I hope you had a wonderful Resurrection Sunday. I’m thankful for an Easter weekend with my family and the opportunity to celebrate the Risen Lord.

As our family discussed the story of Resurrection in Matthew 28, we noted that Jesus’ command to the first witnesses was to go and tell others. The message of Easter brings us hope and assurance, but it also compels us to share that hope with others.

Luke records three powerful parables of Jesus that illustrate God’s heart for the lost. More than once, Jesus emphasizes the Father’s joy when a sinner repents and turns to God. We are reminded that when God sees the lost, his greatest desire is for them to be found by Him.

Likewise, as the people of God, when we look at those who are far from God, we should desire their salvation. The human tendency toward those who work evil, who seem to be enemies of God and the church, who live in destructive ways, is to judge, hate and even want their demise. Yet Jesus calls us to love them, pray for them and rejoice when they turn to him.

We have launched our “Praying for a GC2 Awakening:” 50 days of prayer through Pentecost this week. Week One’s theme is “The Lostness Around Us” and the focus is “Cultivating a Heart of Compassion for the Millions in Texas who do not know Jesus.”

The daily emphases and Scriptures are as follows:

Day 1: Give us spiritual eyes to see the lost with the compassion of Christ. Matthew 9:36–38

Day 2: Help us remember that Jesus came to seek and save the lost. Luke 19:10

Day 3: Help us see the value of every lost person and rejoice when sinners repent. Luke 15:7

Day 4: Open our eyes to the urgency of the gospel for those who have not yet heard. Romans 10:14–15

Day 5: Break through the spiritual blindness that keeps many from seeing the truth of the gospel. 2 Corinthians 4:3–4

Day 6: Help us recognize the harvest that is already around us. John 4:35

Would you join Texas Baptists and Baptists around the world in praying for the lost today and the rest of this week? Will you ask God to cultivate in us his heart for those who are far away from Him? Will you pray for a spiritual awakening among us Texas Baptists and beyond?

You can sign up to let us know you are praying and to get weekly emails with the week’s theme and prayer points here. You can also download the entire prayer guide in PDF here. We are also happy to provide the prayer guide in Spanish.

We are thankful to Rolando Rodriguez, director of Texas Baptists en Español, for his translation of the prayer guide and for gathering various groups of pastors, in person or virtually, to pray together daily during these 50 days!

Join the prayer movement! Pause right now to pray.