Pray Focused

Bible Reading: John 17:1-4

[God the Father has] given [Christ the Son] authority over everyone in all the earth. [Jesus] gives eternal life to each one [the Father has] given him. John 17:2

You want your friends to know Jesus. And yesterday you learned that prayer is your starting point for telling folks about Jesus. But exactly how sure are you that God will answer your prayers?

Check out this scale from 1-10. How confident are you?

1		3		5		7		10
I don’t pray much. When I pray, I hide with a fire extinguisher, just in case God doesn’t like what I say and smokes me.		I fling a prayer toward heaven once in a while. I worry that when God hears me praying he says, “Whozzat?!”		I pray. But I mumble. I figure that God prefers to listen to my sister.		I’m pretty sure God hears me. But I still keep the fire extinguisher handy for my really big requests.		I talk to God with a bold I respect. I know that God answers every prayer in a way that is in line with his will.

It’s so absolutely important that we become confident as we pray. This is why: God has a plan for working in your world. In fact, he has some wild promises that may be new to you. Try this one on for size: “If you ask me, I will give you the nations; all the people on earth will be yours” (Psalm 2:8, ncv). To hear God’s promise hit home even harder, put it like this: “If you ask me, I will give you your baseball team—or the kid who sits next to you in your math or Spanish class. . . .”

God promises to give you people you can talk to about him. Your job is to ask. Time and experience will give you the confidence to be bold when you ask!

There’s a secret that will help you ask confidently and take hold of what God has promised: Pray with a goal. A lot of Christians pray “bless so-and-so” prayers with no idea of what they’re actually asking. God wants you to pray with a focused picture in mind of what you want him to do. Get specific with God as you pray for non-Christian friends, classmates, teammates, or family members.

There’s no doubt about God’s will for our friends. He wants all of them in heaven (see 2 Peter 3:9). So when we ask that our friends trust Christ and be saved, we can be sure we’re asking for something God has announced as his will!

TALK: How can you focus the prayers you pray for your non-Christian friends?

PRAY: Ask God to work in the lives of your non-Christian friends, with the goal of them trusting in Christ.

ACT: Practice your habit of praying for your non-Christian friends.