Part 1: A Conversation with God About Lost People…
I was on a walk the other day when God stirred my heart to think about people who don't have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.
I've been reading Hebrews 7 and 8 lately - about Jesus as our High Priest who intercedes for us. And I found myself doing something interesting: I was trying to “help God understand” why these people don’t truly know Him yet.
Now, the Lord doesn't need my help understanding anything. He knows people far better than I ever could. But as I prayed, something shifted - I felt a tender compassion that seemed so close to the heart of Christ that it surprised me. It wasn't my compassion alone. It was His compassion flowing through me. I poured out my heart for these people - in particular as I named the barriers keeping them from Him.
"Father, try to understand. We are only human. None of us have experienced the glory of Your holiness in person. Sure, we see reflections of Your glory in the beauty of sunsets and nature - or in the smile of a baby.
But the enemy has blinded people’s eyes from the truth of Your salvation. So many think they're good with You! So they don't really see how lost they really are. They can't even see what’s happening. Many of them have never even read Your word.
So many of them are just doing the best they can. They’re trying to take care of their families or deal with physical, emotional, and mental pain in their lives.
Some of them are focused on really beautiful things like loving their families well and enjoying the goodness of life. Some of them have heard the truth a long time ago, but it's gotten buried in a pile of work and demands on their life. They don't even realize they are rejecting You and Your offer for salvation; they just have a terrible time slowing down long enough to even think about eternity."
The Father was pleased - not because He needed the information, but because He was hearing His Son's heart coming through mine.
The Precedent for This Kind of Prayer
We're called to "make intercession" (to pray for others), and Scripture shows us what that looks like. Moses spoke with God "face to face, as a man speaks to his friend" (Exodus 33:11). When Israel sinned with the golden calf, Moses didn't just say "forgive them" - he acknowledged their reality: "Although this is a stiff-necked people, forgive our wickedness and our sin" (Exodus 34:9).
Moses understood what we often forget: honest intercession means telling God what we see, not just what we want.
This is our reality too. But naming that reality isn't an accusation. It's the foundation for compassionate intercession. If we have Christ in us - if His Spirit is interceding through us - why not be as honest as Moses was with God in our prayers?
Jesus Showed Us the Way
Think about what Jesus did on the cross. In the middle of unimaginable suffering - betrayed, mocked, crucified - He looked at the people responsible and said to the Father, "Forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing." (Luke 23:34)
He didn't just ask for their forgiveness. He told the Father why they needed it. He named their blindness. He acknowledged their ignorance. He interceded with compassion, even for those driving nails into His hands.
The Father was listening - moved by His Son's heart for the lost.
When we talk to the Father about what's creating distractions, deception, resistance, or wounds in the people we're praying for, He's listening in the same way. He's paying attention to our compassion.
And getting practical in how to pray for the lost is what this blog series is about.
Why This Matters
Prayer changes us. When we pray this way - naming barriers with compassion instead of frustration - we start seeing lost people the way Jesus does. Our hearts soften. Our conversations change. And suddenly, we're not just praying for them - we're positioned to actually reach them when God opens a door.
Over the next few weeks, I want to walk through the specific barriers I keep seeing - distraction, religious deception, resistance, and woundedness. Each one requires different prayers, different compassion, and different readiness on our part.
When we take the time to understand why someone is lost, we will pray with the kind of compassion that moves heaven.
Aside from this blog, if you are serious in your desire to lead people to Jesus Christ - to go deeper in learning how to engage lost people with confidence and compassion, I've created a 40-day devotional that equips believers to recognize moments of spiritual openness and respond with grace. I'm currently looking for a small group of people to pilot this resource and provide feedback before a wider release - if you're interested in being part of the pilot group, email me at grant.reed@rd2tell.com. The pilot involves 15 minutes of daily reading/writing for 6 weeks, plus one hour of weekly group discussion (virtual is an option).
About Grant Reed
Grant Reed is the founder of Ready to Tell Ministries and serves as Prayer & Pastoral Care Director for Marked Men For Christ, a global men's ministry reaching 19,000+ men across 30 countries. He holds an M.Div. and M.A. in Ministry from Southwestern Seminary and is a graduate of the Billy Graham School of Evangelism. Grant is passionate about equipping believers to share their faith with confidence and compassion.