There are about 6.7 billion people in our world. According to desiringgod.com, 2.1 billion of those people are Christians. That means that over 68% of our world is lost.
Let that sink in. Basically, 7 out of every 10 people walking on our planet will go to Hell unless they accept Christ. 7 out of every 10! Think of it this way: if you were to randomly be put in a group with two other people from around the globe, the percentages say, if you are saved, that they would both be lost. It is staggering that over 2/3s of our world will be separated from God forever.
Now, let me be bold enough to ask you to be brutally honest with yourself. When is the last time you lost sleep praying for the lost? If you are anything like me, far too often your head hits the pillow and you rest easy, even though there are 4.6 billion lost people on earth. How can we be so indifferent?!
Why are we calloused? Why aren’t our hearts breaking for the lost? I really think it deals with the fact that we simply don’t pray for the lost enough, and we surely don’t see them the way God does.
The other day, I was telling a friend about some things that God was working on in my spiritual walk, and I was blown away when he boldly committed to praying for me for 15 minutes every day for the next month. Not only was I blown away, but I was convicted. This was a commitment from one believer to another, and when was the last time I committed to praying for a specific lost friend for a quarter of an hour a day for a month? If my friend could be that intentional for me, couldn’t I do the same for the 70% that don’t know Christ?!
We must repent of our indifference and ask for God to give us His heart for His lost children. If we are supposed to love others the way He loves us, wouldn’t that mean we have lost any excuse we have for indifference?!
Please God, wake up your church and provide us an antidote to the issue of our indifference.
I think short term prayer commitments are a good way to start. So often we beat ourselves up (or are beaten up by the ministers in our lives) over the fact that we don’t pray enough or for the right things. Perhaps making that sort of a commitment for an achievable short term commitment could be a stepping stone to prayer lifestyle change. Very pastoral, my friend.