Prayer and Witness

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. Pray that I may proclaim it clearly, as I should. Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity.

Colossians 4:2-5

Prayer ought to be a central practice of our lives. Paul says to watch and pray. This brings to mind the words of Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane. He said to them, watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation. They did not obey him but fell asleep, unaware of the danger they were in. Consequently, Peter denied his Lord, and James and John fled in the darkness and abandoned the Lord.

This word underscores the awareness that we live in a dangerous world. We are under subtle attack all the time, and we ought to be aware of what that is doing to our lives — how it robs us of our joy, takes away our peace, or restricts our love, changing us and making us dull and shallow in our reactions. When you sense something lessening spiritual vigor in your life, pray that God will restore it. And not only pray for yourself but pray for others too, for open doors for those who are ministering. Paul is in prison, limited, in chains, and he is asking that God will set him free to proclaim this magnificent message, the mystery of Christ. Christianity is indeed a revolutionary, even a dangerous movement. The church is a dangerous body of people. Turned loose in this world, the church will challenge many things that are going on around us. And it ought to do so. We will find ourselves in trouble at times. That is why we need to watch and pray.

Yet further, we need to be sensitive, to be wise in the way we act toward outsiders. Make the most of every opportunity. That is the sensitive thing to do. Listen to the way you talk. What do non-Christians think of the way you act? Dr. Richard Halverson, the Senate Chaplain, told me once of a home Bible study he had attended where both Christians and non-Christians were present. One man opened the class in prayer, and while he was praying, Richard, like many of us at times do, was saying a quiet Amen, amen, to what the man prayed. The next morning the man said to him, I was very grateful to have you at the class last night. But when I was praying I kept hearing you say, Amen. Have you considered what the non-Christians present thought of that? They are not used to that kind of thing. They must have thought you were a fanatic. They probably felt uncomfortable. Richard Halverson had the grace to say, I appreciate that man. I'm glad he pointed that out to me. In the early days when we had a number of large evangelistic home Bible studies, one of the problems we faced was from Christians, reflecting a self-righteous attitude, who raised questions that made others feel uncomfortable. That is terribly wrong. Here Paul reminds us to be sensitive and wise in the way we act, but to make the most of every opportunity. Because the days are evil, opportunities for witness abound on every side.

Father, let me see those open doors which you have placed before me. Teach me to be a winsome witness of your love and grace.