June 25 - Colossians 4:2-4

June 25 - Colossians 4:2-4

“Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful. And pray for us, too, that God may open a door for our message, so that we may proclaim the mystery of Christ, for which I am in chains. Pray that I may proclaim it clearly, as I should.”

It seems obvious to most of us that we should pray, but I would guess that there are very few of us who consider ourselves to be devoted to prayer.  Distraction tends to be my worst enemy.  Paul says to be watchful. 

The thing is – there is nothing that can do more in our lives than constant prayer.  The more time we spend in prayer, the closer we are to God.  The closer we get to God, the more time we spend in prayer.  And from prayer all sorts of amazing things can happen.  It’s as simple as that – a regular conversation with God and the world can be changed around us, because we are being changed from within.

Paul constantly asked for prayers – not in a selfish manner.  He wasn’t trying to become a famous preacher or evangelist; he wanted doors to be opened as he traveled so that people would hear the message of the Gospel. 

Notice that he didn’t ask for the chains to be removed, only that he be the messenger God wanted him to be.

There were several different outreach groups I’ve been associated with throughout the years and for quite a long while I could always count on the speaker asking someone to pray for them before delivering the message.  This is what I see with Paul.  It isn’t enough that he has a close relationship with God and that he prays for himself to be the conduit for the Gospel.  His success rate will increase exponentially with the addition of prayers from those who love God and who want to see the Gospel spread to the entire world.

Pray for those who lead in worship and teach that their words will reach a world in need.