Those We Pray For: The Lost
We pray for many circumstances, people, and frequently for one particular group: the lost The lost are of great importance to the Lord God and we would be wise to reflect on why the Lord's Apostles prayed as they did. For this article, we will reflect upon Paul’s prayer for the lost in Romans 10:1 and other select passages.
Be Empathetic
“Brethren, my heart’s desire and my supplication to God is for them that they may be saved. For I bear them witness that they have a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge. For being ignorant of God’s righteousness, and seeking to establish their own, they did not subject themselves to the righteousness of God. For Christ is the end of the law unto righteousness to everyone that believeth,”
Romans 10:1-3
These heartfelt words help direct the Christian in how we ought to pray for the lost. One way we can do this effectively is to be empathetic to the lost. Empathy is an action that is greatly valued among mankind and one that we cannot neglect as God’s people. The term empathy comes from the Greek language empathos, meaning "in feeling". To express empathy is to understand how another person thinks and feels based on their state. To reach someone effectively with the Gospel of Christ we have to understand what is going on in their lives, their religious background, and potential roadblocks to them obeying the Gospel.
Paul's desire and prayer to God for the Jews was to be saved, he stated as much. Paul also expressed empathy and an understanding of why they remained lost. It was not for a lack of zeal, but rather, their zeal was misplaced. It was simply zeal without knowledge. Zeal is a great quality in mankind, but zeal must be tempered by knowledge. A misplaced zeal had enabled the Jews to be misled by the lies of Satan and crucify the Son of God. This same misplaced zeal was alive and well as the circumcision sought to silence and even kill the Apostles throughout the book of Acts. When we empathize with people, we understand why they came to the conclusion they did and then we find the answers in God's Word to correct their misguided zeal. I am very aware of the zeal among the sectarians. I believe they are very sincere in their teaching. However, sincerity does not make sound doctrine, and more than zeal makes one righteous. It is imperative that, as we pray for these lost individuals, we take the action to correct their misguided zeal with the knowledge of God.
Be Sympathetic
Another characteristic of one who prays for the lost is to be sympathetic to their state. Merriam-Webster explains the origin of the word sympathy, "It comes ultimately from the Greek sympathēs, meaning "having common feelings, sympathetic," which was formed from syn- ("with, together with") and páthos, "experience, misfortune, emotion, condition." When we express sympathy, we understand the hurt that exists in the life of sin.
There is a danger of forgetting sympathy as we become further removed from sin. Christians who are maturing may tend to forget all the hurt of sin that existed in their former lives by their distance from that time. One negative attitude that can come from forgetting this is a lack of sympathy toward those willfully suffering under the yoke of sin. Paul never forgot what he had been saved from and it helped him to express his heart's desire and prayer that the lost would be won to Christ. He explains,
I thank him that enabled me, even Christ Jesus our Lord, for that he counted me faithful, appointing me to his service; though I was before a blasphemer, and a persecutor, and injurious: howbeit I obtained mercy, because I did it ignorantly in unbelief; and the grace of our Lord abounded exceedingly with faith and love which is in Christ Jesus.
1 Tim 1:12-14
When we remember what we were saved from, we keep in mind that God wills to save man from sin. The fornicator, adulterer, liar, murderer, thief, Jew, Muslim, Denominationalist, Atheist, et. al—God wants all to be saved, and come to the knowledge of the truth (cf. 1 Tim 2:4). We need not look at the lost as untouchables but rather look at them with the same sympathy the Lord showed to us. They are lost and need someone to show them the truth. We must be sympathetic to their state but willing to show them that their perceived righteousness does not equate to the righteousness of God but rather is a synthetic blend of the doctrines of uninspired dead men. The Jews that Paul spoke of in Romans 10 had created a self-righteous standard by the traditions of man and missed the end, the result of the Law of Moses, which was the coming of Messiah and the eternal kingdom (cf. Dan 2:44).
Be Compassionate
Compassion is another action that must motivate our prayers for the lost and our subsequent actions. The Gospel accounts attest to the great compassion of Jesus: it is written,
And Jesus went about all the cities and the villages, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all manner of disease and all manner of sickness. But when he saw the multitudes, he was moved with compassion for them, because they were distressed and scattered, as sheep not having a shepherd. Then saith he unto his disciples, The harvest indeed is plenteous, but the laborers are few.
Matt 9:35-37
Dear brethren, we must have compassion realizing that the lost are sick, they are distressed by the symptoms of the sickness, and scattered among every fad and belief. The good news is that there is a shepherd who can and will lead them beside still waters. There is a shepherd that leads his flock. He is the Good Shepherd who laid His life down for the sheep (cf. John 10:11). We as members of the Lord's church have the responsibility to go out and reap the harvest and bring it into the Lord. If we are to achieve this goal, we must make our hearts desire and pray to God that the Gospel will have success among the lost individuals we encounter, coupled with our actions of empathy, sympathy, and compassion.
Grace and Peace,
R.D. Beavers
