“Continue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful in it with thanksgiving. At the same time, 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.
Walk in wisdom toward outsiders, making the best use of the time. Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer each person.”
Colossians 4:2-6
The words of the Apostle Paul to the church in Colossae are important for us to consider today. How steadfast are we in prayer? Are we watchful in prayer? Are we thankful in prayer?
Too many times prayer becomes a list of wants or desires or solely focuses on illnesses and healing. We are quick to pray for those who are sick, and we should do that. But what is the topic of the majority of our prayers?
In these verses Paul is asking that God would use him in prison to share the mystery of Christ. That even in the midst of suffering he would have opportunity and make the Gospel clear to those who would hear. Is that the bulk of our prayers today? Do we pray that the Gospel would go forth and more and more people would come to know Jesus Christ? Or are we too focused on sickness? Tragedy? Politics? Work? Those are all good things to pray for, but I do hope that we consider our relationship to Jesus Christ and our relationships to each other as the most important things in our lives.
The other aspect of these verses deals with our speech. I have to admit that my speech is not always gracious and seasoned with salt. I am convicted that we are not always as gracious as we should be or as we could be. May God give us opportunities to speak, but as we speak may we be those who impart hope and grace and love to those with whom we speak.
Division is always there. I’m not so sure the times in which we live are that much different from any other generation. The questions for us are: How will we pray? And how will we speak?
Soli Deo Gloria!