Accepting Jesus as your savior and growing in a personal relationship with him is an awesome journey. And the further along you get, the more you long for the day you reach your eternal destination in heaven. At the same time, your heart aches even more for loved ones that have not yet discovered that hope.
It could be your spouse or your child; maybe it’s your mom or dad; a brother or sister; a close friend or co-worker… It’s likely that each of us has someone in our life that we are eager to see accept Jesus as their savior and receive the blessed assurance that we hope in.
For the apostle Paul, it was his people, the Israelites.
...the longing of my heart and my prayer to God is for the people of Israel to be saved. (Romans 10:1NLT)
God has set a day when the choice each of us made about Jesus will be staring us in the face (Acts 17:30-31) … and we must not take any moment for granted.
And since Jesus has not yet returned, he could be waiting for your loved one to turn to him.
The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance. (2 Peter 3:9 NIV84)
So what do we do?
Pray that God will provide you with opportunities to share where your hope comes from. (1 Peter 3:15) And pray that you will take those opportunities with boldness. Plant seeds!
Pray for their ears to be opened to hear the Good News and for their hearts to be softened to accept and be saved. Pray for the seeds to land on fertile soil and to grow.
Pray for their protection. That as their faith is growing the devil will be powerless in his attempts to snatch away the seeds that were planted.
Pray for a successful harvest!
“Now listen to the explanation of the parable about the farmer planting seeds: The seed that fell on the footpath represents those who hear the message about the Kingdom and don’t understand it. Then the evil one comes and snatches away the seed that was planted in their hearts. The seed on the rocky soil represents those who hear the message and immediately receive it with joy. But since they don’t have deep roots, they don’t last long. They fall away as soon as they have problems or are persecuted for believing God’s word. The seed that fell among the thorns represents those who hear God’s word, but all too quickly the message is crowded out by the worries of this life and the lure of wealth, so no fruit is produced. The seed that fell on good soil represents those who truly hear and understand God’s word and produce a harvest of thirty, sixty, or even a hundred times as much as had been planted!” (Matthew 13:18-23 NLT)