The Call To Pray

[Editor's Note: About a year before Dr. Olford went home to be with the Lord, I asked if he might share a few sermons with me for the readers of PastorLife. He offered four sermons on prayer, all of which are on the website. Dr. Olford was one of the truly great expository preachers in the Twentieth Century. I trust this message will be a blessing to you.]

Introduction

In this passage, the apostle Paul has been writing on the duties of husbands and wives, parents and children, masters and servants. He has laid down the solemn principles that determine the right relationships in the areas of the church, the home, and the world. And then he says: "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" (vv. 2-4). Quite obviously, Paul is reminding us that if we would know what it is to serve God faithfully as husbands, wives, parents, servants, and masters, then we must know how to pray. In this particular passage the apostle emphasizes three things to which I want to draw your attention. First, he speaks of:

I. Diligence in Prayer

"Continue...in prayer" (v. 2).

Even a superficial study of the Bible will make it abundantly evident that prayer is a necessity of every saved soul. In fact, it has been called "the Christian's vital breath." To paraphrase the words of an old Puritan, prayer has "shut up heaven and opened it again." Through the power of prayer the sun stood still. Prayer has sweetened the bitter fountain, divided the sea, and stilled its waves. Prayer has disbanded armies and prevented conflicts; prayer has shortened the battle and given the victory to the side of justice. Prayer has poured abundance upon lives, as in the case of David; prayer has brought healing, as in the case of Hezekiah; prayer has quenched the mouths of lions, as in the case of David; prayer has opened the gates of the prison house, as in the case of Peter. As Jesus prayed by the Jordan, the dove alighted on Him. As He prayed on the hill, He was transfigured.

The praying church brought down the Pentecostal effusion, and prayer has continued to be the greatest force in the universe. It is no wonder, then, that Paul says, "Continue in prayer." We must be diligent in prayer because of two requirements:

A. The Word of God Commands Prayer

When Paul says, "Continue in prayer," (v. 2), he is echoing the words of our Lord Jesus who declared, "Men always ought to pray and not lose heart" (Luke 18:1).

Jesus knew that the inevitable alternative to prayerlessness was powerlessness and, therefore, throughout His teachings, and that of His apostles, there is an unbroken emphasis on the need for prayer. We read such statements as "pray without ceasing" (1 Thess. 5:17); "praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit" (Eph. 6:18); and so on.

Failure to pray is disobedience, and disobedience is sin. It follows, therefore, that quite apart from our need to pray prayer is a moral obligation, and we cannot please God if we do not pray. Yes, the Word of God commands it.

B. The Work of God Demands Prayer

"Continue...in prayer" (v. 2), exhorts the apostle.

Right here in context, Paul tells us that we cannot operate effectively within the church, the home, or the world without the undergirding of prayer. For reasons that we cannot fathom, God has chosen to make prayer the very means by which He resists the power of Satan and releases the blessing of heaven. By prayer He opens and closes doors. By prayer He effects miracles in the lives of men and women. The church of Jesus Christ, therefore, marches on its knees.

Concerning the early church, we read that the disciples "continued steadfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in prayers" (Acts 2:42). It was when they prayed that the Holy Spirit was poured forth in convicting power and grace.

And so it has been down through the centuries. There has never been a revival without prayer. I suppose one of my favorite subjects for study is this great doctrine of the reviving grace of God. I've read everything I can get hold of to learn the principles that determine the outpouring of God's Spirit upon the church, and through the church to the unsaved world. And, you know, there isn't any book on revival that doesn't have at its heart the emphasis on prayer.

And so Paul says, "Continue...in prayer" (v. 2). He's calling for diligence in prayer. And that's a message to your heart, as well as my own. We must "continue in prayer," if God is going to meet us in revival blessing in our individual life, in our congregational life, in our national life, and beyond that to the far ends of the earth.

So we see that the Word of God commands prayer, and the work of God demands it. Let us be diligent in prayer.

A second thought in our text concerns:

II. Vigilance in Prayer

"Continue...in prayer, being vigilant in it with thanksgiving" (v. 2).

This exhortation to watchfulness suggests dangers that are to be avoided. Those of us who engage in prayer will be first to admit that prayer calls not only for diligence, but vigilance. The devil comes under many guises to discourage us in prayer. He knows so well that prayer is one weapon which he cannot overcome. It is one weapon with which he cannot compete. Indeed, through prayer and the sword of the Spirit we can overcome Satan, even as our Lord did during His temptation in the wilderness. So we are told to "continue...in prayer, being vigilant...with thanksgiving" (v. 2).

Now there are two main dangers that we have to watch against:

A. We Have to Watch Against Indiscipline in our Praying

"Continue...in prayer, being vigilant" (v. 2).

When Paul wrote these words he may have been thinking of the time when the disciples fell asleep on the Mount of Transfiguration; or again, when the disciples slept in the Garden of Gethsemane. On that occasion Jesus had to say to them, "Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation" (Mark 14:38).

It is amazing how undisciplined we can become in our habits of prayer. Sometimes it's sleepiness. Other times, wandering thoughts, and more often than not, just that seeming inability to discipline ourselves to pray.

I remember how this problem troubled me as a young theological student, until I sought the help of one of my professors. Looking me straight in the eye, he said, "Olford, pray when you feel like it, pray when you don't feel like it, pray until you do feel like it." Since then I've come to see that prayer is a decision of the will. If we will to pray we'll pray. And you know, that calls for discipline. It isn't what I think about it, even though conviction is absolutely important. We pray because we know the Word of God commands it. We don't just pray because our hearts are warm and we want to pray. Sometimes we have to pray when our hearts are cold. So it comes down to this matter of the will. If we will to pray, we'll pray, and, I repeat, that calls for discipline.

Earlier on we were speaking of obedience in prayer, and at the very heart of obedience is this word discipline. In fact, we cannot separate discipline from obedience. So let us watch against the sin of indiscipline.

And then again:

B. We Have to Watch Against Ingratitude in our Praying

Paul goes on to say, "Continue...in prayer, being vigilant...with thanksgiving" (v. 2).

If we study Paul's writings carefully we shall find that he always associates prayer with thanksgiving. The point is, if we trust God in prayer we must thank God in prayer. Indeed, if there is no thankfulness then it is quite obvious that we haven't trusted Him. A thankful heart is the evidence of a trustful heart.

But, of course, there is much more implied in Paul's exhortation. Thankfulness is ingratitude, and ingratitude is sin. When we fail to count our blessings we show our ingratitude and grieve the very heart of God.

I remember meeting a radiant young lady at Moody Bible Institute in Chicago many years ago. I asked her to share with me what was the secret of her irrepressible joy. Very quietly, she told me that while reading through the Psalms she had come to see the place that praise ought to have in the life of a child of God. And so she deliberately set aside one day a week when she never asked for anything. It was what she called her "praise day." Needless to say, thanksgiving was always mingled with her prayers, but this one day was set aside for praise alone. Her testimony certainly challenged me to do likewise. Since that day I've made Tuesday my day of thanksgiving.

I like to think of a week as follows: M (Monday) I call Missionaries Day, and I pray for missionaries. T (Tuesday) I call Thanksgiving Day, exclusively to praise and thanksgiving. W (Wednesday) I call Workers Day, and I pray especially for workers in the homeland--my staff and all those who share with me in the ministry. T (Thursday) is Task Day, and I pray for the job God has given me to do. I bring that under the umbrella of prayer. F (Friday) is Family Day. I like to spend a special time on my family--my immediate family and those not quite as intimately related. But I pray very specially for my family on Friday. S (Saturday) is Saint Day--I pray for the saints. The Bible exhorts us to pray for the saints, the church of Jesus Christ (Eph. 6:18), and especially the suffering church. Then S (Sunday) is Sinners Day--I pray for sinners. Pray for those you meet along the way and jot down their names and pray that God will save them. I like to do that--especially as I meet people who come into my life, and I know that they are men and women who need Jesus Christ. I pray for sinners on Sunday.

So you see, you need to organize your prayer life, and especially that day of thanksgiving.

I think the supreme example of praise and thanksgiving is illustrated and exemplified in the life of our precious Lord and Master, Jesus Christ. Study the occasions when He lifted up His heart to His Father, and you will find that it was invariably in the atmosphere and context of praise. He gave thanks to His Father. He could give thanks to God that revelation was hidden from the sophisticated and wise, and given to babes and teachable ones (Matt. 11:25). When He fed the five thousand, He gave thanks for the heavenly provision (John 6:11). At the grave of Lazarus He gave thanks for the prayer he knew would be answered there and then (John 11:41). What an example to those of us who follow in His steps!

So we see that we are to be diligent in prayer, and then vigilant in prayer. But there is a third thought that the apostle shares with us here, and it is:

III. Relevance in Prayer

"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" (vv. 3-4).

So often we think of prayer as something "other-worldly," and therefore unrelated to our everyday life. Such thoughts, however, are wholly unbiblical and untrue. The ministry of prayer comes right down to where we live, and those verses illustrate it in a remarkable manner. According to Paul:

A. There as a Personal Relevance in Prayer

He says, "Praying also for us" (v. 3).

Even though he was the great apostle Paul he felt the need for prayer in his own life, as well as his colleagues Timothy, Epaphras, and others mentioned in this epistle. In his letter to the Romans, he starts with these words: "For God is my witness, whom I serve with my spirit in the gospel of His Son, that without ceasing I make mention of you always in my prayers, making request if, by some means, now at last I may find a way in the will of God to come to you" (1:9-10). And when he concludes that letter he beseeches the saints, for the love of the Spirit, to strive together with him in their prayers for deliverance from his enemies, acceptance by the saints, and a prospering of his ministry on his arrival in the great metropolis (Rom. 15:30-32). You cannot study those verses without being impressed with the importance Paul places on intercessory prayer for his own personal ministry.

When addressing the church at Philippi, he states that the deliverance he was expecting was to come through their prayers "and the supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ" (Phil. 1:19).

What a lesson this is to you and to me! How often do we pray for one another, as we are commanded to do? I wonder if you have a prayer list of people in your church? Do you pray for them?

You can't pray for people without loving them, and you can't love them without being forgiving, when it comes to a break of fellowship. You can't pray for people without working with them. You can't pray for people without having fellowship with them. Prayer, you see, brings us all together; it's a unifying force. There is a personal relevance in prayer.

B. There is a Practical Relevance in Prayer

"Praying...that God would open to us a door for the word, to speak the mystery of Christ, for which I am also in chains" (v. 3).

Quite obviously, there were obstacles in the way of preaching the gospel, and Paul wanted to see these obstructions removed. This was a very practical request. Paul was not ashamed to acquaint the Colossian church with this very real need.

One of our great problems in prayer today is that we are not specific. We treat God as we would never treat an earthly father. We are nebulous and woolly in our language. Paul wanted a door open, so he asked the believers to pray that the miracle would take place. Let us not hesitate to bring our requests to God in the knowledge that He is interested in every detail of our lives. He who marks the fall of a sparrow, numbers the very hairs of our head, is interested in the practical things of life. Jesus taught us to pray, "Give us this day our daily bread" (Matt. 6:11).

In recent times, the discovery of a papyrus has revealed that this particular word daily, in that prayer, is only found once in the New Testament, and it refers to a woman's shopping list. We should bring our shopping lists to God and name the list of needs for which we seek His guidance, His wisdom, His blessing, day by day.

So we see something of the personal and practical relevance of prayer. But there is a third thought here:

C. There is a Powerful Relevance in Prayer

Pray, said Paul, that utterance may be given to "speak the mystery of Christ...as I ought to speak" (vv. 3-4).

Paul here requests the power of the Holy Spirit to preach the gospel in a supernatural way. Paul was quite aware that "the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are discerned" (1 Cor. 2:14). Experience had taught him that nothing less than a miracle of revelation would communicate to unregenerate people the mystery of Christ. His very use of the word mystery underscores this. A mystery is something that is only known to those who are initiates; and only the Holy Spirit can unfold the secrets of the gospel to those who are dead in trespasses and in sins. And so Paul prays for boldness and freedom to preach as he ought to preach.

Conclusion

Having studied this passage together, it surely becomes evident that this is the kind of praying that is needed today in reaching the world and preaching the Word.

Remember the Word of God commands that you pray, and the work of God demands that you pray. So I call you to vigilance in prayer. Watch indiscipline, and guard against ingratitude because we can paralyze our prayer life by laziness and thanklessness. I also call you to relevance in prayer. As long as we are praying in the name of Jesus and in accordance with God's holy will, we can bring everything to Him in prayer. So let us be personal, practical and powerful in our praying. Only then will God pour out the blessing that we long to see. With the disciples of old, let our earnest prayer be, "Lord, teach us to pray."

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