What do others see when they look at you? Do they see forgiveness, repentance, and accountability? Do they see you submitting to God’s design and rejecting sin? Or is there nothing in your life that sets you apart from the unbelieving world? Abiding for others requires living a life that points unbelievers to God and His Word.
Almost ten years ago, I received word that an old friend from high school was in the hospital. When I went to see him the next day, I found him on a ventilator, and immediately began to pray.
“Lord, I don’t know his situation. I don’t know if he knows You, but I pray You would reveal Yourself to him. If he hasn’t already, I pray that in this very moment he will receive You as Lord and Savior of his life. I pray that he will spend eternity with You. Amen.”
When I opened my eyes there were tears running down his face. He took his last breath just two days later. I pray that he opened his eyes to the loving arms of his Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
Abiding in Prayer for Others
I wish I could tell you that was the last time I ever had to pray that prayer. Unfortunately, more times than I would like to admit, I have sat in a funeral and not known where my loved one was spending eternity. The verse that brings me comfort is found in Joel 2:32 and repeated in Acts 2:21 and Romans 10:13, And it shall come to pass that everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.
“Lord, I pray they called on You before it was too late.”
It’s hard to watch the people I love reject the God of Scripture and trade the truth for lies. I know that an eternity apart from their Creator awaits them unless the Lord changes their heart. In addition, their lives will be more difficult. They will crumble under their circumstances and struggle to find purpose in all the wrong things.
Our greatest desire as followers of Christ should be to see others, especially those we love, come to the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ. We should plead to God through prayer regularly for the salvation of others. Our hearts should ache to see God give them ears to hear and eyes to see. I’ve heard so many testimonies of parents, family, and friends praying for several years before their loved ones came to faith in Christ. Their advice is always the same, “Never stop praying.”
I have many whom I love and pray regularly for their salvation. God has used my loved ones’ rejection of Him to challenge me, strengthen my faith, and make me grateful for my own journey. As I look back on the work God has done in my own life, I know I have to trust Him with the plan He has for each of them.
Abiding in God’s Word for Others
In addition to praying for our lost loved ones, we must abide – dwell, stay deeply connected to, trust, and obey – in God’s Word. Those that are disobedient, led astray, slaves to various passions and pleasures (Titus 3:3) do not need to see professing Christians living the same ways they are living. They need to see Christians that have been saved from sin by Jesus Christ and now strive to live like Jesus Christ.
In John 8:29, Jesus says, And he who sent me is with me. He has not left me alone, for I always do the things that are pleasing to him.
If only I could ALWAYS do the things that are pleasing to God. I will never do this perfectly, but I should strive to do what pleases Him more and more each day. My life should be characterized by forgiveness, repentance, and obedience to God. My beliefs and my very actions should be influenced by the Word of God rather than the world around me. Without abiding in God’s Word, many of our loved ones will falsely believe that they know God when in fact they never knew Him (Matthew 7:22-23).
I once heard a Christian woman say that her greatest desire was for her children to be happy. I was floored by this comment. My greatest desire is for my children to know Christ as their Lord and Savior. This is why I demonstrate forgiveness and repentance before them and refuse to affirm or celebrate their sin. I want my children to experience true peace, hope, joy, and purpose that can only be found in a relationship with Christ.
In my own life, God used Kim, a woman who abided in His Word, to point me to Him. She trusted God’s promises, rejected sin, and truly believed that a life of following Christ was far more rewarding than a life without Him. Her strong faith and love for God’s Word encouraged me to seek God and led to my salvation. Until I met Kim, I believed Jesus was my Savior, but failed to see that He was also Lord of my life.
Abiding For Future Hope
There is a day that is coming when He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore (Revelation 21:4). Until then it is not too late and no one is too far for God to reach. Never stop praying for others to know Christ as their Lord and Savior. Point others to Christ by seeking God with all your heart, abiding in His Word, and living His truth.
Want to share your story of abiding for others with me? Send me an email through my Contact Page.