This week’s devotions are based on the Week 11″Explore God” – Meant for More! (WATCH HERE)
I believe every Christian earnestly desires to carry out the commission God has given them in Matthew 28. We recognize both the profound impact of the Gospel and the importance of it for every human being on the planet. Yet we struggle to share it.
You may have your own reasons, but they may include:
- Fear of what someone may say or not say?
- We don’t take time to listen and therefore answer questions people aren’t asking.
- We are afraid of saying the “wrong thing” and so we don’t say something at all.
- We feel intimidated by our lack of Bible knowledge and feel inadequate when speaking with others.
The list may go on…but are their practical steps we can be intentional about that can help us carry out this very important purpose of communicating Jesus to others? Yes!
The Apostle Paul writes this in Colossians 4:2-6 which we will look at over the next few days.
2 Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful. 3 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. 4 Pray that I may proclaim it clearly, as I should. 5 Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity. 6 Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone.
The first encouragement is to utilize the privilege of prayer.
How easy? Right? Yet so often forgotten.
Prayer shifts the weight off our shoulders to the Lord. Prayer expresses our dependance on the Lord to equip us and guide us in our efforts to share our faith. It puts the focus on where it needs to be…the Lord. Here’s what Paul encourages each of us:
- Be devoted to prayer! Make prayer a regular and habitual action of your life. Use prayer until it becomes your first reaction in every situation is to take it to the Lord in prayer.
- Be watchful in prayer! Remember the disciples who fell asleep when Jesus asked them to watch and pray? Pray when you are alert; engaged; and fully mindful of what you are praying.
- Be thankful in prayer! It is easy to simply pray the “Gimme” prayers. “Dear Lord, give me…” Be thankful in prayer. Take time to express your gratitude for what the Lord HAS done in your life that brings you joy and gratefulness. (A simple outline for prayer that helps balance it is “A.C.T.S.” – Adoration (praise God); Confession (Express your sin and need for forgiveness), Thanksgiving (Share gratitude), Supplication (Now you can ask for your needs or the needs of others).
- Pray for others. Take the time to actually pray for people. It’s easy to say, “I’ll pray for you.” It’s harder to actually do it. Keep a prayer journal if that will help. Think of others needs in your prayer life. Especially in the great commission pray for God to guide and direct others in their conversations with people outside the faith.
- Pray for God to open doors of witness opportunity. If God can open a door for Paul in prison to witness to his faith, God can open doors in your work place, your classroom, your family, your neighborhood, etc.
- Pray for clarity in proclaiming the message of Jesus. Jesus promised his disciples that the Spirit would give them words to speak when pressed on their faith. The Spirit will also answer this prayer to give you the words to speak when the opportunity arises.
Wow! The Spirit has just expanded my awareness of things for which I can pray and the attitude by which I pray. With God’s help, let’s commit to grow in our prayer life and see if God will also not expand our witness life!
Apply: Which of the aspects of prayer above will you work at first?
Prayer: Lord, thank you for the wonderful message of the Gospel and the peace it brings. Continue, by your grace, to mold me into the witness you would want me to be, opening doors of opportunity today to speak the words you give to another soul. AMEN.