Prayer, the Believers’ Duty
“Continue earnestly in prayer, being vigilant in it with thanksgiving; meanwhile praying also for us, that God would open to us a door for the word, to speak the mystery of Christ, for which I am also in chains, that I may make it manifest, as I ought to speak. Walk in wisdom toward those who are outside, redeeming the time. Let your speech always be with grace, seasoned with salt, that you may know how you ought to answer each one.”[1]
Introduction: this passage covers two of the believer’s most important subjects— his prayer life and his witness.
Pray and continue in prayer (vs. 2–4).
Walk wisely before people who are without Christ (v. 5).
Speak with grace—answering and sharing what it is that makes your life different (v. 6).
Prayer, the Believers’ Duty: the first duty of the believer is to pray and continue in prayer. Four important instructions are given—instructions that desperately need to be heeded.
a. First, continue steadfastly in prayer.
The word continue (proskartereite) means to be constant, persevering, and unwearied in prayer. It means to be in constant and unbroken prayer—to be in constant and unbroken fellowship and communion with God. It means to walk and breathe prayer—to live and move and have our being in prayer. It means to never face a moment when we are not in prayer.
How is this possible? When we have so many duties and affairs that demand our attention, how can we continue and walk in unbroken prayer? What Scripture means is that we …
- develop an attitude of prayer
- walk in a spirit of prayer
- take a mental break from our work and spend a moment in prayer
- pray always when our minds are not upon some duty
- arise early and pray before daily activities begin. Spend a worship time with God in prayer. Make this a continued practice
- pray before going to bed. Spend an extended time in prayer before going to bed. Make this a continued practice
In all honesty, the vast majority of us waste minute after minute every hour in useless daydreaming and wandering thoughts—wasting precious time that could be spent in prayer. If we would learn to captivate these minutes for prayer, we would discover what it is to walk and live in prayer. Note a critical fact: this is the duty of the believer. It is not something God can do for us. We are the ones who have to discipline ourselves to pray. If we do not pray, then prayer never gets done.
Scripture is clear: the believer is to continue in prayer.
- “Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ” (2 Co. 10:5).
- “Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you” (Mt. 7:7).
- “Hitherto have ye asked nothing in my name: ask, and ye shall receive, that your joy may be full” (Jn. 16:24).
- “Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God” (Ph. 4:6).
- “Continue in prayer, and watch in the same with thanksgiving” (Col. 4:2).
- “Is any among you afflicted? let him pray. Is any merry? let him sing psalms” (Js. 5:13).
- “Seek the lord and his strength, seek his face continually” (1 Chr. 16:11).
b. Second, watch in prayer.
The word watch (gregorountes) means to stay awake, be alert, be sleepless, be active, concentrate. It means to fight against distractions, drowsiness, sluggishness, wandering thoughts, and useless daydreaming. It means to discipline our minds and control our thoughts in prayer. Being very honest, this is a problem that afflicts every believer sometime. Overwork, tiredness, pressure, strain—an innumerable list of things can make it very difficult to concentrate in prayer. This is the very reason Paul stresses the need to watch in prayer. But note: vigilance in prayer is the duty of the believer. Again, it is not something that God does for us. We are responsible for watching and concentrating. We are the ones who are to discipline our minds and control our thoughts. For this reason, we must never give up in prayer. We must …
- always struggle against drowsiness and wandering thoughts
- learn to concentrate—to discipline our minds and control our thoughts
- teach ourselves to watch in prayer
- “And he cometh unto the disciples, and findeth them asleep, and saith unto Peter, What, could ye not watch with me one hour? Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak” (Mt. 26:40–41).
- “And he spake a parable unto them to this end, that men ought always to pray, and not to faint” (Lu. 18:1).
- “Watch ye therefore, and pray always, that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of man” (Lu. 21:36).
c. Third, pray with thanksgiving.
- When someone does something for us, we thank that person. The One Person who has done more for us than anyone else is God. Therefore, we are to thank Him. In fact, God continues to bless and help us; His hand is constantly upon our lives, looking after and caring for us; therefore, we should continually thank Him. Our praise should be lifted up to Him all through the day as we go about our daily affairs. An hour should never pass when we have not praised and thanked God several times. We should never forget His Son—that He actually took our sins upon Himself and bore the judgment and punishment of them for us. This alone should continually fill our hearts with thanksgiving and praise.
- “But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Co. 15:57).
- “For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s” (1 Co. 6:20).
- “Thanks be unto God for his unspeakable gift” (2 Co. 9:15).
- “Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ” (Ep. 5:20).
- “In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you” (1 Th. 5:18).
- “By him therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips giving thanks to his name” (He. 13:15).
- “But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should show forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light” (1 Pe. 2:9).
- “Give thanks unto the Lord, call upon his name, make known his deeds among the people” (1 Chr. 16:8).
- “Sing praises to the Lord, which dwelleth in Zion: declare among the people his doings” (Ps. 9:11).
- “Offer unto God thanksgiving; and pay thy vows unto the most High” (Ps. 50:14).
- “Let the people praise thee, O God; let all the people praise thee” (Ps. 67:3).
- “Blessed be the Lord, who daily loadeth us with benefits, even the God of our salvation” (Ps. 68:19).
- “It is a good thing to give thanks unto the Lord, and to sing praises unto thy name, O most High” (Ps. 92:1).
d. Fourth, pray for others, in particular for their ministry.
Be an intercessor for God’s ministers. Remember Paul was in prison, but note that for which he requested prayer. William Barclay points out that Paul could have asked that the church pray for his release, for a not guilty verdict in his upcoming trial (he was not guilty), or for a peaceful end to his life (The Letters to the Philippians, Colossians, and Thessalonians, p. 198f). But this is not what he requested. He requested prayer for his ministry. He wanted the believers praying that God would give him …
opportunity for witnessing—for sharing the mystery or salvation of Christ
boldness in witnessing (v. 4)
We must always remember that prayer is one of the laws of the universe. Granted, it is a law that is denied by most and ignored by others. Even those who understand it to be one of God’s laws often neglect it. Nevertheless, God has established the spiritual law that He works in response to prayer. Whether we believe it or not, God clearly says that prayer is a law of the universe. Prayer is the law by which He works and moves in behalf of men and their world. Therefore, if we want the blessings of God upon our lives and ministries—if we want the work of God going forth in power and bearing fruit, we must pray for the ministers of the gospel. We must learn to intercede in prayer.
- “From whence come wars and fightings among you? come they not hence, even of your lusts that war in your members? Ye lust, and have not: ye kill, and desire to have, and cannot obtain: ye fight and war, yet ye have not, because ye ask not. Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts” (Js. 4:1–3).
- “And all things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive” (Mt. 21:22).
- “If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you” (Jn. 15:7).
- “He shall call upon me, and I will answer him: I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver him, and honour him” (Ps. 91:15).
- “Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and show thee great and mighty things, which thou knowest not” (Je. 33:3).[2]
[1] The New King James Version. 1982. Nashville: Thomas Nelson.
[2] Leadership Ministries Worldwide. 1996. Galatians–Colossians. The Preacher’s Outline & Sermon Bible. Chattanooga, TN: Leadership Ministries Worldwide.
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