Colossians 4:2-6 (NIV) “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. Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity. Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone.”
2 Thessalonians 3:1-5 (NIV) “As for other matters, brothers and sisters, pray for us that the message of the Lord may spread rapidly and be honored, just as it was with you. And pray that we may be delivered from wicked and evil people, for not everyone has faith. But the Lord is faithful, and he will strengthen you and protect you from the evil one. We have confidence in the Lord that you are doing and will continue to do the things we command. May the Lord direct your hearts into God’s love and Christ’s perseverance.”
The apostle Paul let the churches know that he was praying for them in his letters. We have some of those powerful prayers recorded, and I will often adapt them to my context as I pray for those in my ministry. However, Paul also asked for the churches to pray for him and for his ministry team. The emphasis of his requests, as you see from the passages above, is on the message of Christ. Whereas the Lord uses different messengers and various methods for delivering the message, the message of Christ itself remains unchanged. This is the good news of eternal life through Christ alone to which Paul and multitudes of believers through the ages have dedicated their lives. An open door for the message was foremost on Paul’s heart, and it should be on ours as well.
Too often our times of prayer focus on our own needs or the needs of those whom we care about the most. While we should lift up our needs before the Lord and ask him to provide and heal, we cannot allow these concerns to distract us from the centrality of the gospel message. It is in the gospel that “the righteousness of God is revealed —a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: ‘The righteous will live by faith.’” (Romans 1:17, NIV) The ultimate as well as the immediate needs of the world are answered in the message of Christ. To live a life of faith is the core of how we were created. As we surrender to the Creator of our souls, we find fulfillment and purpose which flows from the purposes of God and we also receive the promise of eternity with God in paradise. Should we be content with putting band-aids on life-threatening injuries? Neither should we be content with praying for physical needs alone while a person’s spiritual life hangs in the balance. We should never forget the words of Jesus, “For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son.” (John 3:17-18, NIV) We must never forget that those who do not believe that Jesus is the only way, the only truth and the only life are already condemned to perish into a Christ-less eternity.
This is why we must become savy pray-ers. We must be wise and have our spiritual senses sharpened, so that when opportunities come up, we can agree with God for the doors to be opened for the message of Jesus. Be careful that the world doesn’t mold you into spiritual dullness. We should be quick to recognize and pray for opportunities. They may not come in the package that we are expecting. In fact, many of the doors that the Lord wants to open do not look enticing to the natural mind. However, we must live by the Spirit and learn to listen to His voice. This is not only so that we don’t gratify the desires of the sinful nature; it is also so that we are on the top of our Kingdom game, so to speak.
Lord, let your kingdom come and your will be done. Open the doors for the gospel message in 2011. Amen.
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