Spiritual Authenticity: Prayer and Proclamation

My family and I just got back last Sunday night from a Caribbean cruise. We had a blast - we had a wonderful time. We spent a week on the Costa Atlantica, an Italian luxury liner, one of the largest most modern cruise ships afloat - it was just put into service in November.

Now lest you think that the McKnights are loaded with money to pull something like that off, I’ve got to tell you that we didn’t pay for this cruise. It was given to us. We were on that cruise because somebody invited us; somebody paid for us to be there. And in that way it was like heaven’s going to be like. When we get to heaven, it isn’t going to be because we paid our way there. We’re going to be there because somebody else paid our passage—Jesus. That’s what grace is all about.

Anyway, this big cruise ship we were on weighed almost 100,000 tons. (it actually weighed more than that at the end of the cruise because we had all eaten so much!) And it went through the water at 30 km per hour enabling us to sail over 3,000 kilometers on our trip, and visited four different Caribbean islands.

How did this great ship manage to do that? Because it had a great propulsion system.

I never got to visit the engine room of that ship - I never saw the propulsion system. To me it was invisible. I just sat up on the deck and enjoyed the results of what was going on down below. What was visible to me was the result of something that was invisible.

And the same is true when it comes to spiritual authenticity. If you are a follower of Jesus Christ, your visible testimony—the impression your life makes on other people—is going to be determined by a part of your life that is invisible—your prayer life.

What you are in prayer, in your private life before God, determines what you will be in public. Now you may never have thought of it that way before, but that’s exactly what we find in Colossians 4. This passage deals with both the visible and the invisible parts of an authentic Christian—prayer and proclamation.

Let’s look at it together, beginning at verse 2:

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.

We can divide this passage into three parts. First, Paul talks about what kind of pray-ers we should be, in v. 2. Then, he gives an example of the kind of prayers we should be praying in v. 3–4. Finally, in v. 5–6, he talks about what kind of people we should be in our public lives, in our relationships with people out there in the world.

And there is a definite linkage between the first part of the passage and the last part, because what you are in prayer determines what you will be in public.

First let’s look at what we are in prayer. Paul gives us three imperatives here—three commands for our prayer life.

1. be faithful in prayer.

Verse 2 says “Devote yourselves to prayer…” The word devote means literally “to be strong”. It means to hold steadfast; to keep praying with a kind of dogged determination. Don’t give up praying.

Prayer is one of the most difficult, demanding, draining things that you and I are ever called upon to do. It is without a doubt the greatest battleground of the Christian life. It is where Satan will try to defeat you.

There’s an old hymn that we used to sing called “Sweet Hour of Prayer”. That’s a poor title. The truth of the matter is more like “Sweat for an Hour of Prayer”.

Where was it that Jesus sweat as it were great drops of blood? Was it when he was confronting the Pharisees? Was it when he stood before Pilate on trial for his life? Was it when he staggered along under the weight of the cross?

No, it was in the Garden of Gethsemane, as he struggled in prayer. Hebrews 5:7 tells us that “he offered up prayers and petitions with loud cries and tears…”

Now someone might say “What a wimp! If Jesus gets all broken up when all he’s doing is praying, how’s he ever going to react when he faces a real crisis? He should have been calm and tranquil in the Garden of Gethsemane—like his three friends over there who were sleeping like babies?”

And yet, later that day, when the ultimate test came, Jesus walked to the cross with calm courage, while his disciples fell apart in panic. Why? Because what you are in prayer determines what you will be in public. Jesus was faithful in prayer.

I think it’s very revealing that after Jesus’ disciples had been with him for two years, and had seen him do all the things he did, they came to him with one request. They asked him: “Lord, teach us how to pray.” They didn’t ask him, “Lord teach us how to preach, or teach us how to do miracles, or teach us how to answer questions like you do.” They asked him: “Lord, teach us how to pray.”

Because they had begun to understand that the power behind all those remarkable things that Jesus did in public was what he was doing in private—praying.

If we want to be spiritually authentic, we’re going to have to have an authentic prayer life.

Paul says “Be faithful in prayer. Don’t give it up. Don’t neglect it. Keep doing it. It’s the engine room where you lay hold of God’s power for living the Christian life.”

2. Paul says “Be watchful in prayer.”

Now you might be saying “How can I be watchful in prayer when I’m supposed to have my eyes closed?” The word watchful here means literally to stay awake. It means to be alert, to be mentally and intellectually “on your toes” while you are praying.

Why is that important? Because there is always a tendency to for your brain to go out to lunch while you are praying. You find your mind wandering. You find your thoughts running off in all directions. And what you end up doing is simply “saying your prayers” rather than really thinking about them. Prayer demands intense concentration and deep, focused thought. That’s why it is so demanding.

Bill Hybels says that the best way he has found to discipline himself in this area is to actually write his prayers out. The act of writing forces him to think clearly and express himself concisely. You may want to try that.

Don’t fall into the habit of praying rambling, unfocused, cliché-filled rote prayers. I once knew a man who, every time he would pray in a prayer meeting, his prayers were so predictable, I could practically recite them along with him.

Prayer is a conversation with God. It is not the rote repetition of holy-sounding phrases. So we need to be watchful and alert and awake as we pray.

3. Paul says “Be thankful in prayer.”

Maintain your zest for prayer by filling it with thanksgiving. The Bible says “In everything give thanks.” And I’ve observed that Christians who are the most joyful and the most prayerful are the ones who are the most thankful.

You just can’t get them to stop giving thanks. Even in the midst of trials and problems, they’ve always got something to thank God for. That’s what the Bible means when it tells us to be thankful in prayer.

Felix Iroanyah - “I know that God is going to bring something good out of this”.

The next thing Paul does is to give us an example of the kind of prayers we should be praying in verses 3–4. If you are a right pray-er, you’re going to pray right prayers.

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.

Notice three things about this prayer:

1. Paul is asking for it. He requests it. He says “Pray for me.” We ought to be praying for one another in the body of Christ, and we should be asking each other for prayer. Don’t be like those people who say “Oh, I don’t want to bother anyone with my prayer requests.” Share your needs with others so that we can be praying for one another.

And Paul obviously thought that the prayers of the Colossians were going to do some good, or he wouldn’t have asked them to pray! Some people say “Well, God is going to do his will whether I pray or not, so why should I bother?” The Lord tells us to pray because prayer makes a difference.

Prayer changes things, and even more significantly, prayer changes me so that God can use me to change things. Prayer enables me to bring my will into line with God’s will. And never forget—the purpose of prayer is not to get my will done in heaven; it’s to get God’s will done here on earth.

2. The focus of his prayer request is the Great Commission—that the Gospel might go forward. Think of all the things that Paul could have asked the Colossians to pray for. He was in prison when he wrote this. He could have asked that they pray for his release. Paul was also not in the best of health—we think that he may have had some sort of problem with his eyesight. He could have asked for healing. But he didn’t.

What did he ask for? He asked that “God might open a door for the message.”

During President Clinton’s first campaign for the Presidency, his top-level campaign staffers had a little sign in their headquarters that said “It’s the economy, stupid.” That was to remind them not to get distracted by other issues—their top priority issue for that election campaign was the economy.

Sometimes I think that God needs to put into my life a little sign that says “It’s the Great Commission, stupid.” Because I tend to get so distracted by other issues—issues that revolve around my own comfort, my own convenience, my own well-being. I forget that God has me here to help fulfill the Great Commission.

Here’s Paul—in chains, a sick man—asking his fellow believers that they pray for the message to go forward. He understood that the message was more important than the messenger. And if I’m going to pray right prayers, I need to understand that too.

In some versions of Christianity today, you’d think that the most important thing in all the world was my health, my wealth, my success, and my personal comfort.

I need to understand that if God chooses to restrict me, to confine me, to put me in an awkward uncomfortable situation, to put me in a sick bed, or give me an incurable disease—that’s up to Him. As long as there is an open door for the Gospel. Because the message is more important than the messenger.

3. He asked them to pray that, in his preaching, the message would be clear, not cloudy. Now remember, we’re talking about the Apostle Paul here. We’re talking about the man who wrote Romans and Galatians and all those other magnificent letters. Yet even Paul knew that there was always a danger of clouding the Gospel.

In the book of Galatians, we read about teachers who came to Galatia and distorted the Gospel, with the result that the Galatian Christians came within an eyelash of deserting the Gospel altogether. The Good News, for them, became cloudy.

It is said that Napoleon had three rules for the soldiers who served as couriers carrying orders to and from his headquarters. The first rule was Be Clear. The second rule was Be Clear. The third rule was Be Clear.

The Good News of God’s grace in Jesus Christ is essential. So we should be praying for one another, that—as we live out in the community, as we rub shoulders with unbelievers—our proclamation of that message would be clear, not cloudy.

In the last section of this passage, we move out of the prayer closet and into the marketplace. And Paul gives us three commands that will help us to build a positive testimony as we rub shoulders with non-Christians. Look at verse 5

1. Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders.

Think before you act. Think before you speak. People are watching you. Ask yourself “Is what I am about to do going to bring credit to the Lord? Is it going to help this person want to become a Christian?”

The question in the minds of most non-Christians is this: “Are Christians real? Are they authentic? Do they really believe what they say they believe? Or are they phonies, hypocrites, two-faced?”

We need to be wise in the way we act.

In the workplace, that means doing your work diligently. Is your boss or your fellow worker going to want to become a Christian if they see you cutting corners, taking sick days when you aren’t sick, being chronically late? You say, “But those are just little things.” I tell you that these are the things life is made of.

Being wise as a Christian means having your financial life in order. Some Christians are very sloppy with their finances. They go around leaving a trail of bad debts. Others are suckers for get-rich-quick schemes.

Being wise as a Christian means keeping your promises. Honoring your commitments. Being a person whose word can be trusted. These are the things that will help you build a positive public testimony.

2. Be alert. - make the most of every opportunity it says in verse 5.

That expression in Greek is a commercial term. It means to buy or to purchase or redeem something out of the marketplace. In our relationships with non-Christians, we need to buy up every opportunity to share the love of Christ and the good news of the God’s grace.

When you hear the word “evangelism”, what do you think of? Do you think of someone buttonholing people on elevators, or passing tracts out on street corners? Do you think of somebody trying manipulate people like a used car salesman?

Well, that’s not the way we are to do evangelism, because of what Paul says in verse 6.… Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone.”

3. Be graceful

Be winsome, be attractive in your dealings with unbelievers. People don’t care how much you know unless they know how much you care. Show unbelievers that you really care for them as human beings. Make friends with them. Build bridges. Build relationships.

Paul says that your conversation should be salty—not in the sense of using salty language like a sailor. But it ought to have a salty impact on them. Think of what salt does:

1. Salt adds flavor. When you talk with non-Christians, is your conversation appetizing? Are you communicating that you think life is flavorful because of Jesus? Or are you drab, negative, always complaining? That’s not very appetizing, is it?

2. Salt creates thirst. The way we talk, as Christians, ought to make non-Christians want to know more about what makes us tick. Why we are the way we are. Our conversation ought to create a spiritual thirst in them.

3. Salt purifies. In the olden days, salt was used to preserve meat. It would keep the meat from going rotten. It has sort of an antiseptic, wholesome effect. Over in Ephesians 4:29, it says “Do not let any unwholesome (or corrupt, rotten) talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen.”

Is your conversation as a Christian having that kind of impact on others? Are they built up or dragged down by what you talk about?

This is what it takes to build a positive testimony. Be wise, be alert, be graceful in your dealings with those outside the faith. Your testimony is what God wants to use to bring them to Christ.

But what you are in public will be determined by what you are in private. So be faithful in prayer—don’t give up! Be watchful in prayer—stay awake mentally. Be thankful in prayer—cultivate that attitude of gratitude that always finds something to thank God for.

Remember: What you are in private determines what you will be in public.