Week 2, Day 12 - Prayer & Open Doors

"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. Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone."           Colossians 4:2-6

REFLECT

How do you think about prayer? Is it work? Is it pleasure? Drudgery? Joy? Struggle? Somehow, we miss something if we have not seen the naturalness of prayer depicted in Scripture. We wonder what it could mean to be "always in prayer." Many strong believers down through the ages would answer the question this way: devotion to prayer means a continual conversation with God throughout the day. It is an instinct to respond to life circumstances by saying something to God about it.

Proclamation, which means telling and showing others the truth and wisdom of God, happens when there is an open door. And there are always open doors around us - but we need to have our eyes open to see them ("being watchful and thankful"). Prayer opens our eyes to doors and gives us the courage to step through them. Just look at the Apostle Paul's experience.

He prayed that even though he was in prison, doors would open for the message of Christ to break out. Imagine that. He didn't ask for prayer that the door of the prison would open up (although he would have welcomed that I'm sure). He wanted the door of a relationship or a passing contact to open up so that he could "proclaim" (the mystery of Christ) freely."

And then he had this comment for all of us not locked up in prison that have free contacts with people all day long: fill your conversations with grace (that is voicing the good things of God) and seasoned with salt (that is words that protect and preserve, words with flavor!). Know ahead of time how to answer everyone. The answer begins just by opening the door. "Knock, knock"!

Make It Real

Take time today to frequently pray for people who have been closed to the truth and wisdom God provides. Pray that God opens the door of their hearts and directs them to a personal saving relationship with him. Watch for those "open doors" that will come your way when you pray that prayer.

Day 13