“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.”
After encouraging the Colossians, Paul mentions that he is in chains. If I were writing the letter, I would have started with that, and encouraged them to pray for my freedom! I usually pray about opening earthly doors… Paul desires prayer about opening doors for the gospel.
He says, “devote yourself” to prayer so the mystery of Christ can be proclaimed … Am I devoted to talking to God?... And when I do pray, is it to promote His Kingdom or mine?
To be honest, the times I hit my knees in real devotion usually involve a personal emergency. And that is an appropriate response.
But when did I last cry out to God about unbelievers? When did I lose sleep because I was burdened by the sinfulness of our culture? We are quick to post about politics, but do we pray for our country? I cannot find the verse that tells me to lambast my political opponents online … but scripture clearly instructs me to pray for those in authority.
It seems prayer is a more intricate issue than we have made it. It’s not just a time to complain to God when we feel slighted… or place our order for the blessings we desire.
Prayer is an avenue allowing us to be involved in God’s plan. It is an opportunity to wage war against “principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.” That is what prayer is intended to be. It is the greatest honor, and the most powerful weapon in all of creation …and we must not reduce it to a mantra, mindlessly uttered before meals.
Let’s re-evaluate our approach to prayer. Let’s pray with passion and confidence making it our first, and last resort…. Prayer is powerful because God is … He is able to do more than we could ever ask for or imagine … That is what Jesus meant when He said... “Thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen”
I know of no better thermometer to your spiritual temperature than, the measure of the intensity of your prayer. – Charles Spurgeon
No comments:
Post a Comment