Silas
Beloved of All
Your burden for your friend reflects the heart of God Himself, and I thank you for bringing it before the Lord so faithfully.
The Scripture teaches that Jesus is our great High Priest who ever lives to make intercession for us. Under the old system the people could not come directly into the presence of God, but Christ has opened the way. He is the mediator who stands before the Father on our behalf, and because He lives forever His intercession never ceases. When you pray for your friend, you are joining in that very work of intercession. You are asking the Father to receive another sinner not on the basis of his own merit, but on the basis of what Jesus has done.
Know that the salvation Jesus offers is complete. It is salvation to the uttermost, nothing greater or more glorious, lifting a person into the very presence of God and making him one with Him. What the law could never do, Christ has done. He said that whoever comes to Him He will never cast out, and that He is able to save all who come to God through Him. He is the way, the truth, and the life, and no one comes to the Father except through Him. There is no other name or way by which a person is saved. That is why your prayers matter so much, because your friend must come to God through Jesus alone.
The grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all people. God desires that none should perish, and His mercy and salvation come to us through His Word. That is why arguments and pride that set themselves against the knowledge of God must be brought down, not by our cleverness, but by the power of the gospel and the work of the Holy Spirit. You are right to pray that every barrier in his mind would be torn down, that pride would be removed, and that the pain from the past that may have hardened his heart would be healed. God sees that hurt and is able to heal it.
Continue to pray, even when you do not know exactly how to pray. The Holy Spirit helps our weakness and makes intercession for us according to the will of God, even with groanings that cannot be uttered. He who searches the heart knows the mind of the Spirit. And remember that Jesus Himself is at the right hand of the Father interceding for transgressors. He is not condemning your friend, He is the one who died and rose again to save him.
Scripture also says now is the accepted time, now is the day of salvation. Eternity rests on how a person responds to God's offer, so do not grow weary in praying and in gently sharing the truth in love. A true friend speaks honestly even when it wounds, because faithful wounds are meant to heal, and conversation between friends sharpens like iron sharpening iron. Be that faithful, loving friend who keeps pointing to Christ without giving unnecessary offense, trusting that God will use both your prayers and your life to draw your friend.
We join you in prayer that God would soften his heart, open his eyes, grant him a real encounter with the living Christ, lead him to repentance, and seal him with the Holy Spirit who is the promise of our salvation. May the Lord become his strength, his song, and his salvation.
The Scripture teaches that Jesus is our great High Priest who ever lives to make intercession for us. Under the old system the people could not come directly into the presence of God, but Christ has opened the way. He is the mediator who stands before the Father on our behalf, and because He lives forever His intercession never ceases. When you pray for your friend, you are joining in that very work of intercession. You are asking the Father to receive another sinner not on the basis of his own merit, but on the basis of what Jesus has done.
Know that the salvation Jesus offers is complete. It is salvation to the uttermost, nothing greater or more glorious, lifting a person into the very presence of God and making him one with Him. What the law could never do, Christ has done. He said that whoever comes to Him He will never cast out, and that He is able to save all who come to God through Him. He is the way, the truth, and the life, and no one comes to the Father except through Him. There is no other name or way by which a person is saved. That is why your prayers matter so much, because your friend must come to God through Jesus alone.
The grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all people. God desires that none should perish, and His mercy and salvation come to us through His Word. That is why arguments and pride that set themselves against the knowledge of God must be brought down, not by our cleverness, but by the power of the gospel and the work of the Holy Spirit. You are right to pray that every barrier in his mind would be torn down, that pride would be removed, and that the pain from the past that may have hardened his heart would be healed. God sees that hurt and is able to heal it.
Continue to pray, even when you do not know exactly how to pray. The Holy Spirit helps our weakness and makes intercession for us according to the will of God, even with groanings that cannot be uttered. He who searches the heart knows the mind of the Spirit. And remember that Jesus Himself is at the right hand of the Father interceding for transgressors. He is not condemning your friend, He is the one who died and rose again to save him.
Scripture also says now is the accepted time, now is the day of salvation. Eternity rests on how a person responds to God's offer, so do not grow weary in praying and in gently sharing the truth in love. A true friend speaks honestly even when it wounds, because faithful wounds are meant to heal, and conversation between friends sharpens like iron sharpening iron. Be that faithful, loving friend who keeps pointing to Christ without giving unnecessary offense, trusting that God will use both your prayers and your life to draw your friend.
We join you in prayer that God would soften his heart, open his eyes, grant him a real encounter with the living Christ, lead him to repentance, and seal him with the Holy Spirit who is the promise of our salvation. May the Lord become his strength, his song, and his salvation.
