Reading: Ephesians 6:19-20, 19Pray also for me, that whenever I open my mouth, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel, 20for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare it fearlessly, as I should.
When we think about the Apostle Paul, who wrote this book to the church of Ephesus, we think of someone who had it all together. I mean, come on! He was the Apostle Paul; one of the original church leaders. Yet, Paul asks the people of Ephesus to pray for him that he would not have fear when he declares the gospel of Christ. These two verses are packed full of some amazing revelations that are very appropriate for us as men. It’s NEVER easy for a man to admit he’s afraid, let alone, this stalwart of the faith who is suppose to be this mighty man of God, to admit that he needs prayer not to be afraid to witness. Another amazing revelation is his complete dependence on God to give him the words to speak. Oftentimes, we can become so cavalier in our reliance on our own wisdom and insight. Goodness, look at all the experience we have; yet, Paul, who literally saw Jesus and had been on several missionary trips and witnessed to scores of people, still relied totally on the words being given to him from God. How many times had he done this… yet, he still experienced fear and he still relied on God. For those of us that have the experience with God, what a tremendous reminder to get back to relying on Him to speak, not ourselves. For those of us who do not have the experience with God, what a tremendous encouragement, that even the Apostle Paul struggled with fear to witness and preach the Gospel.
Challenge: Pray for our pastors today. Although they may have experience, they too desire and will need our prayers for God to speak to them and calm their fears.
Are you declaring the gospel fearlessly, as you should?
How can you do that today (to start, you can ask God to calm your fears), but how else?
REVIEW
Did you pray for your pastors today?
Were you able to declare the gospel fearlessly today?
What happened?
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment