31 days of Scripture prayers for someone on your heart

If you have someone you love who doesn’t know Jesus, you probably know the feeling. You want so badly for them to know what you know, to experience His grace, His forgiveness, His presence, and the kind of life that can only be found in Him.

Maybe it’s a friend. Maybe it’s your husband, your child, your parent, or someone you’ve known forever. Maybe you aren’t even sure where they stand with the Lord. You just know their name keeps coming to mind.

Pray for them.

First Timothy 2:4 tells us,

“This is good, and it pleases God our Savior, who wants everyone to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.”

We cannot change someone’s heart, and we cannot talk someone into salvation. But we can faithfully bring them before the Lord and ask Him to do what only He can do.

Years ago, prayer leader Terry Gooding shared a picture of prayer that I have always loved. She described prayers for a lost loved one like golden bricks being laid along their path, paving a road of prayer from earth to the throne room of heaven.

There is something about that picture that makes me want to keep praying.

Because sometimes you pray for someone for a long time and see absolutely nothing happening. You wonder if they are any closer to Jesus than they were when you started. But we don’t know what God is doing in the places we cannot see.

So we pray again.

One more prayer. One more brick.

What Are We Actually Praying For?

Before we spend 31 days praying for someone’s salvation, I think it helps to understand what salvation actually is.

And I want to make this really simple. Because I understand the feeling of “I love Jesus, but I don’t know if I could explain the gospel to someone.”

I think a lot of us feel that way.

We know Jesus changed our lives. We know He died on the cross. We know we are saved by grace. But when someone across the table actually asks us what we believe, suddenly all the words disappear.

So here is what I would want you to know.

God created us to know Him and live in relationship with Him. But sin separated us from Him. Romans 3:23 says, “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” That means all of us. None of us can make ourselves right with a holy God.

Being a good person cannot fix that. Going to church cannot fix it. Trying harder cannot fix it.

That is why Jesus came.

Jesus lived the sinless life we could never live. He died on the cross, taking the punishment our sin deserved, and He rose from the grave. He did for us what we could never do for ourselves.

Ephesians 2:8 says, “For you are saved by grace through faith, and this is not from yourselves; it is God’s gift.”

Salvation is a gift.

We respond to that gift with repentance and faith. We turn from our sin and our way of living, trust in Jesus and what He has done for us, and follow Him as Lord.

That is the good news.

God made us. Sin separated us. Jesus came for us. We respond with repentance and faith.

You can remember that. And more importantly, you can explain that.

What If God Gives You an Opportunity?

Here is where I think we sometimes make gospel conversations harder than they need to be.

You don’t have to sit someone down and announce that you are about to share the gospel with them. Some conversations may happen that way, but many begin in ordinary places.

Over coffee. In the car. While your kids are playing. During a conversation about something hard happening in their life.

Listen to people.

Be curious about what they believe. If faith comes up, ask about it. You might simply say, “What has your relationship with God looked like?” or “Who is Jesus to you?”

Then actually listen to the answer. That answer may tell you so much.

Someone may have spent her whole life in church and still believe Christianity is mostly about being a good person. Someone else may believe in God but have no idea what the gospel is. Another person may have been deeply hurt by people in the church and has quietly connected that hurt to Jesus.

You don’t need to rush past any of that. Listen. Love them. And when the opportunity comes, tell them the truth about Jesus.

You can say something as simple as, “One of the biggest things I had to understand was that I could never be good enough to make myself right with God. None of us can. That is why Jesus came. He died for our sin and rose again, and He offers us forgiveness and new life when we turn to Him and trust Him.”

That is a gospel conversation.

You aren’t trying to win an argument. You aren’t responsible for creating the perfect moment. You are simply being faithful with an opportunity God has given you.

And then you trust Him with the heart sitting across from you.

Now, Let’s Pray

For the next 31 days, we’re going to pray for that person.

Write their name somewhere you will see it. Each day, read the Scripture and use the prayer as a starting place. Put their name into it. You can pray the words I’ve written, keep praying after they end, or simply sit with the Scripture and let it guide you.

These prayers are not a formula. We aren’t trying to say the perfect words so God will give us the outcome we want. We are bringing someone we love before a God who loves them even more.

And while you pray for their heart, ask God to prepare yours too.

Ask Him to make you sensitive to opportunities. Ask Him for courage when it is time to speak and wisdom to know when it is time to listen.

Then keep your eyes open.

You can grab the free 31 Days of Scripture Prayers printable in the Reset Room and keep it somewhere you’ll see it each day as you pray for the one God has placed on your heart.

31 Days of Prayer

Day 1 | Romans 3:23

Father, help _____ see their need for You. Help them understand that all of us have sinned and fallen short of Your glory, and that none of us can make ourselves right with You.

Day 2 | 2 Corinthians 4:4–6

God, shine Your light into _____’s heart. Where there is spiritual blindness or confusion, help them see the truth and beauty of Jesus clearly.

Day 3 | John 14:6

Jesus, reveal Yourself to _____. Help them understand that You are the way, the truth, and the life, and draw them into a real relationship with You.

Day 4 | 1 Timothy 2:3–4

Father, Your Word tells us that You desire people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. I bring _____ before You today and ask You to draw them toward truth.

Day 5 | Acts 26:18

Lord, open _____’s eyes. Turn them from darkness to light and help them understand the forgiveness and new life found in Jesus.

Day 6 | Colossians 1:13–14

Father, rescue _____ from darkness and bring them into the kingdom of Your Son, where there is redemption and forgiveness.

Day 7 | 2 Corinthians 4:3–4

God, remove anything keeping _____ from seeing the truth of the gospel. Guard their mind from lies and help them recognize who Jesus really is.

Day 8 | Hebrews 3:15

Lord, when _____ hears Your voice, give them a soft heart that is willing to respond to You.

Day 9 | 2 Thessalonians 3:5

Lord, direct _____’s heart toward Your love. Help them begin to understand Your goodness and the love You have shown us through Christ.

Day 10 | Ezekiel 36:26

Father, give _____ a new heart and a new spirit. Soften the places that have become hard toward You.

Day 11 | Matthew 13:23

Prepare _____’s heart like good soil. When they hear Your Word, help them understand it, receive it, and respond to it.

Day 12 | Jeremiah 24:7

God, give _____ a heart that knows You. Draw them to turn toward You wholeheartedly.

Day 13 | Acts 2:37–38

Jesus, let the truth of the gospel reach _____ deeply. Bring conviction that leads to genuine repentance and faith.

Day 14 | Isaiah 59:2

Father, help _____ understand the seriousness of sin and our separation from You. Let that understanding lead them toward the grace You have provided through Jesus.

Day 15 | Acts 17:30

Lord, lead _____ to repentance. Help them turn from sin and turn toward You.

Day 16 | 2 Peter 3:9

Father, thank You for Your patience and mercy. Today I place _____ before You again and ask You to draw them toward repentance.

Day 17 | Ephesians 1:7

Help _____ understand the redemption and forgiveness available through Jesus. Let grace become more than a religious word to them. Help them see what Jesus has done for them.

Day 18 | 1 John 1:9

Father, bring _____ to a place where they are willing to confess their sin and discover the forgiveness You freely offer.

Day 19 | 2 Timothy 2:25–26

Lord, gently lead _____ toward repentance and a knowledge of the truth. Free them from lies that have kept them from knowing You.

Day 20 | 2 Corinthians 7:10

Father, when _____ becomes aware of their sin, use that conviction to draw them toward repentance and salvation.

Day 21 | Ephesians 2:8–9

Help _____ understand that salvation is Your gift. Show them that they cannot earn their way to You, but can receive Your grace through faith in Jesus.

Day 22 | Acts 4:12

Jesus, reveal to _____ that salvation is found in You. Help them understand who You are and why they need You.

Day 23 | 2 Timothy 3:15

Give _____ wisdom to understand Your Word and how it points to salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.

Day 24 | Romans 10:9–10

Father, bring _____ to genuine faith in Jesus. May they believe in their heart and willingly confess Jesus as Lord.

Day 25 | Acts 2:38

Lord, lead _____ to repentance and faith. Give them courage to respond to You and begin walking with You.

Day 26 | Romans 5:8

Father, help _____ understand how deeply You love them. Let the cross show them that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

Day 27 | 1 Thessalonians 1:5

God, when _____ hears the gospel, let it reach deeper than words. By Your Holy Spirit, bring conviction and help them recognize the truth.

Day 28 | Romans 10:14–15

Father, place faithful believers in _____’s life who will love them well and clearly tell them about Jesus.

Day 29 | Matthew 9:37–38

Lord of the harvest, send people into _____’s life who will faithfully live and speak Your truth. Give them opportunities to hear the gospel clearly.

Day 30 | Colossians 4:5–6

Father, give me wisdom in the way I love _____. Show me when to speak and when to listen. When You give me an opportunity, let my words be full of truth and grace.

Day 31 | 2 Corinthians 2:14–15

Jesus, let my life carry the fragrance of knowing You when I am with _____. Help me love them well, live faithfully in front of them, and trust You with what only You can do.

Keep Laying the Bricks

Maybe after 31 days you will see God moving in a way you never expected. Maybe you won’t see anything yet. Either way, don’t stop praying.

We do not know what God is doing in someone’s heart. We don’t know what conversation He is arranging, what truth they are beginning to wrestle with, or who He may place in their path.

So keep bringing their name before Him. And if one day you find yourself sitting across from them with an open door to talk about Jesus, take it.

You don’t need the perfect words. Tell them the good news. Then trust God with the rest.

Keep praying, friend. Keep laying the bricks. 🤍

Source Note

Terry Gooding, Paths of Gold: Praying the Way to Christ for Lost Friends and Family

Dean Ridings, Pray! Prayer Journal. Scripture prayers and devotional wording adapted and written for Her View of His Grace.