“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.” Colossians 4:3-4 (NIV)
My good friends – thanks for taking the time with me. I know how busy you are and for you to give time to this short note - well - I am really grateful and I hope these words from Holy Scripture and from my heart will strengthen you today – maybe even add to your faith – that would be a real blessing.
This text has special meaning for me. I am not in chains, anymore, but I do remember the feeling and the appreciation for being truly free. The two verses for this devotion describe a battlefield theologian, Paul, the courageous one; passion for those whom he taught, whom he was a role model too and those whom he served with. Can you hear his heart in this request, “Please pray for me.”
His desire was that his friends would focus their prayers toward him as a person. He needed and wanted his beloved friends to lift his name – lift his request directly to the Almighty. Paul did not ask for treasure – he did not ask for them to ask God to remove the “thorn in my flesh” (2Corinthians 12:7). He asked God’s chosen because he knew the only true and living God would listen and show him favor in his request. Oh my what confidence he had in the prayers of the saints!
He asked the Family of God to go directly into the throne of grace on his behalf. Paul is on the front lines of the spiritual battlefield. The souls of men and women were at stake and he knew it. His request to his friends was specific. “Open the doors – doors of prisons, doors of communities, doors where children are at play and the most important door was the one to the hearts of mankind. His plea in these verses was that the Holy Spirit would use him as an instrument for global communication.
Paul wanted his friends in the churches to pray that God would us his mouth to preach the mystery of Christ to the world. Unselfish – others focused – servant leader – that is how they identified their friend – pastor – mentor. His friends had no problem with his request. I believe that they immediately folded their hands – fell to their knees and offered sincere prayers that had astounding results (Paul wrote 13 Books of the Bible) God answered Paul’s request “Pray that I may proclaim it clearly as I should.” He did! Paul desired nothing for himself except one thing, to represent God without fault – correct and clear message of hope in Christ through faith alone in the Person of Jesus Christ. May that be our prayer as well. But, we must ask our friends to pray for us that we might, like Paul, proclaim the mystery of Christ in and out of season. Jesus said, “Ask and it will be given …” (Matthew 7:7- NIV)
Today, as you read this, I am asking you to pray for me in the same manner. I suppose that it is a bit selfish and I am still going to ask. I sincerely desire that God would grant to me through His Holy Spirit the boldness and clarity to proclaim the Word of Truth – The power that is the mystery of Christ. Yes, my dear friends, He has set this captive free – there are no more chains except that which has bound me to Jesus Christ.
“And pray for us too …” that is this missionary’s request and I can hardly wait to see the fruit from your prayers.
In Christ,
Pastor “Chappy” Dave
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment