Prayer for the Unsaved and Backsliders

This salvation prayer is written to be used by one or more people, praying for the salvation of one or more people. At first, the “(he / she / they)” and “(was / were)” constructs may be awkward, but hang in there! After praying the prayer a few times you will be able to glance at the next sentence or two, close your eyes, and pray with all your might. The exact words aren’t that important, go with the Word and your inner witness.

I expect this prayer become a “template” for me, as the Lord’s Prayer is a template. I will pray some sentences over and over and over, using God’s Word like a hammer. I will be reminded of other applicable verses and use them too.

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Introduction

Father, in the name of Jesus, the Name above every name, (I/we) bring ____________ before you. (I/we) know that You are love. You loved the world so much that you sent your only Son to die in our place, so that by believing in Him all could have eternal life. (I/we) know You desire all people to be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth. You have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but want them to turn from their wicked ways and live!

Petitions

Father, Your Word says that no one can come to Jesus unless You draw them, so (I/we) ask You right now that You draw __________ to Jesus. You have mercy on whom you want to have mercy, and (I/we) ask you to have mercy on __________. Remove (his / her / their) heart(s) of stone and give (him / her / them) (a heart / hearts) of flesh. May (he / she / they) not be (a fool / fools) who believe(s) there is no God, but may (he / she / they) know that You exist, and You do reward those who seek You. May (he / she / they) know that Jesus is standing at the door and knocking, and may (he / she / they) open the door! May (he / she / they) know that the wages of sin is death, but that the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus! May __________ know that every person will be judged by You, and that it is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God! May __________ confess with (his / her / their) mouth(s) that Jesus is Lord, and believe in (his / her / their) heart(s) that God raised Him from the dead, so that (he is / she is / they are) saved!

If Taught as (a Child / Children)

Father, __________ (was / were) trained as (a child / children) in the way (he / she / they) should go. (I/we) remind You, Your Word says that that when (he is / she is / they are) old (he / she / they) will not depart from it. __________ (has / have) great peace because (he is / she is / they are) taught of the Lord.

Workers

Father, you are the Lord of the harvest, and (I/we) pray You send out laborers into Your harvest, including laborers for __________. May these laborers plant and water the seed of Your word in the good soil of __________, and may that seed yield a harvest — 30-fold, 60-fold, 100-fold!

Binding and Loosing

Father, in the name of Jesus (I/we) bind every evil, demonic spiritual ruler and authority blinding the mind(s) of __________. (I/we) loose your ministering spirits, your strong angels that do Your commands, to help (him / her / them) clearly see the glorious light of the glory of Christ!

Prayer Works!

Father, the prayers of the saints are incense in heaven. (My / Our) prayer is powerful and effective, because (I am not / we are not) depending on (my / our) own righteousness, which is like filthy rags. Instead, (I am / we are) depending on the fact that (I am / we are) the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus, so (my / our) prayers for __________ are powerful and effective.

Conclusion

Father, (I/we) cast all the care of the salvation of __________ over on You, because you care for (me / us). (I/we) thank You that You are watching over Your Word to perform it. Your Word does not return to You empty, but it accomplishes that which you purpose, and succeeds in the thing for which you sent it! Thank You, Father!

Now to him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you blameless before the presence of his glory with great joy, to the only God, our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion, and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen.
Jude 1:24-25 ESV

In Jesus’ name, Amen!

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References

“Yet even now,” declares the LORD, “return to me with all your heart, with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning;
Joel 2:12 ESV

“For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven and do not return there but water the earth, making it bring forth and sprout, giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater, so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth; it shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it.”
Isaiah 55:10-11 ESV

Then the LORD said to me, “You have seen well, for I am watching over my word to perform it.”
Jeremiah 1:12 ESV

Therefore God has mercy on whom he wants to have mercy, and he hardens whom he wants to harden.
Romans 9:18 NIV

All your children shall be taught by the LORD, and great shall be the peace of your children.
Isaiah 54:13 ESV

“No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him. And I will raise him up on the last day.”
John 6:44 ESV

Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it.
Proverbs 22:6 ESV

“I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.”
Matthew 16:19 ESV

In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.
2 Corinthians 4:4 ESV

Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name,
Philippians 2:9 ESV

And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience— among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind. But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.
Ephesians 2:1-10 ESV

But for you who fear my name, the sun of righteousness shall rise with healing in its wings. You shall go out leaping like calves from the stall.
Malachi 4:2 ESV

“But watch yourselves lest your hearts be weighed down with dissipation and drunkenness and cares of this life, and that day come upon you suddenly like a trap. For it will come upon all who dwell on the face of the whole earth. But stay awake at all times, praying that you may have strength to escape all these things that are going to take place, and to stand before the Son of Man.”
Luke 21:34-36 ESV

It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.
Hebrews 10:31 ESV

God is love.
1 John 4:8

Have I any pleasure in the death of the wicked, declares the Lord GOD, and not rather that he should turn from his way and live?
Ezekiel 18:23 ESV

First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way. This is good, and it is pleasing in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.
1 Timothy 2:1-4 ESV

And this is the confidence that we have toward him, that if we ask anything according to his will he hears us.
1 John 5:14 ESV

Pray without ceasing.
1 Thessalonians 5:17 KJV

The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.
James 5:16b NIV

But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away.
Isaiah 64:6 ESV

For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
2 Corinthians 5:21 ESV

And when he had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, each holding a harp, and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints.
Revelation 5:8 ESV

Is not my word like fire, declares the LORD, and like a hammer that breaks the rock in pieces?
Jeremiah 23:29 ESV

And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.
Ezekiel 36:26 ESV

For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.
Ephesians 6:12 ESV

Are not all angels ministering spirits sent to serve those who will inherit salvation?
Hebrews 1:14 NIV

“See to it that you do not despise one of these little ones, because I tell you, their angels in heaven always have access to my Father in heaven.”
Matthew 18:10 ISV

Bless the LORD, ye his angels, that excel in strength, that do his commandments, hearkening unto the voice of his word.
Psalm 103:20 KJV

And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.
Hebrews 11:6 ESV

“And I will say to my soul, “Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; relax, eat, drink, be merry.”‘ But God said to him, ‘Fool! This night your soul is required of you, and the things you have prepared, whose will they be?’ So is the one who lays up treasure for himself and is not rich toward God.”
Luke 12:19-21 ESV

And calling the crowd to him with his disciples, he said to them,”If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake and the gospel’s will save it. For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his soul? For what can a man give in return for his soul? For whoever is ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him will the Son of Man also be ashamed when he comes in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.”
Mark 8:34-38 ESV

Those who trust in themselves are fools, but those who walk in wisdom are kept safe.
Proverbs 28:26 NIV

The fool says in his heart, “There is no God.” They are corrupt, doing abominable iniquity; there is none who does good.
Psalm 53:1 ESV

The discerning sets his face toward wisdom,
but the eyes of a fool are on the ends of the earth.
Proverbs 17:24 ESV

And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Then another book was opened, which is the book of life. And the dead were judged by what was written in the books, according to what they had done.
Revelation 20:12 ESV

Yet you do not know what your life will be like tomorrow. You are just a vapor that appears for a little while and then vanishes away.
James 4:14 NASB

So teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom.
Psalm 90:12 ESV

For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evils. It is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pangs.
1 Timothy 6:10 ESV

And he said to them, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.
Luke 10:2 ESV

I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth. So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth.
1 Corinthians 3:6-7 ESV

“Listen! Behold, a sower went out to sow. And as he sowed, some seed fell along the path, and the birds came and devoured it. Other seed fell on rocky ground, where it did not have much soil, and immediately it sprang up, since it had no depth of soil. And when the sun rose, it was scorched, and since it had no root, it withered away. Other seed fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked it, and it yielded no grain. And other seeds fell into good soil and produced grain, growing up and increasing and yielding thirtyfold and sixtyfold and a hundredfold.” And he said,”He who has ears to hear, let him hear.”
Mark 4:3-9 ESV

“The sower sows the word. And these are the ones along the path, where the word is sown: when they hear, Satan immediately comes and takes away the word that is sown in them. And these are the ones sown on rocky ground: the ones who, when they hear the word, immediately receive it with joy. And they have no root in themselves, but endure for a while; then, when tribulation or persecution arises on account of the word, immediately they fall away. And others are the ones sown among thorns. They are those who hear the word, but the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches and the desires for other things enter in and choke the word, and it proves unfruitful. But those that were sown on the good soil are the ones who hear the word and accept it and bear fruit, thirtyfold and sixtyfold and a hundredfold.”
Mark 4:14-20 ESV

“Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”
Matthew 6:19-21 ESV

Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me.
Revelation 3:20 ESV

The steps of a [good] man are directed and established by the Lord when He delights in his way [and He busies Himself with his every step]. Though he falls, he shall not be utterly cast down, for the Lord grasps his hand in support and upholds him.
Psalm 37:23-24 AMPC

For a righteous man falls seven times, and rises again, But the wicked stumble in time of calamity.
Proverbs 24:16 NASB

“Today I have given you the choice between life and death, between blessings and curses. Now I call on heaven and earth to witness the choice you make. Oh, that you would choose life, so that you and your descendants might live!”
Deuteronomy 30:19 NLT

Have I any pleasure in the death of the wicked, declares the Lord GOD, and not rather that he should turn from his way and live?
Ezekiel 18:23 ESV

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.”
John 3:16 ESV

for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,
Romans 3:23 ESV

but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
Romans 5:8 ESV

For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Romans 6:23 ESV

because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved. For the Scripture says, “Everyone who believes in him will not be put to shame.”
Romans 10:9-11 ESV

Are you following God's plan for your life? 
   You should.
      Your plan sucks.
      It really, really sucks.
      Suckage Maximus.

Most people are WRONG! WRONG! WRONG!

Jesus is coming.
   Are you ready to meet Him?
   Give your life to Jesus Christ.
   Time is running out.