“Brothers, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for the Israelites is that they may be saved.”
{Romans 10:1} (NIV 1984)
What does it mean to me that God is the One who decides who will be saved, and who will not be saved? To many people it means that they turn away from God. They reject the right of the Creator to make decisions regarding His creatures. To Paul, it means that he turns to God and pleads with God for their souls.
It is made crystal clear in the book of Exodus that God choose the Israelites over the Egyptians. It is made clear in the book of Romans that God hardened the hearts of the Israel in order that salvation would come to the Gentiles. What does it mean to me, that God is a God who chooses whom He will save, and works in their hearts to save them? It causes me to pray for those that I want to see come to Christ. We all know that only a remnant of the world will be saved. God asks us to come boldly before Him and plead for grace. That is what Paul did, and that is what we should do.
Even as I write this, I am reminded of a person I used to pray for and had stopped. Friend, let us be people who plead for God to bring these souls to Himself. Let us not give up, but let us pray in faith to our gracious God. Their only hope is the grace and mercy of our God.
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