Prayer
by John McGregor
Colossians 4:2 “Be devoted to prayer”
Often as God’s people we know we must pray, but prayer is such hard work. What should I pray for? Some say, “I can’t pray for 30 minutes or 1 hour.” Yet, when we go to scripture it teaches us about prayer.
In this text it teaches us to be devoted to prayer. Now, here is God the Holy Spirit speaking to you and me about this gift of prayer. We are to devote ourselves to it. You see, prayer is not to be what we do, it is to be who we are. Yes, in verse 12 we see that prayer is hard work and it must come from a clean heart and life. It flows from deep communion with God. The psalmist in Psalm 119 says “I love your word” and from this intimacy with His Word comes a deep obedience to be devoted to prayer. In other words “a deep love of talking to God.
In verses 3-4 we are told to pray for the one who preaches the Word. Pray for an open door for the Word of God. Ask the Lord to open hearts. Pray that the preaching will be with clarity, simplicity and in the power of the Holy Spirit. But, our text goes further. It asks us to pray that the preacher will have a “burden” to preach. Today we are missing this so often in our churches, a preacher with a “burden” from God to deliver the message.
As we look at verses 5 and 6, we are instructed to pray for the Christians and their witness. Asking God for wisdom in how we act towards non-Christians – certainly we need this. Also the text encourages us to look for opportunities and seize them for sharing Christ with others. Our lives and our words are to be full of grace, not self-centred but Christ-centred. We are to be trained and ready with answers and we must pray in faith and love.
As you seek the Lord this day, may He use you to reach into many hearts and lives with His gospel truth. Remember to pray for those who will preach His word today, and walk in the Spirit as you make yourself available to Him.
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