Paul said to the church in Colosse, “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—that I may make it clear, which is how I ought to speak.” Paul was in the business, if you will, of proclaiming the Gospel. And he was in prison for that very reason. I love that Paul was clearly not concerned about his own welfare. That’s not his prayer request at all. He asks the church to pray that God would open a door for the word. Let’s make it a habit of praying that God would open doors for the word. He still does. Sometimes those doors are for encouragement from strangers whom we find out are really family. Cindy and I were taking an airport shuttle in Portland, Oregon last week and the driver was playing Christian music on his radio. I asked him if he was a believer and he said yes. A brother I had never met! I then asked about his church, saying, “Do they preach and believe the Bible there?” He almost turned around while driving to say, “Yes!” Then he said, “Don’t all churches?” We had a discussion about the sad state of affairs with many churches that have left the truth behind and the damage that causes to the people who are there and to the world that is watching. At the airport as we walked into the terminal, our new friend yelled, “Pray for the churches!”
Paul also asked the church to pray for him, that “I may make it clear, which is how I ought to speak.” We may not know how to answer every question, but the message of Christ, the Gospel, must be clear. The word is phaneroo, and it means “to make manifest or visible or known what has been hidden or unknown.” It is critical for those who speak for God in the church to make the Gospel clear, lest you end up with what’s called “mist in the pulpit and fog in the pews.” Joe Bayly wrote years ago that someone passed along a quotation of graffiti he found on the wall of a university: “Jesus said to them, ‘Who do you say that I am?’ And they replied, ‘You are the eschatological manifestation of the ground of our being, the kerygma in which we find the ultimate meaning of our interpersonal relationships.’ And Jesus said, ‘What?’” We need deep thinkers, but they must be able to explain on a layman’s level the deep truths of God. To put the cookies on the lower shelf, as many have said.
Many commented on a man’s testimony at Antioch at our last men’s breakfast because, they said, “It was so clear. So well communicated.” Chris spoke to the issue we have all struggled with, fear about our job, our calling, and whether we are in the right place, or whether we can even do what God has called us to do. And he painted a picture of God’s encouragement to him that ministered to us. It was clear; we were able to see it with our own eyes. That kind of clear message changes us.
My wife and I recently took a trip to the Pacific Northwest. One of our stops was Crater Lake. I had heard about the lake, I had read about the lake, and I had seen pictures of the lake. But nothing made Crater Lake clear to me like seeing it with my own eyes. I saw its breath-taking beauty up close. That’s what clear Gospel communication does for those who hear it. We see Jesus up close.
Finally on this point, Paul asked them to pray for him and his communication. Why would the anointed apostle, perhaps the greatest church planter of all, the one responsible for nearly half of the New Testament, ask this? Because he knew that the prayers of the saints have powerful effect. Hudson Taylor told the story about a mission station in China that was blessed above all the others. He couldn’t think of a reason for this, because there were equal devotion and ability in the other stations. But this one stood out. Then one day when he was traveling and speaking in England, a man came up to talk with him about that particular station. He told Hudson Taylor that he had been the college roommate of the missionary at that station and had committed himself to daily pray for the work there. Hudson Taylor said, “Then I knew the answer.”
Only God can change a heart. Or a group of men. Or a mission station. But our prayers, and our clear communication of the message matter.
J. Mark Fox 