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I had a dear friend who is now

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in glory, who taught me a principle of

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prayer.

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The friend was Marion Price, who was used

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of God to lead Osborne Bownes, the son

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of E.M. Bownes to the Lord, back

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in 1976, when Osborne Bownes was 84 years

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old.

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Marion wrote a book about that experience entitled,

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Never Quit Praying for Your Loved Ones.

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Through the years, Marion and I often would

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pray together for the salvation of our own

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children.

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I want to give you today, friends, some

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principles on how to pray for your own

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loved ones.

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There's a verse in Scripture, in the book

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of Isaiah, which I believe can help us

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today to understand how to pray more effectively

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for our unsaved loved ones.

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Turn in your Bibles to the book of

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Isaiah.

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We will be in chapter 44, and in

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verse 3.

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Here now is the word of God, and

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may the Spirit of the Lord attend the

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reading of His holy word.

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For I will pour water upon him that

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is thirsty, and floods upon the dry ground.

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And I will pour my Spirit upon thy

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seed, and my blessing upon thine offspring.

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Here in our text, we see three things

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mentioned.

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There is a condition, a covenant, a conversion.

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The condition applies to the individual who has

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a need.

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The person is described as one who is

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thirsty.

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This person longs for a thing, like a

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heart would pant after the water brooks.

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There is a thirst for something.

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Let me ask you, friend, do you long

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to see your loved ones saved?

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Is it such a deep longing that it

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disturbs you, draws you into a deeper knowledge

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of God Himself?

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Do you spend time out of bed and

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on your face in sacrificial prayer that would

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fall into the category of desperate intercessory prayer?

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Do you ask other believers whom you know

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to join with you in prayer for the

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salvation of your loved ones?

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In other words, is there a distinction here?

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I believe there is a distinction here that

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God is making between the person who does

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not feel their need and one who does.

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I'll be honest with you, friends, I don't

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believe God hears our prayers for our unsaved

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loved ones if we pray carelessly or casually.

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God is speaking about filling a need in

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someone who fits the description of one who

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is thirsty.

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Are you thirsty, so to speak, to see

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your unsaved loved ones brought savingly to Christ

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Jesus?

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I believe the very first step in this

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process of prayer in intercession between us and

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God for the sake of our loved ones

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is to fall on our knees and confess

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our sin of not being desperate enough to

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keep our loved ones out of hell.

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Repentance must be genuine here as we seek

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God's face and favor in accordance with His

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covenant promises.

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I believe God is a covenant-keeping God.

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I believe we can stand by faith upon

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His covenant-keeping promises.

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I believe God's Word is true and God

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is true to His Word.

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God declares He will do a thing for

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the person who is thirsty.

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Be honest, friend, have you been thirsty enough

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to see your loved ones come to Christ

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for it to cost you something?

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Are you willing to get up off your

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easy chair or couch and turn off your

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TV and go into the other room and

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fall on your face and cry out to

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God to hear your prayers for your unsaved

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family members?

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We see a condition, a covenant, and a

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conversion.

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God declares, I will pour my spirit upon

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thy seed.

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This speaks of salvation.

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A person is saved by the divine operation

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of the Spirit of God as He takes

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away the heart of stone and makes it

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a heart of flesh through the supernatural act

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of regeneration through the new birth.

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God makes mention of these three things here

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in our text, our condition, which means our

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willingness and desire to be desperate enough to

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become thirsty for a thing.

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In this case, the conversion of our loved

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ones.

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God speaks of His covenant and of His

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willingness to pour out His Spirit in converting

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grace to our children.

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I believe there used to be a generation

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about 150 years ago that had more praying

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mothers and praying fathers that continued to lift

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up their children in prayer in their closets

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to God for salvation.

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And many were brought savingly to Christ because

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they had a praying parent who wouldn't give

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up and let go of God.

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I don't believe we have that many praying

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parents anymore who know the cost and sacrifice

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of importunate prayer.

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I believe many of us today are too

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busy to pray, too preoccupied with other things.

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Prayer and conversion go hand in hand.

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I believe our lack of prayer and our

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lack of understanding how to pray for our

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loved ones can be changed if we desire

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change.

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I believe when we pray for our unsafe

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family members that we should pray fervently, frequently,

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and faithfully.

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We should pray along these lines.

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Father in heaven, I come unto you by

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the blood of thy dear Son, the Lord

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Jesus Christ, and I lift up my loved

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one to you now and I ask you

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to bring them into a saving knowledge of

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Christ Jesus for your namesake and for your

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glory.

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Amen.

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I believe, friends, if we begin to pray

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for a loved one's conversion, it will take

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on a deeper significance if we pray or

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write.

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If we pray, they are saved for God's

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glory and for his namesake.

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I believe God will hear that kind of

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prayer.

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I believe that lines up with scripture.

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Let me ask you, friend, are you in

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a thirsty place to see your loved one

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saved?

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Like my friend, Marian Price, wrote in his

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book, Never Quit Praying for Your Loved Ones,

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I will end this message by quoting him.

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The lesson for us is clear.

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We should never quit praying for our loved

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ones.

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We may not see the answer before we

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die, but we can go to the grave

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with a prayer on our lips for their

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salvation.

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And God is not limited to my lifetime

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or yours.

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63 years after we die, he can send

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a simple gospel witness to speak to those

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for whom we have prayed.