Prayer

🙏 How to Pray for Unsaved Family and Friends

Write their names down, pray for their eyes to be opened, for the right people to cross their path, for open doors for you and for their real lives, pray with them when you can, and do not give up.

3 min read · October 18, 2026 · By Daniel Ziedins

Key takeaways

Write down the names of the people you are praying for and keep the list where you see it daily.
Pray for their eyes to be opened (2 Corinthians 4:4), for workers to cross their path (Matthew 9:38) and for open doors for you (Colossians 4:3).
Pray for their real lives too, pray with them when you can, and do not give up (Luke 18:1).

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

1 Timothy 2:3-4

Few prayers feel as heavy as the ones for people you love who do not know Jesus. A parent. A brother. A best friend from school. You have prayed for years, and sometimes it feels like nothing is moving.

Keep going. Paul carried the same weight for his own people:

Brothers and sisters, my heart's desire and prayer to God for the Israelites is that they may be saved. (Romans 10:1)

And God wants it even more than you do:

This is good, and pleases God our Savior, who wants all people to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth. (1 Timothy 2:3-4)

Here is a simple way to pray for them that is specific, biblical and sustainable.

Write down their names

Vague prayers are easy to forget. Make a short list of the people God has put in your life who do not yet follow Jesus. Most of us have somewhere between eight and fifteen: family, friends, coworkers, neighbours. That circle is your oikos.

Keep the list where you will see it every day.

Pray that their eyes would be opened

Scripture describes unbelief as more than disagreement. Something is blinding people to the good news:

The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel that displays the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. (2 Corinthians 4:4)

So pray for sight. Ask God to open their eyes to who Jesus really is, to soften what has hardened, and to heal whatever hurt has kept them away.

Pray for the right people to cross their path

You might not be the person who reaches them. Pray for others too:

The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field. (Matthew 9:37-38)

Pray for a coworker, a neighbour or a stranger who will say the right thing at the right time.

Pray for open doors for you

Paul asked others to pray for his opportunities:

And pray for us, too, that God may open a door for our message, so that we may proclaim the mystery of Christ (Colossians 4:3)

Ask God for natural moments to talk about him, and for the courage and kindness to take them. Then watch for them.

Pray for their real lives

Do not only pray "save them". Pray for their health, their work, their marriage, their kids, their fears. God cares about all of it, and praying for their actual life keeps your love for them real.

It also gives you something to ask about. "How is your mum's surgery recovery going? I have been praying for her" can open a conversation that years of hints never did.

Pray with them when you can

Sometimes the best way to pray for someone is to pray with them. When they share a struggle, ask: "Can I pray for you about that, right now?" Keep it short and use their name. The pray with someone card has a simple way to ask.

Do not give up

Jesus knew we would be tempted to stop:

Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up. (Luke 18:1)

Some people come to faith quickly. Many take years. Your prayers are not wasted, even when you cannot see what God is doing.

A prayer you can use

Father, I lift up [name] to you. Open their eyes to see Jesus. Soften what has grown hard. Send people across their path who point to you, and give me the courage and kindness to speak when the door opens. Help them with [their real need]. Draw them to yourself. In Jesus' name, amen.

Make it a rhythm

A list on paper works. So does an app. Kingdom Base has a free Prayer Walk mode that takes you through the people you are praying for one name at a time, so nobody gets skipped. Start free, and when the moment comes to talk, how to share your faith with family can help.

Questions

How do I pray for someone who is not saved?

Pray by name and specifically: that God would open their eyes to Jesus (2 Corinthians 4:4), send people across their path who point to him (Matthew 9:38), open doors for you to talk about him (Colossians 4:3), and help them with the real needs in their life.

What if I have prayed for years and nothing has changed?

Keep going. Jesus told a parable so his disciples would always pray and not give up (Luke 18:1). Many people take years to come to faith, and your prayers are not wasted even when you cannot see what God is doing.

Should I tell them I am praying for them?

When it is natural, yes. Asking about a need you have been praying for, or offering to pray with them right then, often opens a conversation in a way that hints never do.

Nobody forgotten. Kingdom Base is a free command center for the Great Commission — log the people you meet, follow up faithfully, and make disciples. Start free.