Praying for the Sinner

James 5:19-20

Brethren, if any of you do err from the truth, and one convert him; Let him know, that he which converteth the sinner from the error of his way shall save a soul from death, and shall hide a multitude of sins.

Praying for the sinner is critical if we are to see the sinner convert from the error of his way. We often talk about God restoring people, but most of our prayers never pray for those who have gone astray. You cannot convince me you care for people if you don't pray for them to be converted and serving God again.

Now, when we talk about converted, we are not talking about the lost being saved. Although, we can pray for the lost to be saved in the same manner that we pray for the backslidden to be converted from their way. When we talk about someone being converted, we are using the same language Christ used with Peter. Jesus said to Peter in Luke 22:32, But I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not: and when thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren. Notice, Peter was not lost, but his heart was not yet right with the Lord. To be converted means to be transformed to having a new purpose. We ought to pray for people to be transformed from living for sin to living for God. So, how should we pray for the sinner that needs to be converted?

First, pray believing that sinners can be converted. If you don't believe that people be converted, you are wasting your time praying. There must be a belief in your heart that God is capable of using anyone no matter what they have done, and that He is capable of converting them to having a new purpose to live for Him.

Second, you must pray earnestly. If the one who is living in sin were your children or family, you would be earnest about praying for them. Don't be flippant in your prayer that people be converted; pray earnestly, or with passion, for the sinner to be converted. The earnest prayer avails much. The more earnest you are in your prayer for the sinner, the greater heart you will have for that person to be converted to God’s way of living.

Third, never give up praying for the sinner to be converted. Elijah prayed again that God would send rain, and God used this illustration to teach us to pray again for the sinner to be converted. This phrase is teaching that we should never stop praying for the conversion of the sinner until they are converted. It matters not how many years you have prayed for someone to come back to God, pray again. How many times you pray again for the backslidden to get right shows how much you truly love them.

Fourth, pray for God to give you wisdom to help. You ought to ask God to help you do the right thing to help the sinner to come back to Him. We often do things to push the sinner away, but God can give us the wisdom to do the right thing at the right time that will grab their heart and cause them to be converted to living the right way. Instead of preaching at the sinner every time you see them, ask God for His wisdom to help them so they will come back to Him.

Fifth, pray with faith for the sinner to be converted. Faith believes God is working on their heart. Faith believes they can be converted. Faith has a vision for the sinner’s conversion. The prayer of faith will cause you never to give up on the sinner, and it will cause you to keep praying for them even when you see no progress in them returning to God.