2 Devote yourselves to prayer with an alert mind and a thankful heart. 3 Pray for us, too, that God will give us many opportunities to speak about his mysterious plan concerning Christ. That is why I am here in chains. 4 Pray that I will proclaim this message as clearly as I should.
5 Live wisely among those who are not believers, and make the most of every opportunity. 6 Let your conversation be gracious and attractive so that you will have the right response for everyone.
7 Tychicus will give you a full report about how I am getting along. He is a beloved brother and faithful helper who serves with me in the Lord’s work. 8 I have sent him to you for this very purpose—to let you know how we are doing and to encourage you. 9 I am also sending Onesimus, a faithful and beloved brother, one of your own people. He and Tychicus will tell you everything that’s happening here.
Terrie's Comments:
Two parts in today's passage pop out at me... verse 2 and verses 5-6.
Being devoted to prayer... with an ALERT MIND and a THANKFUL HEART!
An alert mind... to listen to what God is saying to us... and to listen to the Holy Spirit telling us how we should pray... Prayer is not about emptying our minds it is a time to have a conversation with God. It goes two ways. We should always be prepared to hear from God. We should expect that He is talking to us and will be giving us direction and wisdom.
A Thankful heart... There are so many accounts in the Bible where praise has been a key to victory. Coming to God with a posture of Thanksgiving will place us in a place to be victorious as well. If we can't think of anything else to be thankful for... begin with God's grace that he gave us when he nailed ALL of our sins to the cross with His son! EVERY SINGLE SIN... PAST PRESENT AND FUTURE... they are ALL taken care of!! It is a gift from God that we choose to receive when we make Jesus Lord of our lives :-)
God wants to reach everyone. His message of grace needs to be heard by unbelievers. He cares about how we act and what we say to those around us.
Am I making the most of the opportunities I have to sow into the lives of unbelievers around me?
Tori's Comments:
"Devote yourselves to prayer" is still an area of work for me. And it's something I realize I need to stop saying I need to work on it and just do it. Just pray.
"make the most of every opportunity" can't forget this life isn't about me, that we tasked to spread the good news.
"attractive" was weird wording to me, as the Kingdom's message has not always been welcome but we've preached it anyways. Another phrase used here is "seasoned with salt" which, according to the esword app, could figuratively mean prudence or cautiousness.
Take our personal comments or leave them. We would love to hear what stood out to you about today`s passage and how it encouraged you. Tell us in the comments below!
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Please keep all comments respectful. We want to remember that each of us is at a different place in our walk with God. This is a place for us to share openly about what has been revealed to us as we open up Gods word and to learn from others. Please take every opportunity possible to build each other up in love :-)