Colossians 4 - Prayer is the Boiler Room of the Church!
2 Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful. 3 And pray for us, too, that God may open a door for our message, so that we may proclaim the mystery of Christ, for which I am in chains. 4 Pray that I may proclaim it clearly, as I should. 5 Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity. 6 Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone.
These are Paul's last words to the church at Colossae. He reminds them of the importance of prayer. When we pray, we are reminded of God's presence in our lives. We are reminded of the peace He gives us through the Holy Spirit. As we pray we remember how God has been faithful in the past with thanksgiving.
We give thanks giving for prayers answered and even for prayers that aren't answered. We know God always hears us and gives us what "we need when we need it". Notice I didn't say, "what we want when we want it". I am sure you have prayed for things that did not get answered in the way you thought it would or should. But we rely on another verses Paul gave to the Romans,
"And God works all things together for good for those who love God and are called according to His purpose". Romans 8:28
God's ways are higher than our ways. The apostle Paul says, "For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known."
One day we will know why certain prayers were answered in the way we thought they should and why others were not. But for now we trust God in faith realizing we do not see what he sees. He is God and we are not!
Paul asks for prayer as well for he and those he is ministering with. Paul realizes that the success of his ministry is not just based on his personal efforts, but the prayers of others on his behalf. We have no idea how much our prayers affect those around us and the ministry of others.
Charles Spurgeon, 19th century English preacher and evanglist is credited with the saying, "Prayer is the boiler room of the church". You may have heard the saying, but you probably don't know the story behind it.
A group of visitors or young ministers once toured Charles Spurgeon's famous Metropolitan Tabernacle in London. Spurgeon offered to show them the "boiler room," but the guests initially declined because a basement boiler room sounded hot, dirty, and unpleasant. Spurgeon insisted and led them downstairs, where they found roughly a hundred people gathered in prayer. Opening the door, Spurgeon smiled and said, "This is my boiler room." (mthope.org)
Likewise, Paul was not just concerned about what happened within the church's four walls, but how the church treated those outside its walls. Paul wanted the members of the church to be ready to interact with those outside the church. Importantly he says, our conversations with others should always be seasoned with grace.
I like the phrase "seasoned with grace".
William Barclay, a well known New Testament commentator, gives us an idea of what this term might mean.
"Let your speech always be with gracious charm, seasoned with the salt of wit, so that you will know the right answer to give in every case. He explains: “Here is an interesting injunction. It is all too true that Christianity in the minds of many is connected with a kind of sanctimonious dullness and an outlook in which laughter is almost a heresy… The Christian must commend his message with the charm and the wit which were in Jesus himself.”
As we pray together inside the church, we can be those who are known by are grace and love outside of the church. Maybe more of those outside might want to come in and join us! After all isn't that the goal!
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