Story Bearer - How to Share Your Faith With Your FriendsSample

Prayer and evangelism go hand in hand

One of the great reassurances in evangelism is that we don’t have to do it all. Sharing our faith is a partnership between us and God, and one of the ways in which we recognise that partnership and tap into its power is through prayer. Behind many people who have eventually surrendered their lives to Jesus is a praying friend or family member.

The American preacher Dwight L. Moody had a list of one hundred people he prayed for during his lifetime to come to faith. He was clearly as committed as he was popular. During his lifetime, ninety-six of them became Christians. What an encouragement! The final four chose to follow Jesus at his funeral. We may not have as many friends as DL Moody, but we can all write down a list of a few people to commit to praying for regularly.

The Colossians passage encourages us to pray that a door might be opened. Pray regularly that you might have an opportunity to share your story, or God’s story with your friends. When the opportunities arise, verse 5 urges us to make the most of them. Being ready to share our story as a result of this study should really help. It also counsels us how to share – with conversation always full of grace. Few people become Christians because they lose an argument.

Luke 18 reminds us to pray with the perseverance of a persistent widow who relentlessly pursues justice. Perhaps this story inspired DL Moody to keep praying for his friends. The journey to faith of many is a long one, and we are called to faithfully accompany them on this road in prayer.

Prayer also doesn’t just change the situations we pray for, it changes us. As we pray for our friends, we often find not only does God draw them closer to him and open doors for us to share the good news, but also we find ourselves with even more love for them and a deeper desire for them to know Jesus for themselves.

So today, if you haven’t got one already, why don’t you start your own list of a few friends who you would like to see become Christians? Commit to praying for them as often as you can. Pray for opportunities to arise and that the Holy Spirit would give you the wisdom and courage to make the most of the open doors that God gives you.