Must-pray prayers of the New Testament (III)

 

The Colossians’ prayer for Paul

Col 4.3-4, “Pray also for us, that God may open to us a door for the word, to declare the mystery of Christ, on account of which I am in prison-- that I may make it clear, which is how I ought to speak.”

Paul’s request to the Colossians teaches us to pray for a servant of God. They are called to proclaim the Gospel. Indeed, people cannot call on the Lord if they have not previously heard of Him and believed in Him - hence the need for preachers of the Gospel (Rom 10:14-15). Therefore, He Who sends them to preach must also open doors in order for them to accomplish their mission. It is Him Who has the key of David: He opens and no one shuts, He shuts and no one opens (Rev 3:7). Thus, it is not because God calls you to do something -a job, a business, a project, evangelise etc. - that the door is necessarily open. He can speak to you, call you and send you while the doors are still closed. He sent Jesus to His own, but they did not receive Him: they closed the door on Him (Jn 1:11). It also took some time for Moses to finally have a favourable access to Pharaoh to who he had already been sent. God had to force Pharaoh Himself to let the Israelites go worship and serve Him; He had to open the doors Himself. “Thus says the LORD to his anointed, to Cyrus, whose right hand I have grasped, to subdue nations before him and to loose the belts of kings, to open doors before him that gates may not be closed: "I will go before you and level the exalted places, I will break in pieces the doors of bronze and cut through the bars of iron.” Is 45:1-2

While we intercede for our leaders that God may open doors for them within the confines of their calling, let’s also pray for ourselves that God will also open doors for us wherever He has sent us. And when a great and efficient door is finally open, let us not forget that the adversaries are many (1Cor 16:9): let’s be vigilant.

Paul also wanted the Colossians to pray for him to preach the mystery of Christ as he should; i.e., rightly and faithfully. Indeed, God's revelation often comes as a dream, vision, impression, feeling, word, figure, a parable etc. to be decoded and translated for the masses. Paul knew the responsibility that weighed on his shoulders. He knew what he would have risked if he had erred in the interpretation and said: “Thus says the Lord…” for something that the Lord had not said.

The Ephesians’ prayer for Paul

Eph 6.19-20, “(Praying) and also for me, that words may be given to me in opening my mouth boldly to proclaim the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains, that I may declare it boldly, as I ought to speak.”

Paul was imprisoned in Rome and in chains when he wrote this letter. Some would have taken the opportunity to sit back and twiddle their thumbs until God releases them before getting back to work. But Paul was fully aware of his role as an ambassador of the Gospel. He may have been chained, but the gospel was not. As he still aspired to freedom, he asked the brethren to pray for him to boldly proclaim the mystery of the gospel. The French version adds the word, freely, which is to say, other than in chains. Who knows? By being frequently jailed and whipped, he may have become a little cooler and hesitant in his choice of words and could really do with more spiritual courage.

We need to pray that our pastors and leaders should always be free to preach the Word of God and that they should always have the courage to say exactly everything that God asks them to say. It does not necessarily take physical chains to deprive a servant of God of freedom. The issue of gay rights, and their right to marry in particular, is gagging many men and women of God in the United States and even in Europe. The often-constitutional law/rule of political correctness has become an invisible prison for many of them. The Lord can even ask a pastor to talk about a specific issue, but the latter decides to cut corners and dilute the soup in fear that some members of their congregation will feel personally attacked by his sermon. And at the end, the message has little to do with the warning that God wanted to give to X, Y and Z. That is why we must pray for our pastors to always have the courage to tell us the Gospel truth without any dilution or manipulation whatsoever. After all, it is the knowledge of the truth which sets us free (Jn 8:32).

Let us also pray for ourselves, that we may always be free to boldly do what God asks of us and free to always worthily represent the Christ. Let us pray that we may always have the courage to stand on the side of truth and defend it. Let us pray that He who works in us both the willing and the doing, always gives us the right words to convey what He gives us to say with the confidence that the Spirit communicates, whether inside or outside of the church.

May God bless you with a great week.