Daily Bible Reading 9th August 2025 // Colossians 4:2-6
2 Continue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful in it with thanksgiving. 3 At the same time, pray also for us, that God may open to us a door for the word, to declare the mystery of Christ, on account of which I am in prison— 4 that I may make it clear, which is how I ought to speak.
5 Walk in wisdom towards outsiders, making the best use of the time. 6 Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer each person.
Notice further, the content and the objective which Paul urges for intercession (vv 3-4). He appeals to the Colossians, to believers in every age, to pray for the preaching ministry of the apostles. He urges intercession specifically directed to the going forth of the Word of Life. This he says is the crying need of the hour, not social revolution. Pray that God in His mercy will open a door for the preaching of the mystery of Christ. Pray that the servant of God may proclaim it clearly and faithfully. It is interesting and highly significant that Paul does not ask them to pray for his release. Here he is in Rome under house arrest and yet the prayer he requests is not for personal benefit but for the preaching of the Gospel, that opportunity may arise to proclaim the gospel so that the outsider might hear its glorious message. The fact of the matter is that the prison doors might well have opened if he had stopped preaching but it is exactly because he is an ambassador for Christ, looking for doors to open for the gospel, that he is chained. In view of what I have said previously, the significant thing is that even when the social structures are oppressive (what could be more oppressive than Roman arrest?), the gospel is never chained. It is gloriously possible, no matter the circumstances, for the Word of God to run freely and be honoured (2 Thessalonians 3:1). In fact, Luke the evangelist in his history of the early Church (Acts 28:0-1) makes it clear that an open door was set before Paul in Rome (Acts 28:30, 31; cf Philippians 1:12-18). Notice also the intimate connection the apostle assumes between effective preaching and the prayers of the saints. Effective preaching, effective evangelism depends on persevering prayer. For you see it is only God, by His Spirit and through His Word, who can open doors which are barred and bolted in the hearts and lives of men and women. It is surely only as we imbibe the apostolic awareness of the effectiveness and importance of prevailing prayer that we will get down to it seriously. It is only as the Church rediscovers the Pauline conviction (v 4) that preaching, energised by prayer, is part of the process of divine revelation that she will ever get her priorities right and so be enabled to be faithful to her God-given mission and responsibility.