Are you praying for the salvation of unbelieving friends or family members? It’s hard sometimes to know how or the right words to pray for their salvation. There are many Bible verses you can turn into prayers for unbelievers, making them specific and speaking to many different situations.
Praying for Non Believers
Can you say a prayer with the intention of someone being saved?Yes, absolutely! Jesus tells us His earthly mission was to seek and save the lost.
It’s important to remember that only God knows a person’s heart and tells us not to judge anyone. (Matthew 7:1) God works in His perfect timing; surrender them into His hands as you pray.
Praying for the salvation of unbelievers certainly aligns with His intention that all would enter His kingdom.
The apostle Paul instructs Timothy “that requests, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for everyone.” 1 Timothy 2:1.
We have a deep understanding of the difference a life lived for Jesus can make. It is our heart’s desire for all to enjoy His peace, rest, comfort, guidance, and unbelievable, eternal love!
Maybe you’ve been praying for years for a special someone’s salvation. There is no reason to lose hope or question if your prayers are having any effect.
Jesus even tells His disciples the Parable of the Persistent Widow to show them they should always pray and never give up!
Praying persistently doesn’t mean endless repetition or lengthy prayer sessions. It means offering our requests to God, believing He will answer.
This new or different way to pray might be just the spark you need as you continue to pray for your friends or loved ones. Uniting your desire to pray with God’s Word is powerful!
Instead of a generic prayer for someone’s salvation, these Bible verses bring intention and specific things to pray as we seek to bring the good news of the Gospel to the lost.
Praying for Salvation Scriptures
Pray these encouraging Bible verses from the Word of God for unbelievers. Insert their name into the verse for personalization.
Matthew 13:15
“Otherwise, they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts and turn, and I would heal them.”
God, I pray you would give them eyes to see, ears to hear, and a heart to understand You.
Acts 16:14
“One of those listening was a woman named Lydia, a dealer in purple cloth from the city of Thyatira, who was a worshiper of God. The Lord opened her heart to respond to Paul’s message.”
Pray that God would open their heart to believe!
John 6:44
“No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him, and I will raise him up at the last day.”
Pray that the Father draws them to Himself.
Matthew 9:38
“Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.”
Pray for God to send forth laborers into their life to share the Gospel with them.
Acts 3:19
“Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord.”
Pray for their conviction and repentance from their sin; that they would experience the pure refreshment of Jesus.
2 Corinthians 4:4
“The god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.”
Pray for God to bind Satan in their lives. Pray for the light of Jesus to pierce through their darkness, and that their eyes would be opened.
Isaiah 65:1
“I revealed myself to those who did not ask for me; I was found by those who did not seek me.”
Pray that He would reveal Himself through circumstances, people, and the glory of His creation.
2 Corinthians 10:5
“We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God.”
Pray for the tearing down of mental strongholds and arguments that contradict the true nature of God.
John 14:6
“I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”
Pray for Jesus to be revealed to them; that they would understand God’s love for them.
Ezekiel 36:26
“I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh.”
Pray God would take their hearts of stone and make them hearts of flesh; tender and trusting in Jesus Christ.
John 10:27
“My sheep listen to my voice; I know them and they follow me.”
Pray they would recognize the voice of their Good Shepherd; that it would drown out the voice of the enemy.
James 4:3
“When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures.”
Pray the bountiful gifts God offers override the desire to have earthly pleasures.
John 17:3
“Now this is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent.”
You will find this verse in Jesus’ longest recorded prayer in the Bible. He prayed for us to be united with His Father and Himself in an everlasting and personal relationship, knowing them deeply.
Pray they may know God and His Son by admitting their sin and turning from it, enter into a saving relationship with Jesus.
Ephesians 6:19
“Whenever I open my mouth, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel.”
Pray to be bold in sharing the Gospel, taking any opportunity God gives to share His Word with grace, love, gentleness and respect.
1 Timothy 2:4
“God our Savior, who wants all men to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth.”
Pray that they would receive the basic understanding of who Jesus is as a building block for further knowledge.
Matthew 5:16
“Let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and praise your heavenly Father.”
Pray that the light of others would shine upon them, and they would see Jesus in it.
2 Peter 3:9
“The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.”
Pray for patience in God’s compassionate timing for them as you continue to pray.
Salvation Prayer Scripture
Our Lord Jesus Christ is the only way to salvation. Pray these beautiful truths would be revealed to the hearts of unbelievers and to comprehend the depth of God’s love for them.
Acts 2:21
“And everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”
Romans 10:9-10
“That if you confess with our mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord’, and believe in your heart that God raised him for the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved.”
John 3:16
“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”
1 Timothy 2:5-6
“For there is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all men.”
Great Joy of Salvation
In the minds of unbelievers, joy depends on their circumstances. The Christian’s joy, however, comes from fellowship with the Creator of the Universe. We can experience joy even in difficult times.
The joy of the Lord can be a daily reality for our Christian life. We know in our hearts that He is always by our side. At our appointed hour, we will see Him face to face, and He will take us home. That beautiful promise lets us live daily with faith, hope, and joy.
This inexpressible joy has a hint of heaven on earth for us. Our relationship with God through Jesus is a joyous reality now, with a glorious eternity ahead. Therefore, we pray for those who do not yet believe.
We want them to know the joy that Peter describes this way:
“Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy.” 1 Peter 1:8.
So continue to pray for the hearts of these unbelievers in your life. James 5:16 tells us, “the prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.”
Don’t get tripped up over the word “righteous”- it doesn’t mean we have to be on our “best behavior” to pray effectively. Accepting Jesus’ death and resurrection and turning our lives over to Him makes us “righteous”- as if we’ve never sinned.
The Power of God
Rely on God’s great power to save whoever is on your heart. We only plant the seeds of faith, the Holy Spirit makes them grow. His power is infinitely greater than ours and can do more than we can ask or imagine!
Blessings!
AnnMarie
If you would like a printable copy of the verses and prayers used in this post, click on the image below to access my Resource Page. Scroll down to “Printable Bible Verses” and click on the image.
All Scripture is taken from the NIV unless specified otherwise.
Photo Credit: Canva
I really appreciate all the Bible verses you’ve shared. As I was reading last night , I specifically mentioned the names of some people or loved ones God had put in my heart in prayer that their eyes may see or be opened, their ears may hear and their hearts may understand God .
Yeah I agree , we only plant the seeds of faith, the Holy Spirit makes them grow. God will be the One to move in the lives of those whom we’ve shared the Gospel.
God bless you Ma’am AnnMarie 🙏❤️
I love praying the Bible this way! Thanks so much for reading and your encouraging words.