Pastors Corner

God uses a team of fellow believers in Christ, called the Church, to teach Who He is, What He intends to do in time, and the blessings for those who listen and serve Him. The Church is given opportunities to spread God’s Word in their communities. We may have different ministries but all believers are on the same team. In Colossians 4:2-6 the function of the team to spread God’s Word is noted in three main points: prayer, opening doors or opportunities, and our conduct.

In Colossians 4:2 the team is told to “devote yourselves to prayer, keeping alert in it with an attitude of thanksgiving.” Here we have the silent service of believers who may be unseen but have fantastic results. Believers are to be continually engaged, persevere or devoted to prayer with thanksgiving. Prayer is a phenomenal weapon which must be used on a continual basis. In the context, the apostle Paul is the team leader and asks believers to pray for him. This means the team must be aware of Paul’s mission and pray for his safety, open doors, and success.

There is one aspect of prayer that needs to be emphasized and re-emphasized, and that is the word “devote” in the present tense which means “constantly devote”, and then the word “thanksgiving.” We should be constantly devoting ourselves to prayer with the attitude of thanksgiving. Thanksgiving is the key.

Thanksgiving means the daily act of rendering gratitude to God based upon one’s knowledge of God’s Word (Colossians 2:7). It means a celebration of God’s goodness and graciousness (1 Chronicles 16:7-36) so it should be the normal attitude when believers pray (1 Thessalonians 5:18). Prayer with thanksgiving cancels out our criticisms and suspicions of each other.

The second great work of a team is the opening of doors for ministry (4:3) through prayer.

Notice it is God alone who “may open a door for our message so that we may proclaim the mystery of Christ, for which I am in chains.” Our Father in heaven is interested in opening doors for the gospel to the Roman Praetorian guard and the VIPs in the palace.

The word for “door” refers to the Roman shield which was shaped like a door.

It is God who is going to open the door to the people of Rome in answer to the prayers of believers, many who are in Roman dungeons as prisoners because of their Christian faith including Paul.

Paul is not only including himself but there are many pastors in Rome, it is a large city with many congregations, and he is asking for prayer for all the pastors there.

God opens doors because of prayer. Open doors include opportunities for sharing the gospel (Acts 14:27; John 10:9), teaching God’s Word (2 Corinthians 2:12), Christian service (1 Corinthians 16:9), spiritual recovery of fallen believers (Revelations 3:20), for great blessings (Revelation 3:8), and for the Rapture when heavens opens its door and all Church Age believers enter heaven (Revelation 4:1).

The message Paul wants to present to the people of Rome is “to speak the mystery of Christ”. The mystery doctrines include the dispensational change from Israel to the Church, the indwelling and filling of the Spirit in all believers, the unity of Gentiles and Jews in Christ, and the mandate to go to all nations with the gospel. This is the message that pastors are to teach their congregations.

The third part is found in Colossians 4:5-6.

“Conduct yourselves with wisdom toward outsiders, making the most of the opportunity.” Our conduct is depicted by the Greek word for walking or living one’s life according to God’s standards.

We are to walk as the sons of light (Ephesians 5:8) regardless of the darkness society promotes.

We are to walk in truth (3 John 3), reach spiritual maturity (Philippians 3:17, Romans 6:4), which is a newness of life (Ephesians 4:1).

Teamwork means we pray together and for each other.

It means we look for open door opportunities to serve our Lord.

It also means we conduct our lives so we may have maximum impact for Christ until the door of heaven opens up for us at the Rapture.

Ron McMurray,

Sheriff’s chaplain