Heavenly Father, I thank You that You have empowered me to know that Jesus is Lord; and that I know You raised Jesus from the dead. I thank You that when these three points of the gospel message were preached to me, Jesus worked a miracle in my heart; He made THESE TWO facts clear to me.

Jesus, I thank You that all we have to do is help people CONFESS with their mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and BELIEVE in their heart that God raised You from the dead, and THEY WILL BE SAVED (Rom 10:9). But, help me realize that these aren’t magic words that can be mouthed so as to bring about salvation. Keep me always aware that these have to be truths that are coming from the person’s heart. Only You and the person expressing them know whether or not they are being sincere and are expressing the Truth. Help me teach each person that, if they are sincere, the Holy Spirit will establish the fact that they ARE SAVED AND JUSTIFIED. Rom 8:16 (NIV) The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we ARE God’s children.

Jesus, three things must be clear to me and to those I talk to; we must have faith in three areas; we must be able to believe three things in our heart; we must KNOW these things:

1. Help us know what we are saying (have understanding).
2. Help us know we are sincere in what we are saying (being honest).
3. Help us know that the Holy Spirit is confirming our salvation in our heart (experiencing confirmation).

Help these three facts to be obvious to the person who is coming to You for salvation. Help me not try to make them happen. Help me keep these three issues between the person and their heavenly Father through the confirmation of the Holy Spirit. Keep me aware that this isn’t a process that I can talk them into. This is the difference between human wisdom and the power of God. If I convince them, I am pushing their faith into the wisdom of men. If I pray for them and allow their relationship grow between them and their heavenly Father, then I am leading them into the power of God.

Jesus, You must reveal to a person that You are their Lord and that the Father has raised You from the dead. Let this revelation CAUSE them to BELIEVE (know) that You are their Lord and that God has raised You from the dead. Let it become an established fact in their heart. Help them become ready to make a knowledgeable decision about two very important issues.

Help me ask them the first question, are they willing to make You the Lord of their life and confess this fact in front of the people around them boldly? Then help me ask them the second question, are they willing to believe in their heart that God raised You from the dead? If their answer to these two issues is “yes,” empower them to receive proof of salvation and justification from the Holy Spirit into their spirit. Let the Holy Spirit tell them that they are God’s child.

Jesus, empower me to help people know that it is with their heart that they BELIEVE and ARE JUSTIFIED, and it is with their mouth that they CONFESS and ARE SAVED (Rom 10:10). Reveal to those people around me that You are Lord and that God has raised You from the dead. Empower me to help them see that it is up to them to obey these verses and get what You offer.

Jesus, since belief that God raised You from the dead can only come from the Father, I can’t cause that to happen. Empower me to present the gospel message so that the Father can decide whether or not it will take affect. If He has already prepared their heart, the seed will start growing. If He hasn’t prepared their heart, Satan will come and take it away. If the seed does start growing and the person decides they don’t want the seed to continue to grow, they will reject it. Help me study and learn the Biblical principles You provided in the parable in Matthew 13:3-23.

Jesus, help me with the next big issue of confession. A lot of times I just want to get the person to say the words. I get to thinking that if I can get them to say: “Jesus is Lord,” I got the job done. But, then I, rather than the Holy Spirit, gave them a confirmation that they are saved. But, You haven’t given me that job; it is the job of the Holy Spirit. Jesus, confession that You are Lord and that You are the person’s Lord must come from sincerity and Truth. Let me help them make this confession as a confession of Truth. They must be saying that they believe You are Lord over all and that they have made You their Lord. Empower me to help this confession from them to be true, help it to be a confession of Truth.

Jesus, You said that if anyone is ashamed of Me and My words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when He comes in His Father’s glory with the holy angels (Mark 8:38). Help me and the people around me to sincerely confess that we have made You the Lord of our lives; and, help us realize that we have a job on our hands. We have to be willing to confess it before anyone who needs to know. Teach us that salvation through private confession won’t work. Teach us that confession before Christians won’t work. We have to be willing to tell the world we are a Christian; empower me and all Christians to do that.

Jesus, since confession, that brings about the Holy Spirit’s stamp of approval, causes persecution, give me and all Christians the power to withstand that persecution. Since persecution tests the reality of a person’s conversion, let me and all other Christians do what Matthew 5:12 says. Mat 5:12 (NIV) Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

Jesus, help me make a distinction between those who are just trying Christianity out and those who are sincere. Others, like seed sown on rocky places, hear the word and at once receive it with joy. But since they have no root, they last only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, they quickly fall away (Mark 4:16-17). Help me to see that this isn’t salvation; this is just a person temporarily trying Christianity out to see what it is all about. Help me and all Christians rejoice and be glad when trouble or persecution comes. Show me and them that we decide, at that point, whether or not we are going to make You the PERMANENT Lord of our life.

Jesus, as the Scripture says, “Anyone who trusts in Him will never be put to shame (Rom 10:11).” When I and new Christians get rejected and persecuted by people, it is then that we decide whether or not we are going to put our total trust in You. If we decide that the persecution is worth it, You will see to it that we “will never be put to shame.” You will reward the fact that we have put our trust in You rather than the approval of human beings. Help me and all other Christians to be faithful to You no matter what happens.

Jesus, since it isn’t just a matter of us doing a onetime confession and belief, help me and all Christians to keep confessing, keep believing, keep trusting, and keep calling on You. For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile--the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses ALL WHO CALL on You (Rom 10:12). Now You have introduced to me a new concept. You have taken me into the issue of believing, confessing, trusting, and now calling. Teach me all of these principles so I will be able to teach them to others.

Jesus, You taught us that the gospel message is like a seed that is planted in a garden. You taught that the person who tries Christianity out, if they then look to or puts their trust in themselves for dealing with their troubles and persecutions, will have the salvation plant withering and dying inside them. Help me and all other Christians, as we run into trouble or persecution, to call on You for help, so we can be one who is ETERNALLY saved. Help us be one of those who have TRULY made You the Lord of our life. Let us be a person who calls on You for help; then let us be richly blessed. Being richly blessed is the process whereby we receive power from You to withstand troubles and persecutions; richly bless us, Jesus.

Jesus, You are saying that “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord WILL BE SAVED (Rom 10:13).” Teach me and all Christians that calling on You is a natural reaction from us who truly believe that God raised You from the dead. Make me and them to be people who have truly made You the Lord of our life and who will CONSTANTLY call on You for help. Make calling on You immediately become a natural way of life for me and them. Since those who have made You their Lord will look to You for every problem we run into, help us always look to You. When that happens, we are blessed with the power to overcome the issues and go on with our relationship with You.

Help me and all Christians be one of those who CONSTANTLY keep believing and confessing for the rest of our lives. Make us one of those who will trust and call on You. Because, those who keep trusting and calling WILL be eternally secure in their justification and salvation. Jesus, You said, I will do whatever you ask in My name, so that the Son may bring glory to the Father. You may ask Me for anything in My name, and I will do it (John 14:13-14). Make this be the CONSTANT relationship that is established with You as my Lord.

Jesus, You said, I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man REMAINS in Me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; APART from Me you can do nothing. If anyone does not REMAIN in Me, he is like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. If you REMAIN in Me and My words REMAIN in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you (John 15:5-7). Empower me and all Christians to remain in You.

Jesus, remaining in You and You in me means I bring anything and everything I need to You, as my source. When that happens, my body’s desires, the world’s enticements, and the devil’s temptations become rejected in my mind. My body, the world, and the devil are alternate sources; empower my mind to no longer want to look to them for my supply. Let me love and want the things of God and hate the provisions, pleasures, and supplies of my body, the world, and the devil. Let this keep bad things that are trying to come into my life from being able to get in.