Praying for a non-Christian friend when they are in the midst of a difficult situation is a wonderful opportunity to show the love of Jesus! Often in situations like this, Christians resort to praying with trite cliches or in vague generalities. Or we can fall into misconceptions about prayer like “If we just say the right formula with the right amount of faith and that’s all you need,” or, “Prayer is basically trying to convince God to do something nice for someone.” But these are not biblical visions of prayer!
Probably the best place to start would be to explain to your friend that prayer is not magic. Rather, it is simply inviting God’s presence and influence into a situation. In light of that understanding of prayer, you could then begin by praying for God’s peace and presence to uphold your friend during this difficult season. You can also pray for blessing and protection over your friend’s life, and for God’s intervention in the difficult situation.
It is important to remember the Bible demonstrates that there are a range of variables that can influence whether any particular prayer leads to the desired outcome that is being prayed for. Among the many variables mentioned in scripture are God’s will (Matthew 26:36-46 ; 1 Corinthians 12:7-10), God’s timing (Genesis 15:13-16), the heart-motive and character of the person praying (James 4:3; 5:16; Mark 11:25-26), the faith of the person praying and the person being prayed for (Mark 6:5-6; 11:22-24), the number of people praying (Matthew 18:19-20), the persistence of the people praying (Luke 18:1-8 ), and the potential interference of evil spiritual forces (Daniel 10 ; 1 Thessalonians 2:18).
In any instance of prayer, we only have the ability to affect a few of these variables – and this is where our responsibility lies. When all is said and done, we are called to pray, and then to trust that God is working through our prayer, regardless of the immediate outcome.
Recommended Resources
- “Prayer and Ambiguity” in Is God to Blame? by Greg Boyd
- “Praying in the Whirlwind” in Satan and the Problem of Evil by Greg Boyd
- Why We Pray: Understanding Prayer in the Context of Cosmic Conflict by John Peckham
- Destined for the Throne by Paul Billheimer
