At The Alter Pt. 3 - Praying For The Unsaved

AT THE ALTAR Pt. 3 - PRAYING FOR THE UNSAVED

Ok, so you have studied the previous chapter, and you understand how an unsaved individual receives the Holy Spirit. Now it is time to pray for them. They have come to the altar, expressing a desire to be saved. You begin ministering to them, what should you look out for?

Follow the Trail of the Holy Ghost

As you minister, open your eyes and discern what the Holy Ghost is doing with that individual. Watch whether they are convicted of their sins, even unto a hatred of it. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise. (Ps. 51:17). Look for brokenness and contrition. Be sensitive to what you are feeling in your heart. Keep a keen ear and eye to the Holy Spirit. God will be speaking to you in various ways (gifts of the Spirit) so be sensitive to Him. He may cause you to feel what the individual is feeling. He may say it expressly, or He will even give you questions to ask the individual. No matter what He does, obey Him.

If you follow the trail of the anointing and how it is impacting the individual, the Lord will allow you to see if there are any cracks and crevices in the heart that would hinder them from receiving the Holy Spirit at that moment. He will cause you to know whether they are ready or not. Allow Him to minister to those areas, and keep watching for conviction and repentance. Pray in your heart as you minister.

Pay close attention to what the Holy Spirit is telling you. There are times when He will reveal negative reasons for the individual being at the altar, even though they have confessed a desire to be saved. Some come to the altar to be prayed for by particular people or to get special attention. Some will copy what they see others do, because they did not want to be left out. So watch as well as pray in your heart.

When you feel as if the Holy Ghost is prompting you to pray for the individual, go ahead and let them know that you will pray, then do so.

WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW

Be Led of the Spirit

As I said earlier, it is imperative that you be aware that the Holy Spirit is going to lead you as you pray for the individual. Stay focused on what He is saying to you, as opposed to what the individual is saying, or portraying. As the minister of the altar, you are the one that God will use as His mouthpiece in the ear of the individual you are praying for. So say what He tells you to say, and don’t doubt.

Praying in the Spirit (tongues) is always an asset when praying for people. When you pray in the Spirit, the Holy Ghost will pray to God in your stead. This will cause Him to pray for the situation you are praying about according to the will of God. He knows everything that is a hindrance to the individual receiving the Holy Ghost, and will know what to say to God.

Be mindful that this person is held captive by the spirit of the devil – the devil is a deceiver. He will not only seek to deceive the individual you are praying for, but you too. Many times he will try to deceive you by thinking that the individual is ready and willing to be saved, when that they are not. God will save them only when their heart comes to the place where there is nothing more important to them than receiving God. They must love Him more than life itself.

Note well that if someone does not have the Holy Ghost, you are not just dealing with them, but also the devil in them. The devil will not simply sit back and allow you to deliver his child. He will put up a fight. That fight will not necessarily be against you but against the deliverance.

While you are praying, the devil will seek to distract or discourage the individual from receiving the Holy Spirit. He can do various things. He manifest by causing their bodies to convulse (demonic possession). He can speak to their hearts, or give them thoughts that will negate the gospel and the ease of receiving the Holy Spirit. However, as God’s ambassador on the scene, God will reveal the thoughts of their heart to you, and the things that are hindrances to them. You may need to explain to them how to overcome those hindrances.

Here are some typical examples of hindrances

Voices: You can seek God at a later date; God will never save you; You have done too much sin. Sometimes individuals will even hear cursing and demonic suggestions of suicide, fornication, etc. This is the devil warring against their salvation. As you pray, the Lord will lead the words of your prayer and show you things concerning the individual that you are praying about. He will give you words to counteract what the devil is saying to the heart. So it is important that you encourage them to listen to you, as opposed to simply crying and ignoring your words. In extreme cases, you may have to cast a spirit out.

Memories and Mental Images: Often individuals may get memories of past sins, or experiences. They can also get mental images of the things they are holding onto. This can be an individual, a situation, an aspiration in the heart (secret hope), or even an offense. As these come to the mind, they can often be distracting to the one praying to receive the Holy Ghost, because of a lack of understanding. At times, this can simply be the devil trying to discourage them from believing God, however, it can also be God, opening a sore wound or a secret area, showing them what they need to sacrifice to receive His Spirit.

Encourage them to bring these thoughts to the Lord. They will know in their hearts when God is talking to them. Let us not forget that God was the one that brought them to the altar. Their conscience will be able to distinguish between the voice of God and the voice of the enemy. So do not be fearful. As you pray, request that the Lord silence the voice of the enemy to the mind of the individual, that He allow only godly counsel to enter their heart. When this happens you can be confident that God is trying His hardest (without touching their will) to help their heart choose Him.

If they can agree with God in their hearts, and are will willing to give up what they need to, there would be nothing preventing them from receiving the Holy Spirit.

Unbelief: Some simply do not believe that God will save them. They are desperate for God to do something for them, but they have not believed that God will intervene. In cases like these, minister to the soul on the gospel of the Kingdom. Have them know that God has His eye on them personally. Minister truth to them, and guide their heart to belief. Have them know that belief is a decision of the heart, as opposed to something they can beg God for. They must decide to trust Him. To believe God is to acknowledge that He cannot lie.

Their Environment: Sometimes individuals get self-conscious as they are brought to such a vulnerable state of seeking the Lord. In these times, pride may set in out of fear of what the Lord might do, in the presence of others. Also, in the case of a full altar, some may be affected by what is going on beside them, or who is beside them, so be a watcher and give counsel or make adjustments where necessary.

Secrets: There are times when an individual may need to confess their sins as an act of humility before the Lord. This is why it is important to be mature, and not a gossiper. The Lord will lead you in letting you know if this is the hindrance to the individual’s salvation. Counsel them to confess whatever they are hiding. At that moment, it is not important that you hear exactly what they are saying, but it does matter that they say it.

There are some who receive the Holy Ghost easily, while others are not so easy. That is why is it so important that you be a support to the individual seeking the Lord. It can be a very stressful time for them, so you in no way want to be a deterrent or any form of discouragement to them. Be an example of how God feels about them.

HOW TO PRAY

Pray According to the Will of God

Note that God has knows what you are going to pray for, before you even pray for it. Hence, do not feel the need to pray long prayers. It is not the length of the prayer that gets God to move, but whether it is according to His will or not. This is why it is important to be sensitive to hear His voice. The Lord will reveal to you His will as you pray. He will guide you on what to pray for. If you do not allow yourself to be guided as you pray, you will be left confused as to what God is doing. This will also cause you to be just as clueless, as to whether God will save them or not. This cluelessness can lead you to desperation causing you to beg God to move. This can cause the person you are praying for may become very discouraged because not only don’t they know why God isn’t saving them, but neither do you.

Focus on the Soul

As you lay your hands, ask God to reveal to you what the individual needs. Do not feel the need to start out praying immediately. Remember, that prayer is not a competition or a show case, it is communication with God. There are times that people feel the need to appear as if God is working with them by praying and shouting as soon as they get to an individual. This is in efforts to fit in with fellow altar workers or stand out among them. God will not work with that heart. The focus must be on the soul and its needs.

In the case of demonic possession, there are times when individuals become intimidated by the manifestation of a spirit in the individual. However, know that we empower the devil when we give him our attention. He is worth being ignored, so your focus can be on the captivity of the soul. Let love fill your heart for the person that is being controlled by the devil. Tell the devil to leave the individual in the name of Jesus Christ.

Have Compassion

For most of the works that Jesus did, the scripture describes Him as first being moved with compassion. This is an operation of the Holy Ghost. When you allow compassion to fill your heart for the individual you are praying for, you will feel their burden. This will cause a spirit of boldness to come upon you, and you will be empowered to make decisions in the stead of Christ. For example, you will be able to determine that their sins are forgiven, or that they should receive healing or that they are not fit for the Holy Ghost.

Make Requests and Give Commands

As you pray, make your petitions known unto God. Say to Him what you would have Him do, and listen and watch for His response. As you are led by the Spirit, walk in the authority you have in Christ and give commands in the name of Jesus. For example, “Be healed”, “Be set free”, or “Satan, loose this individual”.

NB. As you pray, do not be afraid to communicate with the individual. (see chapter 4.)

THINGS TO CONSIDER

You can’t force someone to be saved

Luke 18:1

And he spake a parable unto them to this end, that men ought always to pray, and not to faint;

The context of this scripture allows us to know that Jesus was referring to praying in the time and tribulation of the antichrist. However, the principle can be applied to life in general. This is where the principle of “tarrying “was taken from. Tarry in a literal sense means to stay longer than intended; to delay leaving a place. Applied to the altar, to tarry at the altar means to stay at the altar until the individual receives the Holy Spirit, no matter how long it takes. This can be effective, however, one must bear in mind, that it is the heart of the individual seeking the Holy Ghost that must come into agreement with God.

You cannot force the individual to be saved if they do not want to be. There are times when you may be able to sense the judgement of the Lord, or how close an individual is to being saved, but this does not negate the fact that it is still their choice to be. They must come all the way to the righteousness of belief, and yearn for God in their hearts. That is not something you can force. Your ministry and prayers can inspire it, however, you cannot force their will to choose.

With that said, know when to stop. The Lord will lift His anointing from you or tell you plainly to stop. He will lead you and guide you in every aspect of working the altar. Do not let your heart interfere with a decision that God has made. His decision to stop does not mean that they will never get saved, it simply means that they might not get saved at that moment, because their heart isn’t ready.

Understanding

Sometimes, individuals simply do not understand how to receive the Holy Spirit. They think that they have to cry, and shout, because that is what they have seen others do at the altar. This is why it is imperative that you keep discerning. Once a friend of mine was praying for another at the altar, and the individual was crying profusely. Initially my friend thought that the conviction of the Lord had pricked the soul of the young man, and he started to pray with Him. It wasn’t long before he was led of God to ask the young man why he was crying. His response: “I don’t know, I thought that was what I was supposed to do, and I like to cry.”

Not All will be Saved

Always be mindful of God’s eternal plan. It is a sad truth that some are wheat and others tares. All will not be saved, no matter how badly you want them to be. It is imperative then for you to be led by the Spirit. God will draw His elect unto Himself. He will save the elect and those who are not, He warns. So do only what the Spirit tells you to do, and say only what the Spirit tells you to say. Go to the individuals He leads you to, and do not feel pressured to go to someone that you do not feel like the Spirit is leading you to go to.

God is not difficult

Keenness to the Holy Spirit has been a theme in this book, primarily because it is so essential to effective prayer. Many times people that pray for God to do things, often get frustrated or flustered when He does not. Always remember that God is not difficult. He is ready to respond to you as soon as you ask Him to do something. So, if you are asking Him to do something and He is not doing it, it is because it is not His will. When you realize this, do not get angry or upset. Simply ask God to reveal His will to you, and then pray accordingly.

MISCONCEPTIONS THE UNSAVED MAY HAVE RE THE INFILLING OF THE HOLY SPIRIT.

Crying & Screaming (Bodily Exercise): Sometimes, individuals think they have to do things to make God feel sympathy for them and their state. They may jump, kick, roll, scream and even cry. Be sure to discern when this is happening and do not be naive into thinking that bodily exercise equates a move of God.

People may also say things repeatedly, thinking that is what God wants to hear, or as a way of convincing Him that that is their heart, when it is not. While others, simply move about to mock the Holy Ghost. Be sure to discern if this is happening and to stop them from doing it. Let them know that God is reading the heart, as opposed to what the mouth says or the body does. For those that mock, give a warning.

Get Right First: Some believe that before coming to God they have to “get right first”, or in plain terms, get holy first. This is actually impossible. Though an unsaved individual may stop certain sins, sin for them is more than a decision, it is a living presence (spirit) within them. Therefore if one were to try and get right before coming to the Lord, they would never come to Him.

Come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool. (Isaiah 1:18). Encourage the individual to come as they are. However, come with a heart that is willing to change. If they ask God to save them, He will, as long as they truly desire to be.

I Can Never Stop Sinning: Others believe that they can never truly overcome the particular sin that they are in. When individuals have been addicts (drug addicts, sexual addicts, emotional addicts, etc.) they often think that they can never stop, because of their numerous failures while trying to stop before. This belief system can also be taken to God when they approach Him. Be quick to discern this, because God will not move without faith. Encourage them in the word of God. Give a testimony of how God delivered you and countless others from your sin, and the sins that affect them. Let them know that Jesus came to free them from their sin, and they are not exempt. Convince them of the power of the blood of Jesus, which is able to wash away not only sin but also the desire for it.

Let them know that the responsibility to stop is not on them, but it is God that will empower them to stop when His Holy Spirit comes inside of them. All they need is a desire to be free.

I am too evil: When an individual has lived a lifestyle of sin, they often feel intimidated to approach God. They think that God wants nothing to do with them, because of all that they have done. Minister to them and let them know that God can and will save them if they give Him their heart. They have not done too much that He cannot handle.