DAY 2

Five You Can Only Pray For

Read Matthew 7:7-11; 17:20; 21:21-22; James 1:5-8; John 6:37.
Yesterday you used the fingers of your left hand to identify five people who won’t let you share your faith with them. These are people for whom you can only pray. Then you used the fingers of your right hand to identify five people who will let you share your faith with them. These are persons you can both pray for and witness to.
Read Matthew 21:21-22 and James 1:5-8.
In light of these verses, do you tend to feel discouraged, hesitant, or afraid when you think about praying for your lost friends to be saved? If so, why do you feel that way?
The reason you feel hesitant or afraid to pray for your friends is important. Are you afraid your faith may not be strong enough or that you won’t get an answer to those prayers for another reason?
Read John 6:37 and think again about praying for those lost friends. How much faith must you have before Jesus will answer your prayers? Find the answer in Matthew 17:20.
Jesus said even faith as small as a mustard seed is enough. If your faith is strong enough to bring you to Jesus with your need, it’s enough. He has promised that He will honor such faith. He will “never cast out” (John 6:37) anyone who trusts Him.
If you have enough faith to come to Jesus with your inability to help yourself, He will deal with your doubts. Don’t feel your faith is so weak that praying would do no good. Remember, prayer is simply letting Christ use His power to work in an area of need—in your life or in the life of another person.
If your faith in Jesus is large enough to ask Him to use His power and reveal Himself to your five-and-five people, it’s large enough.
Your faith is never stronger than when you admit your lack of power and you trust Jesus to use His limitless power.
So never think your imperfect faith can place a limit on His power. Pray! It’s as simple as giving your Lord access to an area of need. Just let yourself go during your prayer times and do what Philippians 4:6 encourages you to do.
Have you memorized that verse yet? Try to record it here from memory.
At the end of this quiet time, I’ll ask you to pray for the first five of the five-and-five you listed yesterday. First let’s look at three aspects of prayer that will help you as you pray.
Read Matthew 7:7-8.
Often we describe prayer as talking with God. These verses describe praying as three different actions. Each action brings a specific result. List the actions and the accompanying results.
ACTIONRESULT

1.
2.
3.

Did you find it easy to identify the right answers? Now meditate on the three verbs or actions used in Matthew 7:7-8.
Asking in prayer involves requesting something you already know about: “Lord Jesus, I ask You to bring my friend to know Your love.” You already know about Christ’s love; you simply want your unbelieving friend to trust Christ and come to know that love as you know it.
Seeking in prayer, on the other hand, involves requesting an answer about something you don’t know about: “Lord Jesus, show me what I can do to express Your love to my friend. I don’t know what to do next.”
Knocking in prayer involves asking Christ to enter an area of need that’s behind closed doors: “Lord Jesus, deep immorality in my friend’s life has closed him to Your love. Open the door to that area of need in him and show him that You can deliver him.”
Read Matthew 7:9-11.
These verses make several comparisons. Which comparison is most important?
The most important comparison in Matthew 7:9-11 doesn’t involve bread or stone, a fish or a snake. Rather, it’s the comparison between a human father’s integrity and compassion and the integrity and compassion of your Heavenly Father.
What assurance do these verses give you that asking, seeking, and knocking in prayer will be answered?
If human fathers give what their children ask for, we can certainly expect our Heavenly Father to give us what we ask for.
Do you agree that this is a fair summary of the teaching in Matthew 7:9-11?
What are you asking your Heavenly Father to give you when you pray for your first five lost friends? Be practical.
You’re asking your Heavenly Father to bring salvation to the five people for whom you can only pray because they’re not open to your sharing Christ with them.
Briefly review the three aspects of prayer I explained earlier. What can you ask, seek, or knock for when you pray for those five people today?
1. Name: __________
Ask: __________
Seek: __________
Knock: __________
2. Name: __________
Ask: __________
Seek: __________
Knock: __________
3. Name: __________
Ask: __________
Seek: __________
Knock: __________
4. Name: __________
Ask: __________
Seek: __________
Knock: __________
5. Name: __________
Ask: __________
Seek: __________
Knock: __________
The only way you’ll discover the power of prayer in reaching the seeming unreachables in your life is to pray for them.
End your quiet time today by asking, seeking, and knocking for each one. Pray about a specific area of need in each life. Commit yourself to pray each day. Then wait for the results of your prayers. God has His own timetable for answering—and He will answer!