance and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, that they may come to God by Him and know that they have eternal life. Teach them to trust not in works done in Thy name, but in the blood and righteousness of Thy Son. Work in them unconditional surrender, to cast down pride and worldly affection and to yield at once to Thy will. Give a passion for Christ that shows itself in love to Jesus, in keeping Thy Word, in prayer, and in small daily obedience. Cause them to find in Scripture the sure promise of salvation and to rest upon it with full assurance. Bring the friend from darkness to light, and establish the one who prays in a true and abiding relationship with Thee, that both may know that anything can indeed be redeemed when it is brought in penitence to Christ, who is the ultimate truth. Keep them from turning back to the world, and hold them fast in Thy grace, for Jesus sake. Amen.

 

[Wernad]

May the Lord draw this friend to Jesus, the Way, the Truth, and the Life (John 14:6). May the one praying surrender fully to Christ in every decision, choosing Him over the world, and may they both come to know Him deeply and passionately. In Jesus' name, Amen.

 

[Dan T]

Papa please add this person the your elect Amen