For a while, I worked as a painter. (Seven years) As part of that job, I occasionally had to make repairs. Drywall repairs, plaster repairs, fascia, and repairs on other wood before I would paint. After several mistakes in cutting and measuring a friend of mine suggested, take notice of the old carpenter’s saying, ” measure twice and cut once.” From then on the number of my mistakes drastically decreased.

I have taken that advice and adapted it to talking to others about Jesus.

I like to “pray twice before I speak once.” What I mean by this is, I first pray to love people like Jesus does (previous blog).  Then I pray specifically for the person(s) I want to see come to Jesus.

Praying twice before speaking once helps me in many ways. I don’t put my foot in my mouth as often; it is easier to keep my focus on loving the other person with no strings attached, and it gives me confidence that God will be active in the conversation. (I am not going it alone).

How do I know God will be involved? Because when we pray according to what God expresses in the Bible, we can be sure he will be present and active.

So, Praying for our unsaved friends is the best way to begin reaching them for Christ. The following verses give us a biblical outline for these prayers.

For God to draw them to Himself “No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him . . . “ (John 6:44)

That they would seek to know God “But if from there you seek the Lord your God, you will find him if you look for him with all your heart and with all your soul” (Deuteronomy 4:29)

For them to believe the Scriptures “ . . . faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word of Christ” (Romans 10:17)

That Satan would be prevented from blinding them to the truth “The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God” (2 Corinthians 4:4)

For the Holy Spirit to work in them “When He [the Holy Spirit] comes He will convict the world of guilt in regard to sin and righteousness . . . But when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all truth” (John 16:8,13)

That they would believe in Christ as Savior “I tell you the truth, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life”

(John 5:24) That they would turn from sin “Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out . . . “ (Acts 3:19)

That they would confess Christ as Lord “That if you confess with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved” (Romans 10:9,10)

That they would take root and grow in Christ “So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live in Him, rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness” (Colossians 2:6,7) -adapted from Discipleship Journal, Issue 34, 1986

You might think that all of those verses are overkill. You might be correct. However, in my experience, I usually run out of things to pray way before I feel the need to stop praying.

So give it a try, Pray Twice Before Speaking Once, and let me know how it works for you.

Are there any other prayers you offer up before sharing your faith? Let us know.

After the last blog I had some people ask me if what I was suggesting wasn’t just bait and switch. The idea is that I was only encouraging people to “love” (or act lovingly) as a means of getting people to become Christians or church members.

I can understand how someone could interpret this call to let our love precede our proclamation of the gospel. When we love others the way Jesus loves us we are following the teaching of the Bible.

Here are a few examples:

1 John 4:7 Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God.

Romans 12:9 9 Love must be sincere.

Galatians 6:10 So then, awhile we have opportunity, let us do good to all people,

John 13:34-35  “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, even as I have loved you, that you also love one another.“By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.”

Our mission is to accurately transmit the life and love of Jesus through our experience of his love that overflows into the lives of others. So while it may appear to some that this is “bait and switch” what is happening is Christians overcome by Jesus’ love sharing that reality with others.

If we didn’t love our neighbors, co-workers, family members we would not try to share the message of Jesus with them. If we lived without sharing the gospel or God’s love and resigned people to live in their sin and without hope in the world, could we honestly call ourselves followers of Jesus?

Our love is not a ploy. Our love is a reflection of the love of Jesus poured out on our lives. Anything less is not worthy of His sacrifice for us and a sign of contempt for those that Jesus died.

 For Christ’s love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died.  And He died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for Him who died for them and was raised again.  2 Corinthians 2:14-15