And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests.
With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people.
Pray also for me, that whenever I speak, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare it fearlessly, as I should.
Ephesians 6:18-20
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As Paul closes his beautiful letter to the Church in Ephesus, he includes an urgent plea—one that speaks not only to the believers back then, but also to us today.
I wonder if you might sense the urgency in his pen as he calls the followers of Christ to be fervent in their prayers. Look at the phrasing he uses again:
And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people.
Do you notice the urgency? Look at the words he uses: pray “on all occasions” with “all kinds of prayers and requests.” “Always keep on praying” for “all the Lord’s people.”
As best he possibly can, he calls us to make prayer a priority—for all the people, at all times, for all the requests.
But Paul doesn’t stop there. After begging the church to be in prayer constantly, he makes a deeply personal request for prayer.
He writes, “Pray also for me, that whenever I speak, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel.”
Think about that for a moment. Paul, one of the greatest missionaries in history, asks for prayer that he would have the right words to share the gospel! He doesn’t rely on his own wisdom, experience, or knowledge. He wants his words to be effective in lifting up Christ and the gospel—and knows he needs the Lord’s help to do that.
And if Paul needed to pray for this, how much more do we?
We may not be missionaries traveling across the world (or maybe you are), but each of us has opportunities—with our friends, our family, our coworkers, our neighbors, even strangers at the bus stop. And if we have been given the same opportunities as Paul, we should be praying the same for ourselves.
“Lord, give me the right words, that whenever I open my mouth, I fearlessly make known the beautiful gospel of Jesus Christ. Help me to speak of You with boldness and love.”
Today, let’s pause a moment to take Paul’s words to heart. Let’s commit to being people of prayer—praying on all occasions, for all people, with all kinds of requests. And let’s specifically pray that when the moment comes, God will give us the words to say to bring others to Him.
Because the world still needs to hear it. And we are the ones who can share it.
Prayer
Heavenly Father, help me to be urgently faithful in prayer. And give me the right words to speak so that whenever I open my mouth, your gospel is revealed. Amen.