For those we are witnessing to, we should pray that the Holy Spirit would open their spiritual eyes to see these four things:

1  That they would see that they are lost.  By lost I mean those who are separated from God because of their sin—for the wages of sin is death (Rom. 6:23).  They are lost not because they have sinned (for all have sinned), but because they have not found a remedy for their sin.  I think a good description of the lost are those who don’t know the truth and therefore can’t find their way to God.

Pray that the Holy Spirit would help them to see their sin and to see that God’s penalty for sin is eternal separation from Him.

2  That they would see the certainty of hell.  As we have already discussed, the horrors of hell are certain for all that don’t have a personal relationship with God and with His Son Jesus Christ.  Pray for all the lost, but especially for those you have witnessed to or will witness to, that they will see the certainty and the horrors of hell and that they are rapidly approaching that destination.

3  That they would see the urgency of the time.  Pray for non-believers to see the signs of the times, and that when they see these things—such as, the increase in ungodliness (2 Tim. 3:1-5), wars, famines, and earthquakes—they will realize that their time on earth is short, that judgment is coming soon, and that they will not escape it unless they repent (Heb. 9:27).

4  That they would see God’s love.  There are two ways to motivate a person to believe. One way is by showing him what will happen if he doesn’t believe—explaining to him the consequences of his sin.  The other way is by telling him what will happen if he does believe—unfolding to him the grace and mercy of God.  Some say, the only way to get a person to repent is by showing him the law—by scaring him!  Well, I think that will work up to a point; but through it all, we need to show him God’s love.  Love is always the supreme motivator.  I myself was motivated to receive Christ not by thinking of hell so much, but much more by thinking of heaven, by contemplating how exciting heaven will be.  And the one who talked to me about heaven (my camp counselor) did it out of love. 

Remember the story of the prodigal son (Lu. 15:11-32)?  There are two reasons why the son returned home.  One reason was because he was hungry, tired and disgusted with the way his life was going.  But the other reason, which I think was the prime motivator, was because he remembered how good he had it before—he remembered the love of his father.

In our witnessing and in all we do with people, we should always show love to them, especially to our own children and to those we spend time with—because love will draw people to Christ like nothing else will.

Pray that your lost friends will see God’s great compassion, and that He is slow to anger and abounding in love (Ps. 86:15).  Pray especially that they will see the love of God in you, and that they will recognize that you are one of His disciples (Jn. 13:34-35).  Then hopefully some day they will seek your help and counsel regarding spiritual matters.