"And [pray] also for me, that [freedom of] utterance may be given me, that I may open my mouth to proclaim boldly the mystery of the good news (the Gospel)." Ephesians 6:19
Paul teaches us in the gospel to pray for our spiritual leaders, and certainly we should... but here, Paul is truly asking for his fellow Christians to pray for him, The last verse was about praying about all things, and for others... and here Paul is reminding us that whoever you are, we must ask others to pray for us too. You can study where Paul is when he says this and even get a feel for what he might have endured, but the point of the matter is that here, a mighty man of God is asking for prayer, and so I think some of us may need to force ourselves to ask others to pray for us.
I feel I have a very strong relationship with God. I also pray about everything... and I certainly pray for others. However, this verse really reminded me that God has a purpose for us asking others to pray for us also.
Paul was specific about what he wanted prayer for too. Held in prison under a very powerful and often cruel force... you can imagine the fear and intimidation surrounding Paul to mention the very thing that was the reason for his incarceration in the first place. So, he asked for prayer... Amen? Our message is the same message to the world Paul was compelled to speak boldly. Our world is just as hateful and resentful as Paul's prison was to the message... the Gospel Of Jesus Christ. Prayers from all of us for those boldly speaking the Word of God is VITAL.
Let's pick up with Ephesians verse 6:20 next time.
I love you.
Dear Preston,
ReplyDeleteI pray about everything too, down to the blades of grass that grow in the yard. I'm very happy when someone asks me to pray for them, and not at all ashamed to ask for prayer for myself.
Very strong blog.
God bless you,
Joey
I'd love for you to visit my blog....
Thank you, Joey, I love you, and you have really been an encouragement to me for a long time. I thank God for you.
ReplyDelete