THERE’S HOPE FOR THE CHURCH THAT EVANGELIZES THE SINNER: The Might in Our Witness

“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...” (Colossians 4:2-3 NKJV)

Salvation is a supernatural worker and so soul-winning requires supernatural power.  See how Paul makes the connection between praying to God and proclaiming the Gospel in these verses.  An opened door by importunity with heaven can lead to an open door of opportunity on earth. 

The Apostle here calls the Word of God, “the mystery of Christ.”  The Greek term means a truth that is hidden now revealed.  Again, this requires the activity of God, although He will use us to communicate the truth.  Apart from the grace of God, all our talk will be to no avail.  Here’s why:

“But even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing,  whose minds the god of this age has blinded, who do not believe, lest the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine on them.” (2 Cor.4:3-4) 

Only God can open blind eyes and unstop deaf ears and take a dead heart that is hard as stone and make it a living heart of faith.  Prayer is the critical dimension that must precede our witness.  In it we have a weapon to drive away demonic darkness from the sinner and a power that gives us courage, compulsion and clarity to share the truth.

Jesus understood and taught that prayer precedes proclamation.

“But when He saw the multitudes, He was moved with compassion for them, because they were weary and scattered, like sheep having no shepherd. Then He said to His disciples, ‘The harvest truly is plentiful, but the laborers are few.  Therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest.’ ” (Matt.9:36-38) 

So, He would later command them to wait in prayer at Pentecost so they could witness in power!  After a ten day prayer meeting, they preached for ten minutes and 3,000 were converted.  Isn’t that the kind of effectiveness we seek?

Evangelism involves spiritual warfare, and the victory is won on our knees.  After Paul in Ephesians 6 describes the whole armor of God we must wear, he tells us that we are ready to pray, and as prayer is offered to make it a priority to petition God for open doors of evangelism.  Read it and apply it.  Knock on heaven’s door before you knock on your neighbor’s—but do both!