Keep praying for that impossible man or woman who seems like a lost cause.
In Charles Spurgeon's eyes, no one is beyond the grace and mercy of God.
Spurgeon, a great 19th century British Baptist preacher, offers an encounter between God and Moses as evidence that we should never believe there are really hopeless cases.
You may recall God's reaction to Moses' brother Aaron making a golden calf for the wandering Israelites to worship. The Lord was furious and threatened to destroy them all and to start a new nation under Moses (Exodus 32).
But Moses pleaded with the Lord on behalf of his people.
Moses suggested the Egyptians would declare God called the Israelites out into the wilderness to destroy them. The Israelite leader then appealed to the Lord to "turn away from your fierce anger".
He added: "Turn away from this terrible disaster you have threatened against your people."
He reminded God that he had made a binding agreement with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob to make his people as numerous as the stars.
And God relented. There was punishment but the nation was not utterly destroyed.
It appeared to the Israelites that God had changed his mind. But this may have been a test for Moses.
If so, Moses passed the test with flying colours. He appealed to the merciful heart of God.
Moses already had an extremely close relationship with the Lord. He spent hours in prayer with the Lord and obeyed him without reserve.
Except he could not let the threat to the Israelites go by without objecting.
God listened to Moses and he will listen to us if we pray wholeheartedly for people who are far from the Lord.
Such powerful prayer begins with spending a regular time in prayer with God, says Spurgeon. We can't pray mountain-moving prayer without getting to know our Lord intimately.
This doesn't mean excusing the sin or the sinner - Moses did not excuse Aaron and the Israelites for making the golden calf as a god to worship.
However, no sin is too great to shut out God's mercy.
A couple of centuries ago, John Newton, a slave trader in Africa, became a believer in Christ and turned his life around. His hymn "Amazing Grace" speaks of his change of heart and the power of God's forgiveness.
"Never let your indignation against sin prevent your prayers for sinners!" says Spurgeon.
He continues: "O you who love the Lord, give him no rest until he saves men."
Spurgeon says Moses could find nothing good in the people who had rejected God to bring before the Lord. So, he turned his attention to God himself and his nature. He noted that the Israelites were God's people - not Moses'.
In the same way, we can pray for people asking God not to let his creatures perish.
And, just as Moses pointed out God's covenant - or agreement - with the Israelite patriarchs in the past, so we can bring before the Lord his promises to us in the scriptures.
Finally, Moses told God that he could not go forward without his people. Spurgeon remarks "we never prevail in prayer so much as when we seem to link ourselves with the people for whom we pray".
"When you can pray like that, when you put yourself side by side with the soul for which you are pleading, you will succeed."
So, we must not give up praying for people who seem like hard cases - impossibly far from God.
The reward for answers to these prayers is overwhelming joy in our hearts - and in the heart of God.
In Charles Spurgeon's eyes, no one is beyond the grace and mercy of God.
Spurgeon, a great 19th century British Baptist preacher, offers an encounter between God and Moses as evidence that we should never believe there are really hopeless cases.
You may recall God's reaction to Moses' brother Aaron making a golden calf for the wandering Israelites to worship. The Lord was furious and threatened to destroy them all and to start a new nation under Moses (Exodus 32).
But Moses pleaded with the Lord on behalf of his people.
Moses suggested the Egyptians would declare God called the Israelites out into the wilderness to destroy them. The Israelite leader then appealed to the Lord to "turn away from your fierce anger".
He added: "Turn away from this terrible disaster you have threatened against your people."
He reminded God that he had made a binding agreement with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob to make his people as numerous as the stars.
And God relented. There was punishment but the nation was not utterly destroyed.
It appeared to the Israelites that God had changed his mind. But this may have been a test for Moses.
If so, Moses passed the test with flying colours. He appealed to the merciful heart of God.
Moses already had an extremely close relationship with the Lord. He spent hours in prayer with the Lord and obeyed him without reserve.
Except he could not let the threat to the Israelites go by without objecting.
God listened to Moses and he will listen to us if we pray wholeheartedly for people who are far from the Lord.
Such powerful prayer begins with spending a regular time in prayer with God, says Spurgeon. We can't pray mountain-moving prayer without getting to know our Lord intimately.
This doesn't mean excusing the sin or the sinner - Moses did not excuse Aaron and the Israelites for making the golden calf as a god to worship.
However, no sin is too great to shut out God's mercy.
A couple of centuries ago, John Newton, a slave trader in Africa, became a believer in Christ and turned his life around. His hymn "Amazing Grace" speaks of his change of heart and the power of God's forgiveness.
"Never let your indignation against sin prevent your prayers for sinners!" says Spurgeon.
He continues: "O you who love the Lord, give him no rest until he saves men."
Spurgeon says Moses could find nothing good in the people who had rejected God to bring before the Lord. So, he turned his attention to God himself and his nature. He noted that the Israelites were God's people - not Moses'.
In the same way, we can pray for people asking God not to let his creatures perish.
And, just as Moses pointed out God's covenant - or agreement - with the Israelite patriarchs in the past, so we can bring before the Lord his promises to us in the scriptures.
Finally, Moses told God that he could not go forward without his people. Spurgeon remarks "we never prevail in prayer so much as when we seem to link ourselves with the people for whom we pray".
"When you can pray like that, when you put yourself side by side with the soul for which you are pleading, you will succeed."
So, we must not give up praying for people who seem like hard cases - impossibly far from God.
The reward for answers to these prayers is overwhelming joy in our hearts - and in the heart of God.
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