O Lord, Open a Door for the Word!

Nii Odoom Anokwafo Annoh

O Lord, Open a Door for the Word!

Message by NII ODOOM ANOKWAFO ANNOH

Scripture: Colossians 4:2–4    

Continue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful in it with thanksgiving; and pray for us also, 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, as I ought to speak.

Urging You to Pray 

Now let me ask you this evening: Is there any among you who will pray this week for next Sunday's service? Who will pray, for the preacher and for the people who may come, like you have never prayed before—that God would open a door for the Word and awaken new life for many? Who will pray for missionaries world over especially to those in the MENA (Middle East and North Africa) region 

To encourage you, let's look at today's text in Colossians 4:2-4. Paul is urging the Colossians to pray just like I am urging you today to pray. Let's talk first about the goals of this prayer and second about the method of this prayer. What does Paul want them to pray FOR, and what does he want them to pray LIKE?

For an Open Door for the Word

In verse 3 he says, "Pray for us also that God may open to us a door for the word." What does he mean by this? Three other times Paul used this same image.

1    1.  At the end of the first missionary journey with Barnabas, Paul reports to the church in Antioch (in Acts 14:27) about what God had done. Luke puts it like this: "They declared all that God had done with them, and how he had opened a door of faith to the Gentiles." God opened a door and the result was faith.

2    2.  In 1 Corinthians 16:8–9 Paul explains his itinerary like this: "I will stay in Ephesus until Pentecost, for a wide door for effective work has opened to me, and there are many adversaries." Here the open door is a set of circumstances or a climate of receptivity that is making Paul's work unusually fruitful.

3     3.  In 2 Corinthians 2:12 Paul says, "When I came to Troas to preach the gospel of Christ, a door was opened for me in the Lord; but my mind could not rest because I did not find my brother Titus there. So I took leave of them and went on to Macedonia." Again the open door seems to be a remarkable set of circumstances that would have been very effective for the gospel.

So when Paul pleads with the Colossians in our text, "Pray for us also, that God may open to us a door for the word," I take him to mean when Christians pray, God changes circumstances and attitudes and receptivity for the Word so that instead of hitting a brick wall, the Word finds an open door and becomes unusually effective.

That is the first thing we should pray for next Sunday: that God would work in all the circumstances surrounding this special service, including the hearts of those who come, to open a wide and effective door for the Word of God. Pray the locks off of people's hearts. Pray open the doors of willingness to come, and pray open the doors of faith.

Let this sink into your mind and heart today: the key to opening the door of God's blessing on next Sunday morning's service will be prayer.

For the Clarity and Boldness of the Preacher

That's the first goal the text mentions for prayer—the first thing we should pray FOR. The second thing to pray for is the clarity and boldness of the preacher. Verses 3-4, "Pray for us also, 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, as I ought to speak."

In other words not only is there a need for God to open doors, there has to be something clear and powerful to send through the door—namely, the Word, the mystery of Christ, the gospel. This is a prayer for the preacher, the choir, and any others who take the Word of God on their lips.

O how I need your prayers! If Paul could imagine himself speaking the gospel in a way that was not clear and bold and powerful, how much more can I imagine that for our leadership and even myself. Think of it: the greatest preacher and missionary who ever lived (besides the Lord Jesus) said that the effectiveness of his preaching depended on the prayers of the church. If that is true for Paul, it is true a hundred times over for the leadership of the church. What happens next Sunday morning depends in great measure on how you pray for the preacher.

Those are the two goals Paul has—

           1..  that a door be opened in the lives of unbelievers, and

2       2. that a clear and powerful gospel message go through that door.

Now we turn briefly to the HOW of these prayers. That's what we are to pray FOR. Now, what are we to pray LIKE?

What Are We to Pray Like? 

Paul mentions three things. All three are mentioned in verse 2.

1.         "Continue steadfastly in prayer." (That's the first way to pray.)
2.         "Be watchful in it." (That's the second way to pray.)
3.         "With thanksgiving." (That's the third way to pray.)

Pray with steadfastness, with watchfulness, and with thanksgiving.

"Steadfastness" means with constancy and devotedness. It's the opposite of hit and miss. It implies earnestness and serious pursuit of God, not just casual contact. It implies pressing on and not giving up.

"Watchful" means being vigilant, like a sentry on duty outside the camp at night knowing that if you go to sleep in this job, the enemy can overthrow your mission. This is the note of prayer that is so often missing when the church has settled into the world and is just using prayer as a domestic intercom instead of a wartime walkie-talkie. So Paul urges the church to remember how tremendously serious the battle is. Heaven and hell hang in the balance next week. So be watchful, awake, and vigilant. Pray the way you would if you knew that twelve unbelievers next Sunday morning would hear the gospel for the last time.

Finally, Paul says, "Pray with thanksgiving.

Pray with Thanksgiving for What? 

What does Paul have in mind? At least two things:

1. Thankful for Our Own Salvation

It's impossible, isn't it, to pray for God to open a door of faith for others without remembering that he did this very thing for you? When we pray for the salvation of others, isn't the fervency of our prayer a mirror of how thankful we are for our own salvation? If we don't feel thankful for our own salvation—for the time when God opened the door of our heart—then how can we pray with steadfastness and vigilance for the salvation of others? O be thankful for your own salvation, and you will pray with new zeal for others.

2. Thankful for What God Is Going to Do

The other thing I think Paul means is that we should be thankful for what God is going to do. Not just what he has done for us, but for what he will do in answer to prayer. In other words, pray with thanksgiving means pray with expectant faith. Be thanking him in advance for what he is going to do.