Colossians 2:2-4 (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.
When Paul wrote to Timothy to preach the Word; be prepared in season and out of season (2 Timothy 4:2a), he wasn’t urging acceptance of a theory, but imitation of his own practice. Paul never shied away from preaching the gospel, even when it was inconvenient; even when it wasn’t necessarily wanted; even when he had to do it from a prison cell!
It is easy to feel fearful and intimidated about the gospel when the tide of public opinion seems to be flowing against it – as it is increasingly in America. Paul felt that pressure and intimidation, too. (He had been in prison several times before precisely because of preaching the gospel!) That is why he asked the Colossian Christians to pray for him, to hold him up so that he did not grow weary or lax, but so that he would share his story and the gospel with everyone around him all the time.
That is a very good prayer for ALL of God’s people to pray for each other. It is so easy to grow lax, or distracted, or focused on other things than sharing the gospel every day. There is HOPE in most pastors that the people under their care will share the gospel with others, at least occasionally. But there is no real expectation laid on the people for them to tell others about Jesus, let alone real accountability for the fruitfulness of their lives. But even though Paul seems to have pushed others to share the gospel all the time, his own personal push seems to have come from a much higher source. (When I preach the gospel, I cannot boast, for I am compelled to preach. Woe to me if I do not preach the gospel! 1 Corinthians 9:16 NIV) And he wanted people to pray for him that that push would continue.
God wants ALL of His people to be as passionate as Paul was about preaching the gospel. Not just the pastors and evangelists, but everyone, old and young, male and female, CEO and laborer. Everyone! He wants us to understand clearly that the eternity of every person that we live with, work with, and have contact with each day hangs in the balance, and that WE are the only ones who know the Way. It is crucial that we pray for each other, and for ourselves, and that we then go out into the world to share.
Father, forgive us for having hearts that are so hard, and cold, and dead that we can see people all around us who are assuredly headed to hell, and we are not moved in the least by it. We don’t feel the need to stop what we are doing and implore them to be reconciled to You. Instead, we just move on with our own agendas, never considering that we may be the only thing standing between that person and hell – that we may be the last one who will every have a chance to share the gospel with them before they end up standing before Your throne at the judgment. Forgive us for not praying Your power, Your love, and Your passion for the lost into our own lives, and into the lives of the other Christians we know. Help us, Lord, to begin right now. Amen.