But ye, beloved, building up yourselves on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Ghost (Jude 20, KJV)

You need to know that in your witness for Christ, you are only going to be as effective for Jesus as you are active in your prayer life with Him. No matter how learned we may become, or how good our ability to testify and/or debate, no one ever accepts Jesus as Lord and Savior of their lives apart from God the Holy Spirit empowering our witness. And here we discover what was lost in this whole seeker sensitive “new” Evangelical ecumenical kingdom inherited by Ted Haggard. One simply cannot argue someone into the Kingdom of God, and they are not in the Kingdom of Heaven apart from Christ.

You can give your testimony; you can answer questions; you can share reasons why a person ought to surrender their lives to Jesus; but, if they ultimately accept Christ, that decision must originate with God Himself. As usual, Dr. Walter Martin, a powerful defender of Christianity, put it quite well in his little book Essential Christianity, which I highly recommend you get a hold of:

the human heart is like a locked door, but the lock is on the inside of the person. It must be unlocked by God the Holy Spirit.

If we really do love those in our family who are still locked out of the Kingdom of God by their sin, then we’ll make the effort to seek the Lord’s favor, and to develop a close relationship with Him through prayer. If we are earnest, and diligent, then remember the promise in Hebrews 11:6, God said He will reward those who earnestly seek Him. While those rewards may be material at times, the Lord is always ready to reward us with spiritual blessings; a stronger awareness of His glorious presence, and a fresh filling of the power of God through the Holy Spirit. If you’ll just ask the Lord, He is always ready to fill you with the Holy Spirit, and it is God is the Source of your power, not you.

If you wish to see loved ones saved, and other people you witness to come to Christ, then you need to develop a good working relationship with God the Holy Spirit. In the original Greek of Ephesians 5:18 it says – be continually being filled with the Holy Spirit. The great 19th century evangelist D.L. Moody was an instrument that the Lord used to bring hundreds of thousands into a saving relationship with God in Christ. And I say, since we’re not seeing many come to Christ these days, whenever we have the chance to hear what men who were used so mightily of God have to say, then we ought to be like sponges and soak up every drop of their godly wisdom.

So concerning this little encouragement on the secret power of prayer, which also leads to having a close relationship to God by spending time with Him, let me pour out a little D.L. Moody from his classic book The Secret Power for us to absorb:

Those who have left the deepest impression on this sin-cursed earth have been men and women of prayer. You will find that PRAYER has been the mighty power that has moved not only God, but man… [Truthfully] there are many Christians in whom the Holy Spirit dwells, but upon whom He has never come in power; we need this secret power. [emphasis his]

And to those vital words for this timid and tepid generation of professing Christians, let me add my hearty–AMEN!

Even so, come, Lord Jesus.