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When do you know it's time to stop praying for someone's salvation

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Redeemed78

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I've been praying for my "friend" Colton for over six months. In that time I shared a little with him nothing pushy just little seeds. Yesterday I asked him if I could prove God is real and the Bible is true would he be willing to change his mind and believe and he said" Yes. If I saw god float down and fist bump me, or died and walked through heaven/hell, or someone dug up enough wood planks to suggest Noah's ark, I'd at least believe those respective parts.". I feel like my prayers were for nothing and was a waste of time. I cast my pearls before swine. I really just want to leave him to his own fate and stop praying for him already. He doesn't want to change.
 
I've been praying for my "friend" Colton for over six months. In that time I shared a little with him nothing pushy just little seeds. Yesterday I asked him if I could prove God is real and the Bible is true would he be willing to change his mind and believe and he said" Yes. If I saw god float down and fist bump me, or died and walked through heaven/hell, or someone dug up enough wood planks to suggest Noah's ark, I'd at least believe those respective parts.". I feel like my prayers were for nothing and was a waste of time. I cast my pearls before swine. I really just want to leave him to his own fate and stop praying for him already. He doesn't want to change.
Quit praying when your body passes away.
Never give up !
 
Never give up praying and witnessing Christ to your friend. Sometimes it seems useless, but you never know when one seed planted will actually take root.

2Peter 3:9 The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.
2Peter 3:10 But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up.
2Peter 3:11 Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation and godliness,
 
Never give up praying and witnessing Christ to your friend. Sometimes it seems useless, but you never know when one seed planted will actually take root.

2Peter 3:9 The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.
2Peter 3:10 But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up.
2Peter 3:11 Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation and godliness,
He just flat out said that God isn't real and that if I'm offended then I'm the problem. I'm done talking to him and probably done praying for him too. I'm not going to waste any more pearls on that swine
 
I've been praying for my "friend" Colton for over six months. In that time I shared a little with him nothing pushy just little seeds. Yesterday I asked him if I could prove God is real and the Bible is true would he be willing to change his mind and believe and he said" Yes. If I saw god float down and fist bump me, or died and walked through heaven/hell, or someone dug up enough wood planks to suggest Noah's ark, I'd at least believe those respective parts.". I feel like my prayers were for nothing and was a waste of time. I cast my pearls before swine. I really just want to leave him to his own fate and stop praying for him already. He doesn't want to change.

Satan blinds the mind of unbelievers, lest the Light of the glorious gospel of Christ shine into them.

Perhaps, if given another opportunity, you might take a slightly different approach......
Instead of trying to prove God's existence, simply share God's love.
Unbelievers, all of them, believe that God is angry with them, ...So, who wants to believe in a God that is angry with you?
And here is the thing.....He's not........but they dont know this......
So, that is one approach,.......allow this person to see God as LOVE and not as JUDGE.

Its the goodness of God that leads you to repentance.
Unbelievers know all about condemnation, but they know nothing about God's Goodness.
We can show them.

Also, its generally not going to work out regarding our timing for someone's salvation, as everything regarding someone's salvation is this......"If I be lifted up, i will draw all men to me".....so that drawing, and that leading, is not our responsibility.
Our part is to be a Light, and God's part is to do the rest.
Salvation, is always all God's responsibility, for the lost and for the born again.

It could be that you can let this situation cool and instead of praying, just step away from it, and totally give it to God and just have expectation of that Day when God's Light will shine into this person's heart as truth.
Just believe this will happen, and dont let go.
Thank God for their salvation, often.

and one more...
Have you ever tried to pray with them about their needs?
Sometimes, what a unbeliever needs isn't a bible lesson, but its just someone to care and find out what is wrong with their world, their life, and pray for them.
 
He just flat out said that God isn't real and that if I'm offended then I'm the problem. I'm done talking to him and probably done praying for him too. I'm not going to waste any more pearls on that swine
Well at least you planted seeds and hopefully another one comes along to water it, but never give up praying for your friends.
 
Satan blinds the mind of unbelievers, lest the Light of the glorious gospel of Christ shine into them.

Perhaps, if given another opportunity, you might take a slightly different approach......
Instead of trying to prove God's existence, simply share God's love.
Unbelievers, all of them, believe that God is angry with them, ...So, who wants to believe in a God that is angry with you?
And here is the thing.....He's not........but they dont know this......
So, that is one approach,.......allow this person to see God as LOVE and not as JUDGE.

Its the goodness of God that leads you to repentance.
Unbelievers know all about condemnation, but they know nothing about God's Goodness.
We can show them.

Also, its generally not going to work out regarding our timing for someone's salvation, as everything regarding someone's salvation is this......"If I be lifted up, i will draw all men to me".....so that drawing, and that leading, is not our responsibility.
Our part is to be a Light, and God's part is to do the rest.
Salvation, is always all God's responsibility, for the lost and for the born again.

It could be that you can let this situation cool and instead of praying, just step away from it, and totally give it to God and just have expectation of that Day when God's Light will shine into this person's heart as truth.
Just believe this will happen, and dont let go.
Thank God for their salvation, often.

and one more...
Have you ever tried to pray with them about their needs?
Sometimes, what a unbeliever needs isn't a bible lesson, but its just someone to care and find out what is wrong with their world, their life, and pray for them.
Very well put as we can not prove God to others or even shove His words down another's throat, but only give that of our own witness and testimony of His mercy and grace in our own life. Just let that light of Christ shine out from you as it will help to draw others unto Him.
 
Satan blinds the mind of unbelievers, lest the Light of the glorious gospel of Christ shine into them.

Perhaps, if given another opportunity, you might take a slightly different approach......
Instead of trying to prove God's existence, simply share God's love.
Unbelievers, all of them, believe that God is angry with them, ...So, who wants to believe in a God that is angry with you?
And here is the thing.....He's not........but they dont know this......
So, that is one approach,.......allow this person to see God as LOVE and not as JUDGE.

Its the goodness of God that leads you to repentance.
Unbelievers know all about condemnation, but they know nothing about God's Goodness.
We can show them.

Also, its generally not going to work out regarding our timing for someone's salvation, as everything regarding someone's salvation is this......"If I be lifted up, i will draw all men to me".....so that drawing, and that leading, is not our responsibility.
Our part is to be a Light, and God's part is to do the rest.
Salvation, is always all God's responsibility, for the lost and for the born again.

It could be that you can let this situation cool and instead of praying, just step away from it, and totally give it to God and just have expectation of that Day when God's Light will shine into this person's heart as truth.
Just believe this will happen, and dont let go.
Thank God for their salvation, often.

and one more...
Have you ever tried to pray with them about their needs?
Sometimes, what a unbeliever needs isn't a bible lesson, but its just someone to care and find out what is wrong with their world, their life, and pray for them.
I did pray for their needs. They always dismissed it. I tried to show him God's love and tried to be a true friend but they didn't care. It was one sided but I was too blind to see. Like I said he flat out said there is no God and if I was offended them I was the problem. So there's no reconciliation there
As far as I'm concerned he's anathema. Whatever happens to him, happens.
 
A question you need to ask yourself, Redeemed78, is are you going to stop "wasting your time" for your sake or for his sake?
For both our sake because it's obvious he doesn't want to be saved and I'm not putting myself through all that any more. You have to understand this is the end of a six month friendship that started out OK and proceeded to turn sour. It was a one sided friendship where I was the one who gave and got very little back. I always called him friend and he never returned it. I defended him when he got attacked, consoled him when he (I realize now) suicide baited, tried to plant little seeds nothing forceful. I even got him a birthday present which he never acknowledged. Pearls before swine indeed.
 
He just flat out said that God isn't real and that if I'm offended then I'm the problem. I'm done talking to him and probably done praying for him too. I'm not going to waste any more pearls on that swine
Where is the love?
Just be the example you were meant to be.
If he is enticed, lead him further.
But quit hanging around him socially if you can.
 
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Just a quick update. After talking with some more brothers and sisters I was convicted by the Lord and so I messaged him to tell him I forgive him. I realized the enemy was no doubt behind this to rob him of his salvation and me my friend. Plus I also realized that he doesn't know what he's doing and he needs a savior. So I reached out to him. He hasn't responded yet. May The Lord be glorified by this. .
 
I did pray for their needs. They always dismissed it. I tried to show him God's love and tried to be a true friend but they didn't care. It was one sided but I was too blind to see. Like I said he flat out said there is no God and if I was offended them I was the problem. So there's no reconciliation there
As far as I'm concerned he's anathema. Whatever happens to him, happens.

Perhaps he was somewhat correct that if you were offended, then you were the problem. We as Christians have no need to be offended, as we cannot save anybody. All we do is witness to the Truth. It is not you who is being rejected. It is Christ and God.

Even if your friend or friends never come to Christ, your testimony is true and valuable. The Gospel is presented. God is pleased. (2 Cor. 2:15-16) "For we are unto God a sweet savour of Christ, in them that are saved, and in them that perish: To the one we are the savour of death unto death; and to the other the savour of life unto life. And who is sufficient for these things?"

As for praying for their salvation I would say don't stop just because you are offended. Because you shouldn't be offended. But I do believe there comes a time when God says, it is enough. Remember when Abraham interceded for Sodom and Gomorrah? God listened to him to the point of not destroying it if He could find 10 righteous in it. And it was God who left at that point. (Gen. 18:23-33) It is my opinion that God was saying, that is enough.

When I am burdened for ones salvation in my spirit, I know it. And I pray for them. But over time, and loss of contact with the person, and if I no longer have that burden, I cease. Please don't anyone misunderstand here. I am not saying to quit praying. If you want to pray for a person, by all means pray for them.

Quantrill
 
Forgive me, Redeemed78, but as I follow along in this thread I can't help but think you sound like a jilted lover and this brings me back to my last question. Are you more interested in what he can get out of your witnessing or what you can get out of your witnessing? Here are some verses from Scripture that I hope can help.

“If you love those who love you, what benefit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them. And if you do good to those who do good to you, what benefit is that to you? For even sinners do the same. And if you lend to those from whom you expect to receive, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, to get back the same amount. But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return, and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, for he is kind to the ungrateful and the evil. Be merciful, even as your Father is merciful."
Luke 6:32-36 NKJV

Remember what Christ, our Lord, did? I assume you know what the title "Lord" means. We call ourselves Christians and in so doing we strive to be like Him.


For when we were still without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. For scarcely for a righteous man will one die; yet perhaps for a good man someone would even dare to die. But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him.
Romans 5:6-9 NKJV

By this we know love, because He laid down His life for us. And we also ought to lay down our lives for the brethren. But whoever has this world’s goods, and sees his brother in need, and shuts up his heart from him, how does the love of God abide in him?
1 John 3:16-17 NKJV

Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into His hands, and that He had come from God and was going to God, rose from supper and laid aside His garments, took a towel and girded Himself. After that, He poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples’ feet, and to wipe them with the towel with which He was girded. Then He came to Simon Peter. And Peter said to Him, “Lord, are You washing my feet?” Jesus answered and said to him, “What I am doing you do not understand now, but you will know after this.”

So when He had washed their feet, taken His garments, and sat down again, He said to them,
“Do you know what I have done to you? You call Me Teacher and Lord, and you say well, for so I am. If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet. For I have given you an example, that you should do as I have done to you."
John 13:3-7, 12-15 NKJV

“This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you."
John 15:12 NKJV
 
I did pray for their needs. They always dismissed it. I tried to show him God's love and tried to be a true friend but they didn't care. It was one sided but I was too blind to see. Like I said he flat out said there is no God and if I was offended them I was the problem. So there's no reconciliation there
As far as I'm concerned he's anathema. Whatever happens to him, happens.
Well, they are certainly this. John 3:36

However, you and I are not the Holy Spirit.
What we are to do is offer God's reconciliation, and if this not rejected then we follow up with discipling the person.

Something to consider... Every Sunday, in churches that offer an "alter call", there is room that has people in it, who were there the last 9 yrs of Sunday's and they still have not received Christ.
So, its very common that a person "is not interested", as Churches are full of them, every Sunday, and the world is full of them, for the last 2000 yrs.

You have spoken with them, and they feel that you are trying to manipulate them., and that is their spiritual blindness.
It could be that if you stop talking to them about it, but remain available, they will come to you after a while.
 
I've been praying for my "friend" Colton for over six months. In that time I shared a little with him nothing pushy just little seeds. Yesterday I asked him if I could prove God is real and the Bible is true would he be willing to change his mind and believe and he said" Yes. If I saw god float down and fist bump me, or died and walked through heaven/hell, or someone dug up enough wood planks to suggest Noah's ark, I'd at least believe those respective parts.". I feel like my prayers were for nothing and was a waste of time. I cast my pearls before swine. I really just want to leave him to his own fate and stop praying for him already. He doesn't want to change.
There's something in him that is resisting the call to believe. You really cannot force a person to go against their own will, so the only way to support him is to be an opportunity for God to soften his heart through you.

Since you have already made it clear that you are of the gospel, then you don't need to be forcing it upon him. There will be times when you have an opportunity to glorify God (as you have been doing when you say that you have been "sowing the seeds"). But ultimately, salvation belongs to Jesus Christ and neither you or I. It is when He speaks words of conviction that are without our own judgment (and sometimes even without our knowledge!) - that's when they come to perceive that He indeed is living among us. But there's a barrier of pride for him to overcome too, because when he repents he is going to know that he has been a bit mean to you, and that will make it hard for him. It would be easier therefore for him to repent with someone else because then he can work-out some way to break the news to you and say sorry in his own court.

Sometimes we just need to realise that we might not be the one who brings a person to Christ, but if there is one day when Jesus wins his heart, then He would no doubt have used your works in some way. In that way, the greatest witness you can be is to love him without judgment, trying to not look down on him for his unbelief, and trying to not let him get any more over you through your desperateness for his salvation. Salvation has to be something that a person desires so that they will truly leave their life of sin and latch on to Jesus Christ whole-heartedly.

... But don't stop praying for him!
 
When they have obviously blasphemed the Holy Spirit. There are people in today's world saying Jesus is evil. There is no reason to say Jesus himself is evil. If everyone could walk like Christ, we could achieve heaven on 🌏
 
I've been praying for my "friend" Colton for over six months. In that time I shared a little with him nothing pushy just little seeds. Yesterday I asked him if I could prove God is real and the Bible is true would he be willing to change his mind and believe and he said" Yes. If I saw god float down and fist bump me, or died and walked through heaven/hell, or someone dug up enough wood planks to suggest Noah's ark, I'd at least believe those respective parts.". I feel like my prayers were for nothing and was a waste of time. I cast my pearls before swine. I really just want to leave him to his own fate and stop praying for him already. He doesn't want to change.
The time to stop praying for his salvation is when he is dead.
 
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