June 8, 2010
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prayer and closed doors
Perhaps so many doors are closed to us because we do not pray as we ought.
Colossians 4:2 Continue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful in it with thanksgiving. 3 At the same time, pray also for us, 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— 4 that I may make it clear, which is how I ought to speak.
Even though the prison door had closed on Paul, he didn’t see his opportunities as limited – because Paul knew no matter what men could do, the word of God could never be bound!
II Timothy 2:8 Remember Jesus Christ, risen from the dead, the offspring of David, as preached in my gospel, 9 for which I am suffering, bound with chains as a criminal. But the word of God is not bound!
How often are we tempted to see the word of God as bound?
How often do we pray for God to open to us a door for the word?
How often do we not treasure the opportunities we have to speak God’s word?
How often do we ask God to open a door for the word?
Matthew 7:7 Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. 8 For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened.
Matthew 6:6 (KJV) But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly.
When was the last time you entered into your closet, shut the door and prayed that God would open to you a door for the word?
Zechariah 12:10 (KJV) And I will pour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of supplications…
Isaiah 62:6 On your walls, O Jerusalem,
I have set watchmen;
all the day and all the night
they shall never be silent.
You who put the LORD in remembrance,
take no rest,
7 and give him no rest
until he establishes Jerusalem…Lord God, pour out on us a spirit of grace and supplications, so we might continue steadfastly in prayer. May we shut the door and enter into our closets in secret. May we keep asking, keep seeking and keep knocking. May we not be silent. May we not hold our peace day or night. May we give You no rest until You establish Your Church and make us a praise in the earth once again. Your will for us is to be a glorious Church once again. Almighty and sovereign God, You alone can open the doors that are shut tightly. Creator God, You who made each ear, You alone can open the ears that are shut tightly. In and of ourselves, we have no power to open any door ourselves. In and of ourselves, we have no power to open any ears. Open to us a door for the word, to declare the mystery of Christ, that we might make it clear, which is how we ought to speak. For Your glory and the sake of Your Name we ask these things. Amen.
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Unless otherwise indicated, Scripture quotations are taken from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. Copyright ©2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Comments (2)
Amen. I think it was Hudson Taylor who did not allow his missionaries to share their needs, but to pray privately behind closed doors. I agree with you 100% on this one. To me it is kind of selfish because if I do not pray, I am cheating myself.
@ANVRSADDAY - Thanks, Frank.
I read Taylor’s bio last year and don’t particularly remember that, but that may be the case. It’s not that we shouldn’t ever share our own needs, but we can’t remain focused solely on ourselves. Even as the apostle Paul asked for prayer for himself, his purpose was so he might remain strong in and for Christ, to finish his ministry that the Gospel might be spread and God glorified, etc. I think all of us have a lot to learn from Paul’s example re: how we pray and what we’re praying about. Also, if we don’t ever share our needs, others won’t know how to support/pray for us (as I’ve recently written about re: our need to be transparent).
I did intend to include the verse from Matthew 6 where Jesus tells us to go into our closet and pray. (Thanks for the reminder.) … As we shut the door and pray in secret, we can trust God to open doors elsewhere…so hope to go back and add something about that.
To me it is kind of selfish because if I do not pray, I am cheating myself. Yes, definitely so! May God give us a greater desire to meet w/ Him in prayer.
Yours in Christ,
Karen