Prayer points with Scriptures · 20 points
Prayer Points for the Salvation of Souls
These prayer points for the salvation of souls are for anyone praying for people who do not yet know Jesus: an unsaved husband or wife, children who have walked away, parents, friends, coworkers and neighbors, and the lost in your community. They also pray for the church’s part in evangelism and soul winning, and for patience to keep praying when change is slow.
This is good and pleasing in the sight of God our Savior, who wants everyone to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.
1 Timothy 2:3-4 (BSB)
Write down three to five names before you start and keep the list in your Bible. Pray one section at a time, read the verse aloud, and pray the prayer with each name in mind. Salvation is God’s work through the gospel of Jesus, so these points ask, trust and keep asking.
God’s heart for the lost
1Jesus came to seek and save the lost
Lord Jesus, You came to seek and to save the lost, and You found us. Thank You for that mercy. Keep seeking the people on our hearts today, and give us Your love for them.
For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.”
Luke 19:10 (BSB)2Love proved at the cross
Father, You proved Your love for us while we were still sinners, when Christ died for us. Let the people we love see that love clearly: not a reward for good people, but a gift for sinners like us.
But God proves His love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
Romans 5:8 (BSB)3No one too far for Your mercy
Christ Jesus, You came into the world to save sinners, and You showed Paul, the worst of sinners, Your perfect patience. No one we pray for is beyond Your reach. Show that same patience and mercy to them.
This is a trustworthy saying, worthy of full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the worst. But for this very reason I was shown mercy, so that in me, the worst of sinners, Christ Jesus might display His perfect patience as an example to those who would believe in Him for eternal life.
1 Timothy 1:15-16 (BSB)4Joy in heaven over one
God, there is more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine who do not need to repent. Fill us with that joy and urgency, so we never stop caring about the one still far away.
I tell you that in the same way there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous ones who do not need to repent.
Luke 15:7 (BSB)
Open eyes and soft hearts
5Light for blinded minds
Lord God, You commanded light to shine out of darkness. Where the god of this age has blinded the minds of the people we love, shine in their hearts, so that they see Your glory in the face of Jesus Christ.
The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. For we do not proclaim ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, and ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake. For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” made His light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.
2 Corinthians 4:4-6 (BSB)6Drawn by the Father
Father, no one can come to Jesus unless You draw them. Draw the people we love to Your Son. Stir their curiosity, unsettle their false hopes, and bring them to Him.
“No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him, and I will raise him up at the last day.
John 6:44 (BSB)7Conviction of sin
Holy Spirit, convict the people on our list concerning sin, righteousness and judgment. Where they feel no need for a Savior, show them the truth about their sin and the goodness of Christ.
And when He comes, He will convict the world in regard to sin and righteousness and judgment:
John 16:8 (BSB)8Kindness that leads to repentance
Lord, let the people we pray for notice the riches of Your kindness, tolerance and patience toward them, and let Your kindness lead them to repentance instead of hardening them.
Or do you disregard the riches of His kindness, tolerance, and patience, not realizing that God’s kindness leads you to repentance?
Romans 2:4 (BSB)
Our family and loved ones
9Whole households coming to faith
Lord Jesus, as the jailer at Philippi and his whole household heard Your word and came to believe in God, bring our families to faith. Fill our homes with the same joy that filled his house that night.
They replied, “Believe in the Lord Jesus and you will be saved, you and your household.” Then Paul and Silas spoke the word of the Lord to him and to everyone in his house. At that hour of the night, the jailer took them and washed their wounds. And without delay, he and all his household were baptized. Then he brought them into his home and set a meal before them. So he and all his household rejoiced that they had come to believe in God.
Acts 16:31-34 (BSB)10Prodigals coming home
Father, You run to meet prodigals while they are still a long way off. Bring home the sons and daughters who have wandered from You, and when they turn, help us welcome them as You welcome us.
So he got up and went to his father. But while he was still in the distance, his father saw him and was filled with compassion. He ran to his son, embraced him, and kissed him.
Luke 15:20 (BSB)11Our heart’s desire and prayer
God, like Paul praying for his own people, our heart’s desire and prayer to You is that our relatives will be saved. Keep that desire warm in us, and help us pray for them by name every day.
Brothers, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for the Israelites is for their salvation.
Romans 10:1 (BSB)12An unbelieving spouse
Lord, for husbands and wives married to someone who does not yet believe, give them a pure and reverent life that speaks without words, and patience, wisdom and hope while they wait.
Wives, in the same way, submit yourselves to your husbands, so that even if they refuse to believe the word, they will be won over without words by the behavior of their wives when they see your pure and reverent demeanor.
1 Peter 3:1-2 (BSB)
Evangelism and soul winning
13Eyes to see the harvest
Lord Jesus, lift up our eyes to the fields around us: coworkers, classmates, neighbors, the cashier we see every week. Show us they are ripe for harvest, and keep us from putting it off until later.
Do you not say, ‘There are still four months until the harvest’? I tell you, lift up your eyes and look at the fields, for they are ripe for harvest.
John 4:35 (BSB)14Workers in our town
Lord of the harvest, the workers are few. Send out workers into Your harvest in our town, and make each of us willing to be one of them.
And He told them, “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into His harvest.
Luke 10:2 (BSB)15Unashamed of the gospel
Lord, make us unashamed of the gospel, because it is Your power for salvation to everyone who believes. Give us courage to speak of Jesus plainly when the moment comes.
I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, first to the Jew, then to the Greek.
Romans 1:16 (BSB)16Gracious words
God, help us act wisely toward people outside the faith and make the most of every opportunity. Let our speech be gracious and seasoned with salt, so that we know how to answer each person.
Act wisely toward outsiders, redeeming the time. Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone.
Colossians 4:5-6 (BSB)17Ready to explain our hope
Lord Jesus, we set You apart as Lord in our hearts. Make us ready to explain the hope we have to anyone who asks, and to do it with gentleness and respect, never with arguing or pride.
But in your hearts sanctify Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give a defense to everyone who asks you the reason for the hope that is in you. But respond with gentleness and respect,
1 Peter 3:15 (BSB)
Persevering in prayer
18Praying without losing heart
Lord, You told us to pray at all times and not lose heart. When years pass and nothing seems to change, keep us praying for these souls with faith, tears and hope.
Then Jesus told them a parable about their need to pray at all times and not lose heart:
Luke 18:1 (BSB)19You give the growth
God, we can plant and water, but only You make things grow. Free us from pressure and guilt about results, and help us faithfully sow the gospel and leave the growth to You.
I planted the seed and Apollos watered it, but God made it grow. So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow.
1 Corinthians 3:6-7 (BSB)20Saved by grace, through faith
Father, keep us from pointing anyone to their own goodness. Let them hear that salvation is by grace through faith, Your gift and not their works, so that they rest in Christ alone.
For it is by grace you have been saved through faith, and this not from yourselves; it is the gift of God, not by works, so that no one can boast.
Ephesians 2:8-9 (BSB)
A closing prayer
Father, You are not willing that anyone should perish. We bring You the names on our hearts. Open their eyes, draw them to Jesus, and give them faith to trust Him as Savior and Lord. Make us loving, patient and bold witnesses, and keep us praying and trusting You with the answer. Thank You that salvation is Your gift, and that Jesus is mighty to save. In His name, Amen.
Pray with a voice
Short prayers with a voice to pray along with, each drawn from one passage.
Questions
How do I pray for an unsaved loved one?
Pray specifically and by name: that the Father would draw them (John 6:44), that God would open eyes the enemy has blinded (2 Corinthians 4:4-6), that the Holy Spirit would convict them (John 16:8), and that He would send other believers into their life. Pray for your own witness too, with gentleness and respect (1 Peter 3:15), and keep praying (Luke 18:1).
Does God promise to save my whole family?
In Acts 16:31 Paul told the Philippian jailer to believe in the Lord Jesus and he would be saved, he and his household; the household then heard the word and believed too (Acts 16:32-34). The passage shows God’s heart for families, but each person must personally trust Christ. Scripture invites us to keep praying with hope, because the Lord is patient, not wanting anyone to perish (2 Peter 3:9).
What is soul winning?
Soul winning is an older evangelical term for personally sharing the gospel so that people come to faith in Christ. It echoes Proverbs 11:30, which says that he who wins souls is wise. Only God saves, but He uses ordinary believers to tell others about Jesus, because people cannot believe in someone they have never heard of (Romans 10:14).
More prayer points
Every verse on this page is quoted word for word from the Berean Standard Bible (BSB), which its publishers dedicated to the public domain. Copy, print and share these prayer points freely with your church.