The Perfect Prayer for Unsaved Loved Ones

By David Ettinger

Moment of Salvation
The pharisee Saul was a persecutor of the early Christian Church. We read that he “… began ravaging the church, entering house after house; and he would drag away men and women and put them in prison” (Acts 8:3) and “… breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord” (Acts 9:1).

While Saul was carrying out his unholy work, he had no idea that the God he thought he knew had a plan for him. While Saul was traveling up to Damascus from Jerusalem, “he fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?” (Acts 9:4).

When Saul requested to know the identity of the One who was causing him such unrest, the answer came back: “I am Jesus whom you are persecuting … get up and enter the city, and it will be told to you what you must do” (Acts 9:5-6).

Three days later, “… something like fish scales fell from his eyes [referring to the scales of fish and crocodiles], and he regained his sight, and he got up and was baptized” (Acts 9:18). It was the moment of Saul’s salvation, and it was frightening, thrilling, and history-changing.

Saul the Pharisee would soon become Paul the Apostle, and the world would never be the same.

Remove the Scales
The phrase which has stayed with me over the past three decades is “… something like fish scales fell from his eyes.”

I have taken this so personally because it perfectly describes my experience. Born and raised Jewish, I became disenchanted with “religion” at age 17 and became an atheist. At age 28, the Lord removed the scales from my eyes and I have worshiped Him ever since (I am now 64).

I am eternally grateful to God for removing those soul-destroying scales, as you no doubt are regarding your own salvation. Had God not done so, we would still be dying in our sin and destined for a Christless eternity.

Now, more than 35 years into my pilgrimage with God, I have frequently prayed that He would remove the scales from the eyes of loved ones – both family and friends. Regarding family, I’m still waiting for the first to have “scale-free” eyes, and it has been an anguished wait.

In the meantime, I employ the “scale prayer” daily, beseeching our Heavenly Father to “remove the scales from so-and-so’s eyes that he or she might clearly see the Lord Jesus Christ!”

I find it to be the perfect prayer for loved ones, and so very, very concise.

Oh that the Lord would remove the scales from the eyes of our blinded loved ones!

David Ettinger is a writer/editor at Zion’s Hope, Inc., and has written for Zion’s Fire magazine since its inception in 1990.