Knowing and Praying the Gospel

When the small group leaders met in December, for a short training workshop, our primary focus was on learning to speak and pray the Gospel into people’s lives. The following is a summary of our teaching and discussion.

When anyone shares the Gospel with a believer or non-believer it is important to share scripture that you feel comfortable with. Therefore, take the opportunity and practice. Use scriptures such as Ephesians 2:1-10, 1st Corinthians 15:3-5, or Romans 3:21-26. Work your way down the verses. Practice saying these truths out loud, with a spouse, friend, or to yourself in front of the mirror. Do whatever it takes to be able to say clearly “Christ died for our sins”. These five simple words will impact lives for eternity.

When you speak the Gospel into someone’s life there can be a direct correlation between that person with the result of them being saved and/or healed. Acts 5:14-16 states: “more and more men and women believed in the Lord and as a result many were healed ... The people also gathered from the towns around Jerusalem, bringing the sick and those tormented by sin and they were all healed.”

Many people come for prayer to be saved from the torment they feel when continuing to honor sin, idols, or the behaviors in their lives they have yet to surrender to the Savior, Jesus Christ.

As Christians, it is our responsibility and calling as ministers of the word to redirect thoughts and hearts back into relationship with Christ. This can be an overwhelming and difficult task. But, the Bible was written in such a way as to be able to give hope and answers when we teach and pray through the Gospel of Christ.. As we become more articulate in saying the Gospel to one another it will come naturally that we will also be able to pray the Gospel into lives. Through the power of the Holy Spirit, we can be used for healing in the lives of both believers and non-believers.

As group leaders and prayers, an assignment was given in order to gain freedom to comfortably begin praying the Gospel.

Mark 7:20 (ESV) says “And He (Jesus) said, what comes out of a person is what defiles him. For from within, out of the heart of man, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, coveting, wickedness, deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride, foolishness. All these evil things come from within, and they defile a person.”

First: begin the assignment by doing a word/verse study on each of these sins, idols, or behaviors listed in Mark 7:20.

Second: Ask yourself these questions: What aspect of the Gospel (using the scriptures that are most comfortable to you) is missing in this person’s life as they are continuing in sin? Or, is there a lack of understanding God’s love, compassion, justice, faithfulness or righteousness? (This list is by no means complete.)

For Example: The first sin listed in Mark 7:20 is evil thoughts.

I looked up the word evil in a concordance and found several scriptures that gave me an indication of what aspect of the Gospel would need to be prayed for. Remember, the ultimate goal for prayer is to bring an individual who is struggling with sin back into a Christ-centered relationship.

These are a few of the scriptures I found…

1st Corinthians 13:6 Love does not delight in evil
Proverbs 28:5 Evil men do not understand Justice
Matthew 15:19 out of the heart comes evil thoughts

In this case; we should pray the Gospel into the life of the person struggling with evil thoughts by focusing on Christ’s love and compassion. We need to pray for understanding Christ’s justification, not receiving an eye for an eye… Many times it is in the redirecting of our thoughts away from evil and onto Christ that open the doors for salvation.

An example from Jeremy Phelps:
“Immediately following our workshop on gospel-centered prayer,
I received a phone call from a gentleman who had been referred to me
by a friend. He wanted to talk to a “minister of the gospel” in his area.
(And I was the only person my friend could think of.) As I began to
listen to this man's story of depression, health problems, and the contemplation
of suicide, my mind immediately thought back to our workshop on
“praying the gospel”. At first, I actually thought Royce and Monica were
pulling a trick on me because this seemed to be a situation that fit exactly
what we had learned. But I soon realized that this was the real
thing. When my turn to listen was nearly complete, I decided just to try
what I had learned earlier that day. I spoke to him briefly and then
prayed for this man, emphasizing the gospel truths throughout my prayer.
He responded well and was obviously touched by the prayer. Since
then, I have prayed gospel-centered prayers with others and it has been very
meaningful for them.”

Many of us struggle in our sin to the point of faithlessness, or we become frozen in inactivity and come to accept the deception of our sin. As we begin to acknowledge our own sins, ask forgiveness and receive restoration we can receive the truth also of 1st Corinthians 6:9-11. “You were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.” Therefore, walk and pray in Christ’s power and grace.

Monica

P.S. I would be interested in receiving your word/verse studies.