What role does our faith play when we are praying for the salvation of others?

It's an important question related to our prayer lives and the question comes to us

from a listener named Richard.

Hello, Pastor John, thank you for this podcast.

I write because I have become discouraged in my prayer life.

None of my requests ever get answered.

I've been praying for family members to be reconciled, friends to come to faith, Christ

glory to be made evident to me and other requests like these.

I faithfully read scripture and I cannot think of any unrepentant sin in my life that

would hinder my prayers.

It just seems my answers are always no.

And I've become discouraged because of it.

Do you have any sustaining counsel for a weak brother who's enduring the silence of God?

Richard, I will try to give you some sustaining counsel, although I do share some of your

deep disappointments and am fighting the same fight you are fighting in regard to extended

years of unanswered prayer, especially as regards salvation of people we care about.

So I don't know if what I say will be what you need, but it is what I have to give and

how I press on.

Outside the Bible, no one has taught me more about prayer than George Mueller.

Perhaps you know that he was famous in the 19th century for founding and running orphanages

in Britain by asking God for every need that it would be met for these children and seeing

amazing answers to his prayers.

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