Believers in Jesus Christ have been given a precious privilege, the honorable duty of intercessory prayer. This includes evangelistic praying. A believer’s right to intercede in prayer on behalf of others is taught and exemplified throughout Scripture. Jesus is our greatest example, and it is His we follow. Peter tells us that in Him we are a “royal priesthood” (1 Peter 2:9, ESV1). One key aspect of the priestly activity that all believers enjoy in Christ is intercessory prayer.
Intercessory prayer for unbelievers raises some questions. Few would argue against prayer for unbelievers to be saved, but what about prayer for specific individual unbelievers to be saved? Another question has to do with the limits of evangelistic praying. If we pray earnestly for someone to come to saving faith, does God promise that this person will eventually repent and follow Christ? What if we pray “in faith”?
A Key Passage on Evangelistic Intercessory Prayer
Let’s consider these questions through the lens of 1 Timothy 2:1–7:
1 First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, 2 for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way. 3 This is good, and it is pleasing in the sight of God our Savior, 4 who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. 5 For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, 6 who gave himself as a ransom for all, which is the testimony given at the proper time. 7 For this I was appointed a preacher and an apostle (I am telling the truth, I am not lying), a teacher of the Gentiles in faith and truth.
What does this passage on intercessory prayer teach us about prayer for unbelievers?
Evangelistic Intercession for Individual Unbelievers is Biblical
Evangelistic prayer for individual unbelievers is commanded by God (vv. 1–2).
Paul here urges Timothy to teach God’s people to intercede in prayer for all people. He then names some types of individuals for whom God’s people should pray. Paul focuses on prayer for certain unbelievers that the churches might not think to pray for or might not want to pray for according to the flesh: “kings and all who are in high positions” of authority over them. This command is to pray for government officials over us, regardless of their character, fitness for office, or how they came to power.
We are expressly commanded by God’s Spirit to pray for all people. That is, we are to intercede in prayer for everyone in our lives with whom we have to do. Are most of these unbelievers? Yes! Prayer for specific unbelievers is indeed biblical.
Paul gave two reasons why evangelistic intercession is important.
Evangelistic prayer promotes godliness among believers (v. 2).
Christians must pray for all the rulers over them at different levels of government, the ones they know and whose authority they are under. Believers must pray for these leaders even if they oppress and persecute them. As Christians obey and pray for these rulers, that obedience causes them to be good citizens and have a good reputation for righteousness where they live. As they pray evangelistically, they are reminded of their own identity in Christ and the need to live the Gospel before the lost.
Evangelistic prayer pleases God because it reflects His heart (will) to save (vv. 3–7).
We cannot err in prayer for unbelievers! Not only are we commanded to pray this way, but this kind of prayer reflects the heart of God in His saving work.
“This (evangelistic prayer) is good, and it is pleasing in the sight of God our Savior, (Why?) who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all, which is the testimony given at the proper time” (parenthesis mine).
Evangelistic prayer is good and pleasing to God. It is a form of worship that honors God. It reminds us of His great love, His desire for all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth—that is Jesus. If we are to stay connected to the heart of God, we must intercede evangelistically! For servants of the Gospel, this is extremely important (v.7).
God Promises to Use Our Evangelistic Praying
If intercession for individual unbelievers is commanded, does this mean guaranteed success in prayer, i.e., that those for whom we pray will believe?
The inference is clear.
This passage definitely insinuates that our intercessions on behalf of unbelievers are at least used by God as He works out His plan of redemption for the nations. God does not command us to pray simply for our own benefit or that we will have His heart to aid us in evangelism. God plans to use our prayers in the lives of the lost for whom we intercede.
With this understanding, Paul prayed earnestly for unbelieving Israel. He wept and strove in prayer for them to be saved, knowing that God used his prayers (Romans 9:1–5; 10:1–2). This being true, it is a serious sin to fail to pray for individual unbelievers we know and care about to be saved.
The intersection of God’s sovereignty and our prayers is a mystery.
Just as God nowhere erases the tension between the doctrines of God’s sovereignty and free will in salvation, neither does He do so regarding evangelistic intercession and how He uses prayer to bring men and women to Himself.
Speaking of evangelism and the mysteries of free will and election, Steve Viars2 said,
“I assume that every person in this town is elect, and they’re going to have to prove me wrong by rejecting the Gospel.”
In other words, whether someone is elect or not isn’t our concern. We evangelize as though everyone is elect until they die in unbelief and prove that they were not. Similarly with intercessory prayer, we earnestly pray for the lost to be saved with the assumption that they can be saved. We pray for them, knowing that God uses our prayers. Our prayers for them don’t cease until they leave this life in death and their opportunity to be saved ends.
The guarantee is ours: God will certainly use evangelistic intercession.
No, there are no guarantees that the ones for whom we pray will believe. Nowhere are we led to believe that if we had enough faith, our prayer would result in salvation. But we do have one certainty: God uses them. We must obey and pray, and then rest in God’s plan.
1 Unless otherwise noted, Scripture quotations are taken from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), Copyright © 2008 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
2 This quotation was taken from the teaching of Dr. Steve Viars at the Faith Biblical Counseling Conference 2024 in Lafayette, IN, during Foundational Training Track 1.