The announcement of actor Heath Ledger’s death at 28 struck a chord in me. I’ll admit, I was somewhat of a fan of some of his earlier work -- The Patriot, A Knight’s Tale and The Four Feathers. He lost me at Brokeback Mountain, but I believed he was a talented actor. As of this writing, the media has not reported a cause of death. The fact that Mr. Ledger was never reported to have fallen into some of the more tabloid-friendly trappings, such as publicly-known drug use or multiple arrests, has left many puzzled as to how this could have happened.

The overarching question that trumps “What killed him?’” is “Did he know Jesus Christ as his Lord and Savior?” Of course, I don’t know where Mr. Ledger was in terms of a relationship with the Lord. I have never heard a profession of faith of any sort being reported from him. Some of his cinematic and lifestyle choices may lead me to some doubt.

Likely, Heath Ledger was just as lost as the lesser-known lost people we encounter everyday. We live in a fallen world, surrounded by the lost -- in our own homes, among our families and friends, at the post office, the library, on the job and even on television and the silver screen. The Lord has reminded me that they are all worthy of my prayers. It doesn’t matter if I know them personally or not, the Lord knows them intimately (“For thou hast possessed my reins: thou hast covered me in my mother's womb.” Psalm 139:13). He loves them and wants them to come to Him (“The Lord is… not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.” 2 Pet. 3:9). In addition to the usual people who inhabit my prayer list, the Lord has led me to pray for the salvation of at least one other person each day or week. Be they a famous celebrity, the frazzled woman in the commissary or the mom I talk to each week at my daughter’s dance class, I must pray that they heed the Lord’s call.

As for Heath Ledger, it’s too late to pray for him -- our lives are but a vapor (James 4:14) and now Heath Ledger knows the truth. Instead, I pray for actress Michelle Williams and their two-year-old daughter Matilda -- that they come to knowledge of their need for a savior and that they draw unto Christ in faith. The Lord has reminded me that I must pray for so many, especially the lost, before it’s too late.

“The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.” James 5:16b

In Christ, Talya