Prayers for Those That Don't Know JesusSample

Day 3: For hearts to be softened

'So I tell you this, and insist on it in the Lord, that you must no longer live as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their thinking. They are darkened in their understanding and separated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them due to the hardening of their hearts. Having lost all sensitivity, they have given themselves over to sensuality so as to indulge in every kind of impurity, and they are full of greed.'

Ephesians 4:17-19

The sad reality is that we can harden our hearts against God. In this passage, Paul is contrasting how followers of Jesus remain sensitive to God while unbelievers can harden their hearts against God by giving themselves over to sin.

Here “Gentiles” are referring to people who are apart from Christ and not specifically to an ethnicity. This is both a warning for those who follow Jesus and an opportunity to pray for those who do not. Paul says in this passage to no longer walk this way. That means it is still possible for us to walk down a path that begins in futile thinking and leads to giving ourselves over to sin.

This is also an opportunity to pray for unbelievers. Let’s pray for those we know who are apart from God’s family that:

• Jesus will become clear to them in their thinking.
• They will recognize their separation from God and want to join his family.
• Their hearts will be softened.
• All people will come to Jesus as Savior and Lord.