As much as we long for our lost loved ones to be saved, we can’t forget that God doesn’t owe them salvation, or owe us to give them salvation. But as we come on that basis, we can take great courage that God may very well be pleased to answer that prayer.
Do you remember back in Ezekiel, God says, “All souls are Mine”? The soul of the father, the soul of the son. I remember one time many years ago, I was praying for a lost loved one and kind of trying to twist God’s arm to answer me and He brought this verse to mind. That person, if it’s your mother or your child or whoever – they don’t belong to you. They’re not yours. They’re God’s. He says, “All souls are Mine.” “I’ll decide about this.” “It’s in My power.” Now, He’s made wonderful promises, but we’ve got to go to God and pray for our loved ones on the basis that we know He doesn’t owe us anything. We don’t deserve anything. Those souls belong to Him. Every soul is His.
I remember Don Johnson told about praying for his son James. He said, “Mae, I’m going to go out and pray for James again.” And he went out and the first thing he said: “Lord, he deserves to go to hell. You could send him to hell and You’d be right.” What’s that? That’s acknowledging: Lord, I know he belongs to You. His soul is not mine. It’s Yours. But if You could have mercy on him… See, that’s the attitude that we come.
And lo and behold, God did. He saved him. Basically we’re saying: Father, I know that that person’s soul is in Your hands to dispose of as You see fit, but if You could ever see fit to give them as a gift to Your Son, I would thank You so much. Isn’t that amazing? That’s what we’re asking. This clip is from the full sermon: “Everyone and No One.”
Excerpt from the full sermon, “Everyone and No One“.
