AN OPEN DOOR FOR THE WORD
2 CONTINUE EARNESTLY IN PRAYER, BEING VIGILANT IN IT WITH THANKSGIVING;
3 MEANWHILE PRAYING ALSO FOR US [Paul and His team], THAT GOD WOULD OPEN TO US A DOOR FOR THE WORD, TO SPEAK THE MYSTERY OF CHRIST, FOR WHICH I AM ALSO IN CHAINS,
4 THAT I MAY MAKE IT MANIFEST, AS I OUGHT TO SPEAK.
5 WALK IN WISDOM TOWARDS THOSE WHO ARE OUTSIDE, redeeming the time.
6 LET YOUR SPEECH ALWAYS BE WITH GRACE, SEASONED WITH SALT, that you may know how you ought to answer each one."
Colossians 4:2-6 (NKJV)
We could see in the same passage of our text in verse number 3, Apostle Paul was asking the Colossian believers to pray for him and members of his team: "MEANWHILE PRAYING ALSO FOR US [Paul and his team], THAT GOD WOULD OPEN TO US A DOOR FOR THE WORD, TO SPEAK THE MYSTERY OF CHRIST, FOR WHICH I AM ALSO IN CHAINS" (Colossians 4:3 NKJV).
A mature believer should not always be praying for himself or herself alone, without praying for others.
Your prayers should include:
a. Prayer for the leadership of the church you attend (Ephesians 6:19; Colossians 4:3).
b. Prayer for other brethren who might be facing one difficulty or another (1 Timothy 2:1).
c. Prayer for the leadership of your nation or those in government (1 Timothy 2:2).
d. Prayer for peace in other parts of the world where they are experiencing chaos, pandemoniums, uproars or disorders, wars and restlessnesses and tribulations (1 Timothy 2:2).
A wise and mature believer would not only pray for himself and his immediate family alone.
The prayer points given by Apostle Paul are:
I. That a door to to speak or preach or teach the Word should be opened (Colossians 4:3).
II. The door through which the mystery or hidden truth of Christ Jesus would be preached or taught or shared (Colossians 4:3).
It was because of this preaching or teaching of the Word that Paul was in chains—being frequently imprisoned (Acts 28:20; 2 Timothy 1:16).
III. Apostle Paul was also soliciting for prayer to be able to make the Word of God manifest frequently as he ought to speak (Colossians 4:3; Ephesians 6:19).
Why is it necessary to pray for an open door before there could be any opportunity to preach or teach the Word of God?
• It is necessary because we live in the world where the devil reigns or rules and his goal is to steal, kill and destroy—he would always want to stop any potential soul from having an encounter with Christ Jesus and be saved (John 10:10; 2 Corinthians 4:4).
• Also, the devil being a supernatural being has any number of demons and human agents who are working for the propagation of his kingdom, thus, prayers are needed to counteract their works and operations.
THE devil's demons are working in the air to cause an average human being who is not in Christ and the ones who are in Christ but not walking in the spirit to rebel against God and His commands—fulfilling the desires of the flesh (Ephesians 2:2,3).
• When prayer is prayed concerning doors to be opened, It is about God touching or stirring the heart of the people to be reached, in order to be opened to the gospel—the Word that would be preached or taught: "NOW A CERTAIN WOMAN NAMED LYDIA HEARD US. SHE WAS A SELLER OF PURPLE FROM THE CITY OF THYATIRA, WHO WORSHIPED GOD. THE LORD OPENED HER HEART TO HEED THE THINGS SPOKEN BY PAUL" (Acts 16:14 NKJV).
It is God Who opens the heart of the people to heed the Word preached or taught.
• When a door to preach or teach is opened to a believer or minister, utterances would be given to such a believer or minister to speak—preach or teach—boldly the undiluted Word of God (Ephesians 6:19).
• When a door is opened before a believer or minister who is sent to preach or teach the Word of God, the anointing needed to speak the Word boldly would be given to him or her (John 3:34).
Thus, prayers are needed:
a. To open the doors of those whose minds are shut or blinded by the devil that they might not receive the light of the glorious gospel of Christ Jesus (2 Corinthians 4:4).
b. To counter the forces of darkness that would want to cause chaos or pandemoniums in order to hinder the programmes or meetings where the Word of God would be shared or preached or taught.
c. To draw the people to come to the place of the meeting, that no unforseen occurrences would hinder them from coming to hear the word of God.
d. Prayers are also needed for whoever would preach the Word of God and those who would work alongside with him during the meeting—whilst ministering—and all that would be done during the programme.
Note: If all the things mentioned above and others are not covered in prayer or not prayed on, there might be hitches and hindrances in the programme or outreach.
Peace.