And He spake a parable to this end, that men ought always to pray, and not to faint [lose heart] Luke 18:1.
Some of the hardest people to evangelize are our relatives. One of the easier areas in which to lose heart is when we pray for our unsaved relatives.
When we receive Jesus as our Savior and experience the benefits of salvation, we desire our family and extended family to also receive salvation. But just because we want it, the majority of the time they don’t want it, so we must not pressure them.
Don’t pressure them, because this will only lead them to reject salvation even more. Pray for them during your prayer time; call out their names to the Father daily. Don’t get distracted by what they are saying and doing as long as you keep them in prayer, you will have the hand of God upon them, drawing them to Him at His appointed time.
Sometimes it may be months or years before they accept salvation; don’t allow the length of time to discourage you from praying for them. You don’t have to remind them that you’re praying for them. Sometimes this will agitate the person.
Don’t pressure them to attend church if you invited them and they turned down the invitation. Pray that God will send His laborers into their lives everywhere they go to minister to them. Pray that God will draw them to Him. The Bible states the only way we can come to Jesus, the Father must first draw us (No man can come to Me, except the Father which hath sent Me draw him: and I will raise him up at the last day – John 6:44).
Pray that God will open their ears and hearts to the Word of God as they hear it from others. Set aside a day to fast solely for their salvation. No matter how long you have to fast, fast until they receive Christ! The Adversary will make you tired, and even get angry because they have not received salvation in the time frame you thought they should have.
Don’t stop praying and fasting for your relatives; you do not want them to die and go to hell; just knowing that should give you an incentive to keep praying. God hears your prayers; He wants them saved just as much, if not more, than you do. Your prayers are not in vain!