Some years ago, a friend told me that he had no time for prayer - he was busy reaching out to others with the good news of Jesus Christ.
John Bisagno and Peter Golin believe that prayer is essential in effective evangelism.
"Prayer is not just an optional part of evangelism, but must be an essential part of every aspect of our evangelistic efforts," says Golin, a British Columbia medical doctor, in his book Living the Gospel.
"Is there any connection between prayer and evangelism?" asks Bisagno in his book The Power of Positive Praying. "A ten-day prayer meeting in the Upper Room nailed that at Pentecost."
Bisagno was talking about the prayer gathering of the followers of Christ after his ascension to heaven and the outpouring of the Spirit upon them at Pentecost when they preached to crowds and 3,000 of them became believers.
Bisagno has personal experience to back up his view that prayer is a vital part of outreach to people who do not know Jesus.
Before preaching at evangelistic crusades, he tried to spend one or two hours in prayer every afternoon before the evening event. He saw a direct relationship between the amount of time he spent in prayer and the number of people who accepted Christ in the evening.
Before his first crusade in Belfast, Ireland, 80 people prayed all night and 360 people gave their lives to the Lord the following day. Similar prayer sessions at other great rallies led to similar results.
Billy Graham, the greatest evangelist of the 20th century, has said that prayer before his crusades was key to the large numbers of people who poured down to the stadium floor to receive Jesus.
Why is that? Because we do not save people - God does.
The Spirit of God works in the hearts of people to bring them to himself. And we are co-labourers with the Lord as Paul says in 1 Corinthians 3:9. It is our task to be instruments of God's love and to talk about Jesus as the Lord provides opportunities through prayer.
Golin says prayer should surround every aspect of our relationship with others. Here are some of his suggestions for daily prayer:
I realize I can't do anything without God.
But God will work in every situation as I pray.
John Bisagno and Peter Golin believe that prayer is essential in effective evangelism.
"Prayer is not just an optional part of evangelism, but must be an essential part of every aspect of our evangelistic efforts," says Golin, a British Columbia medical doctor, in his book Living the Gospel.
"Is there any connection between prayer and evangelism?" asks Bisagno in his book The Power of Positive Praying. "A ten-day prayer meeting in the Upper Room nailed that at Pentecost."
Bisagno was talking about the prayer gathering of the followers of Christ after his ascension to heaven and the outpouring of the Spirit upon them at Pentecost when they preached to crowds and 3,000 of them became believers.
Bisagno has personal experience to back up his view that prayer is a vital part of outreach to people who do not know Jesus.
Before preaching at evangelistic crusades, he tried to spend one or two hours in prayer every afternoon before the evening event. He saw a direct relationship between the amount of time he spent in prayer and the number of people who accepted Christ in the evening.
Before his first crusade in Belfast, Ireland, 80 people prayed all night and 360 people gave their lives to the Lord the following day. Similar prayer sessions at other great rallies led to similar results.
Billy Graham, the greatest evangelist of the 20th century, has said that prayer before his crusades was key to the large numbers of people who poured down to the stadium floor to receive Jesus.
Why is that? Because we do not save people - God does.
The Spirit of God works in the hearts of people to bring them to himself. And we are co-labourers with the Lord as Paul says in 1 Corinthians 3:9. It is our task to be instruments of God's love and to talk about Jesus as the Lord provides opportunities through prayer.
Golin says prayer should surround every aspect of our relationship with others. Here are some of his suggestions for daily prayer:
- Pray that we will love Jesus more and have increased compassion for others;
- Pray for opportunities to talk about Jesus every day;
- Pray that the Lord will open the hearts of non-believing friends to Christ;
- Pray that we will understand, learn and present the gospel clearly;
- Pray that we will put aside our pride and be vulnerable as a witness of our faith to others;
- Ask the Lord to give us humility, gentleness, patience, honesty and respect as we share our faith in Christ;
- Ask that God will take our eyes off ourselves and direct them to him as we share the gospel; and
- Ask for courage to turn the conversation to the Lord.
I realize I can't do anything without God.
But God will work in every situation as I pray.
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