Bible verses for every occasion
Bible Verses for Someone Far From God
When you are praying for someone you love who has wandered or has never known God, these verses steady your hope. They remind you that no one is beyond His reach, and that the Father watches the road.
“And when he was yet a great way off, his father saw him, and had compassion, and ran, and fell on his neck, and kissed him.”
Luke 15:20, King James Version
The Father runs to welcome the one who turns home.
“The Lord is... not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.”
2 Peter 3:9, King James Version
God's patience is aimed at their coming home.
“For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost.”
Luke 19:10, King James Version
Jesus goes looking for the lost; that is His mission.
“I will seek that which was lost, and bring again that which was driven away.”
Ezekiel 34:16, King James Version
God Himself pursues the wandering.
“Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth.”
1 Timothy 2:4, King James Version
Your prayer for them echoes God's own desire.
“Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house.”
Acts 16:31, King James Version
Hope for a whole household, not just one heart.
“But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.”
Romans 5:8, King James Version
His love reaches people long before they turn back.
The One these verses point to: Jesus
Take heart: the God you are praying to loves the one you are praying for even more than you do. Jesus did not come for people who had it together; He came to seek and to save the lost, and He is still seeking. However far your loved one seems, they are not beyond the reach of the Father who is watching the road for them. Keep praying, keep loving without pressure, and trust the God who runs to welcome the ones who turn home.
You do not have to hold this moment alone. You can ask real people to pray with you, find a church near you, or, if you would like a gentle place to begin, start with Jesus here.