Pray For The Lost

I want you to imagine the following scenario with me.

There was a community in a particular city that did not have a fire station. It was a growing community and there had already been a couple of fires that had destroyed several homes, so it was understood that a fire station was needed.

At first, the new fire station was small. They only had two fire truck bays and it was only a volunteer station. But they were good at what they did and saved many homes and many lives.

Over time, as the fire station’s responsibilities increased, some of the people wanted to build a new fire station that was equipped to handle the increased workload.

It was decided that this new fire station would house five fire trucks. They would have beds and a kitchen for their firefighters. They had a nice plush office for the fire chief. The firefighters really enjoyed their work, but they also enjoyed being together and spending time together at the fire station between calls.

As time went on, the firefighters began to resent being asked to leave their nice fire station to go out and fight fires. Besides, every time they went out, their soot and ash-covered clothes left stains on the locker room floors.

So when calls came in, it started taking longer for the firefighters to get there. They took their time getting ready. They drove slowly to prevent wear and tear on the fire trucks.

And eventually, people stopped calling the fire station when they needed help.

But that didn’t bother the firefighters too much. After all, it was just more time for them to spend together enjoying their nice fire station.

People who drove by the fire station often said, “Why are they even there?”

What a ridiculous story, you say. How silly.

But this is exactly the situation when a church doesn’t participate in God’s mission to save the lost in their community.

In this text the Lord is calling upon His church to pray for the lost. Why pray for the lost? Because prayer shapes the desires of our heart and eventually leads to action.

Today’s sermon will answer two questions: how do we pray for the lost? And why must we pray for the lost?

1. How should we pray for the salvation of the lost? (vv. 1-2)

1 Timothy 2:1–2 “First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way.”

Look with me at verse 1. Paul says “first of all”. It means what follows is of the greatest importance, the first priority, the major objective of the church. “First of all” — you must not neglect this.

Pray in every way (v. 1a)

Pray for every person (v. 1b)

Especially for those in government (v. 2a)

And without anger or division amongst ourselves (v. 8)

2. Why must we pray for the salvation of the lost? (vv. 3-6)

Because God desires that everyone be saved (vv. 3-4)

And because Christ died for everyone (vv. 5-7)