“Pray also for me, that the message may be given to me
when I open my mouth to make known with boldness the mystery of the gospel.” –
Ephesians 6:19 (HCSB)
Summarize in a Word: Prayerful
evangelism.
Key Principle: The
schemes of the devil are eerily daunting.
Key Application: Arm
yourself with prayer supporters.
Main point of the Passage: Always
soak in prayer for effective ministry.
Illustration: Apostle Paul in spiritual warfare.
Exhortation: Learn to share your prayer request with fellow
Christians.
Gospel
has been around the globe yet only a few are saved. Millions of people can
articulate the gospel intellectually, yet with no effect to their souls. Indeed
Gospel has the power to Salvation, but without the work of the Spirit,
evangelism, ministry, everything is in vain.
I
remember in my seminary days when we were about to go for evangelism, our professor
told us that one of us should be praying while the other was having a
conversation with a lost sinner. Prayer shows how dependent we are on the
Spirit of God for effective evangelism.
In
Ephesians 6:19, we see how Paul was so dependent on the Spirit of God. Paul is
beyond comparison to us. He was a prayerful man, an intellectual, a man
commissioned by Christ for the revelation and proclamation of Gospel, a
spiritual giant, and a courageous ambassador of Christ. He would neither be
contented with his own prayer nor be confident with his knowledge of divine
mystery. He asked others to pray for him.
He
understood the importance of gospel and the daunting schemes of the devil. He was
persecuted, deserted, and imprisoned in a series of attempts to stop him from
proclaiming the gospel. The enemy was too strong for him to battle alone. He
desired the prayers of fellow Christians for God to grant him boldness to
continue the ministry of the gospel.
If an
Apostle of Christ asked for prayer, how much more do we need to pray and to arm
ourselves with prayer supporters in evangelism? Always pray before, after and
while you are doing evangelism. Learn to share your prayer request with fellow
Christians.