Romans 10:1 Brethren, my heart's desire and prayer to God for Israel is, that they might be saved.

‍
There is a huge difference between doing something and having a passion for it. There is nothing wrong with occasionally doing the things we are supposed to do without “feeling it.” I would rather take someone that does what they are supposed to do even if they don’t feel like it, than to have someone who is not faithful to do it.
‍

But a Christian who is led by the Spirit of God should be passionate about the things that God wants us to be passionate about. The main purpose and activity of the church should be to introduce people to Jesus Christ, the only one who can save them from their sins. Of course, we know that as soul winners, there will be times when we go soul winning even though we don’t necessarily feel like it, but that should not be all the time. If we do not acquire a passion for souls, we will not be faithful soul winners.
‍

Paul was definitely a soul winner and one who had a great passion to see souls saved. As one who was saved out of the Jewish religion, he particularly had a desire for the Israelites to be saved. He knew what it was like to spin his wheels in a false belief system, thinking all that time that he was doing God’s work when in reality he was not even one of God’s children. Although God sent him to reach the Gentiles, Paul never lost his passion for his own people.
‍

In our verse, we see his lament for his fellow Jews who were lost and without Christ. We see his passion to see them come to know the Lord Jesus Christ. But we also see two components that can help us to have that same passion for souls.
‍

The first component is desire. Seeing souls come to Christ was not just meaningless words that came out from his mouth, it was a passion that came forth from a deep inward desire to see God save his people. Is that the desire of our heart when we go out soul winning? Is it a desire so rooted in us, that we see the multitudes of people around us as individuals for whom Christ died? We need to regularly remind ourselves that those who do not know Jesus Christ will spend eternity in the lake of fire.
‍

How easy it is for us to see the outward trappings of this life in the lives of those who don’t know Christ and think that they are OK. But what does it profit an individual if he gains everything this world has to offer and yet loses his own soul to an eternal hell?
‍

The second component is prayer. Maybe the reason you and I are not as successful or motivated in soul winning is because we spend very little time praying about it. The desire that Paul had naturally led to prayer. You see, spiritual work is only accomplished in a spiritual way. If we are to be soul winners, then we also need to be praying for souls to be saved.
‍

Maybe it is a specific individual that you know who needs Jesus Christ. Maybe it is an individual that a friend or fellow church member has asked you to pray for. Maybe it’s someone in your own family.
‍

We are to also pray for souls in a general sense. We should pray that God would bring us into contact with those whom we can share the gospel with. We are to pray for God to use us to win somebody to Jesus Christ. We are to pray for souls to be saved through the soul winning ministries of our church. We need to be praying for those visitors who attend our church to come to know Jesus Christ before they go home.
‍

The gospel is a big deal to the Lord. The Great Commission is mentioned in some form in all of the Gospels. It was the purpose for which Jesus came to this earth: He came to seek and to save those who are lost. It was the reason that He called His disciples to follow Him, so that they would become fishers of men. It was the last thing Jesus mentioned to the fledgling church before He ascended into heaven. It’s a big deal to Christ and it ought to be a big deal to us.
‍

Do you have a passion for souls? Maybe we need to work on our desires. We ought to desire the things that He desires, and He desires souls to be saved. Maybe we ought to pray for people to be saved. I hope that we all will develop a greater passion to see people come to know Jesus Christ.