The following suggestions on praying for the lost come from a resource called Praying Your Friends to Christ (Alpharetta, GA: North American Mission Board, 1998).  These suggestions may help give focus to your prayers for the lost people you know.  Ask God:

• To open their spiritual eyes (2 Cor. 4:4).
• To set them free from spiritual captivity (2 Tim. 2:25–26).
• To give them ears to hear (Mt. 13:15), faith to believe (Acts 20:21), and will to respond (Rom. 10:9).
• To send people into their lives to witness to them (Mt. 9:38).
• To reveal Himself to them as a loving, welcoming Father.

While we are praying for the lost people we know, we should also pray for ourselves.  We should ask God:

• To give us a deeper love for them.
• For ways to build caring relationships (1 Cor. 9:22).
• For opportunities to witness (Col. 4:3).
• To fill us with boldness to continue (or begin) to speak the Word of God to them (Acts 4.29).
• For an opportunity to invite them to a harvest event (Lk. 14:23).

I am asking the Lord to give us the privilege of seeing many people saved through the direct ministries of North River this coming year.  I am also asking God to demonstrate His redeeming power in our church by restoring relationships, changing lives, and moving people to live in total surrender to Jesus Christ. 

Would you join me in praying for the lost and for God to show His redeeming power among us?