Message
Prayer is one of the most effective keys in evangelism. It is what opens doors, softens hearts, and brings about genuine conversion. When you pray before, during, and after evangelism, God works beyond your words to transform lives. Many people acknowledge that prayer works, so whenever you begin with prayers during evangelism, you already have the attention of the people you want to witness to. In a country like Nigeria, for instance, if you want to evangelise in a public vehicle and you start by praying briefly for a safe trip, people’s hearts often soften immediately. The moment they sense the presence of God, it becomes easier to share the gospel with them.
In today’s Bible reading, Jesus Christ told the people of Galilee, “Except ye see signs and wonders, ye will not believe.” Miracles are God’s tools for convincing doubtful hearts. When people experience answers to prayers, it often becomes difficult for them to deny the power behind the answers.
Prayer makes evangelism effective because it invites the Holy Spirit to work where human efforts cannot. Prayer goes ahead of a preacher to prepare even the hardest of hearts and ensure that it is softened and ready to receive the word. The Lord then confirms His word with signs and wonders ().
Beloved, whenever you want to preach the gospel to someone, one of the questions you should ask the person is, “Is there something you would like me to pray about?” When God intervenes in that situation, the person becomes interested in knowing more about Jesus. Years ago, some young people whom I had trained in evangelism put this principle into practice. During an evangelical outreach, they met an occultic man who resisted their message. Calmly, they asked if there was any problem he had been unable to solve with all his charms and if they could pray about it. Surprised, he admitted that every time he married a new wife, she would bleed continuously during pregnancy and eventually die. His new wife at the time was already bleeding and dying. The young people prayed a simple prayer for the man and his wife, and they went on their way. Not long after, they saw the man running after them, shouting in excitement – his wife stopped bleeding the moment they prayed. They did not need to preach to the man anymore; right there, he surrendered his life to Jesus Christ and became a new creature.