Pray for Sinners

We have been assured in 1st John 5:15 that God has promised us His ear when we pray according to His will. But what is God’s will? What does God want us to pray about? What does He consider important?

John gives us at least a partial answer in 1st John 5:16:
“If anyone sees his brother sinning a sin which does not lead to death, he will ask, and He will give him life for those who commit sin not leading to death. There is sin leading to death. I do not say that he should pray about that.”

This verse is all about prayer. It’s implying that we have a responsibility to pray. If we see our brother sinning, we have a responsibility to intercede on his behalf trusting that God “will give him life.” This is certainly a prayer within God’s will. If our brother has a problem, we should pray, but especially if his problem is sin.

We’ve examined sin in the life of a believer before. We’ve covered 1st John 3:9, which says: “Whoever has been born of God does not sin, for His seed remains in him; and he cannot sin, because he has been born of God.” The indwelling Spirit of God prevents us as Christians from engaging in a lifestyle of sin, yet each of still sins some.

Believers do sin – if we say we don’t sin, we lie. But we don’t live in sin. Remember the discussion of the verb tenses in this verse? This isn’t saying a believer doesn’t sin, but that he doesn’t practice sin. He doesn’t live comfortably in sin. Sin isn’t the defining characteristic of his lifestyle. It is out of character for a child of God to live in sin. God won’t let it happen.

But, when sin does get in, we deal with it – we confess it. 1st John 1:9 says, “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”

So, if we see someone falling into sin, it is our responsibility to prayer for them. We will pour out our heart to heaven in fervent, prevailing prayer as we wrestle in prayer for them to repent and confess their sin before God so that the sin doesn’t become a habit, a pattern, a lifestyle.

But what about ongoing sin in a believer’s life? What about the times when a believer becomes so entangled in sin that they don’t want to turn from it; they don’t want to get their life cleaned up; they don’t want to confess it? You can’t talk to them because they shy away from Christian counsel, so what can you do? What access do you have to them? Answer? You can pray!

Should you ignore the situation? Should you leave him alone to suffer the consequences of his sin? NO! You bathe him in prayer And God will hear and respond.

It’s hard to imagine anything more obviously in the will of God than the restoration of a believer who has fallen into sin, so we need to fervently pray.
If they are entrapped in the snares of sin, pray, pray, and pray some more. And trust that in time, God will convict their heart and draw them back.