Pray and Talk – Colossians 4:2-6

It was quite popular for awhile to quote St. Francis of Assisi, “Preach the Gospel at all times, and if necessary use words.” This is a most useful perspective about holiness and its value in evangelism. But to this, with Paul, we might add, “Pray and talk.” Prayer and gracious speech were Paul’s watchwords for evangelism.

Continue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful in it with thanksgiving. 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.

Walk in wisdom toward outsiders, making the best use of the time. Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer each person. (Colossians 4:2-6, ESV)

When people tell you to pray, what goes through your mind? Do you think, “Wow, I really appreciate them reminding me to do that,” with a tinge of sarcasm of course, or do you think, “What good will that do?” Or maybe you think, “I can’t seem to get anywhere with prayer.” Maybe our understanding of prayer is messed up. For sure it includes asking for things from God, asking for ourselves and others, and confessing our sins, but all of that is really just a by-product of having a relationship with God through conversation. Prayer is being open and vulnerable in conversation with our Savior. It is anticipating the day when we will speak face to face, so there is an edge to it. I am speaking to the One who orders all history and has included me in His kingdom plans. That is why Paul describes it here as “being watchful in it with thanksgiving.”

But Paul has to urge us to be steadfast in it because we can get off track as we know when it comes to really praying. It can become a rote exercise or a disappointment that moves us to quit. Paul is convinced, however, that God hears our prayers and that is why he urged the Colossians to pray for him. And he wanted their prayers to be kingdom focused, not necessarily on him getting released from prison but using the time in prison as an opportunity to declare Christ’s mystery, the gospel, and to have clarity in proclaiming it. Though we might say God has responsibility for bringing people to Himself, we nevertheless have a part to play in making the gospel clear to people.

Have you thought through how to clearly present the gospel? What are the essentials, what language might I use that would cloud the essentials, what do I need to leave out or include to make sure I get to the essentials? It is essential that a person recognize that they are doomed without the gospel, in danger of God’s wrath because of their rebellion against Him. What is the best way to help someone see that? Because once they see that, the gospel makes sense. Condemning them probably doesn’t work best in most situations. Let them condemn themselves. Remember how Jesus asked the woman at the well to call her husband and she said she didn’t have a husband and he pointed out that she had had five husbands and was living with a man now (John 4)? The Lord may give us a prophetic insight about someone like that, but even if he doesn’t we may be able to point out to someone what they are putting all their hopes in. And we may be able to help them acknowledge that what they have put their hopes in can’t or at least hasn’t produced. They must see that we deeply love them and long for them to have their hopes realized in Christ.

This is what Paul means in part by walking in wisdom toward outsiders, toward unbelievers. This is how to season our speech with salt and make it gracious, not condemning. Knowing how to answer each person means I become a student of each person and make remarks that will mean something to each person, that will give them a chance to grab hold of what I say should the Spirit of God be working in them to challenge their unbelief. Sometimes our words will fall like lead balloons because the person is too closed to what God is speaking to them. But when they respond with interest to what we say it may be a clue that God is at work in them. Make, then, the “best use of the time” and share the gospel clearly.