Upon calling the Colossian saints to be devoted to prayer with alertness and thanksgiving in Col 4:2, Paul asks that this church pray for his missionary team in Col 4:3-4.
This seems basic enough. But step back and realize what’s going on in this request.
The apostle Paul is asking for a regular church to pray that God will open up a door for him to preach the gospel with clarity.
The writer of 13 inspired letters… …the one uniquely tasked by God to preach the gospel to the Gentiles…the theologian whose works form the basis of our theology…this man asks a church to pray for the very endeavor he was called by God to fulfill.
You would think Paul had everything he needed to fulfill his mission. And he did, but not in a self-reliant sense. He understood the magnitude of his apostolic work. So, he acutely felt the need to enlist more aid. And the best aid of all was (and continues to be) prayer.
Though he was called to go to the Gentiles with the gospel, Paul needed prayer for God to open doors for evangelism. Though he was taught the mysteries of Christ by Christ Himself, he needed clarity from heaven to speak the gospel rightly. You could say Paul needed God more than anyone else.
We give him to much credit if we elevate the man and forget the massive power behind him: the power of God. Every aspect of his ministry was dependent on God. And being imprisoned for the gospel drove that sense of dependence like a nail deeper into his heart.
How much more do we need to realize our dependence on God! We cannot open a door, have a clear gospel-thought, or boldly speak forth Christ apart from God’s power. We are at the mercy of His sovereign grace not only for ministry, but for all things. And yet, what a wonderful position to be in! Embracing that position brought much fruit to Paul’s life. It will bring much fruit to ours.
Now more than ever, we all have an open door…to pray boldly for God to work in and through us in these unprecedented times so that people would see their need for Christ. As we are called to represent our Master, we are commanded to pray so that our Master’s power would flow down into us so that we can carry out this call in a worthy manner.
He is our power in prayer. So, let’s draw on Him and wait for Him to act.
