Devoted to Prayer

Welcome to today's encouragement from Our Daily Bread.

I'm James Banks, and I called our reading today Devoted to Prayer. I've been praying for you for 50 years, said the elderly woman. My friend Lou looked into her eyes with profound gratitude.

He was visiting the Bulgarian village that his father grew up in and left as a teenager. The woman, a believer in Jesus, lived next to his grandparents. She began to pray for Lou as soon as she heard about his birth a continent away.

Now, over half a century later, he was visiting the village on a business trip, and while there he spoke to a group about his faith. Lou hadn't become a believer in Jesus until he was almost 30, and when this woman approached him after he spoke, he wondered about the impact her persistent prayers had made on his coming to faith. We'll never know the full effect of our prayers this side of heaven, but Scripture gives us this counsel.

Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful. When Paul penned those words to believers in the small city of Colossae, he also asked for prayer himself so that God would open a door for his message wherever he went. Sometimes we may think, I don't have the spiritual gift of prayer. But of all the spiritual gifts listed in the Bible, prayer isn't among them. Perhaps this is because God longs for each of us to pray faithfully so that we may see what only he can do.

Today's Our Daily Bread devotional scripture reading is from Colossians chapter 4 verses 2 to 6 and 12 to 13. Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful, 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. Pray that I may proclaim it clearly as I should. Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders.

Make the most of every opportunity. Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone. Now, picking up at verse 12, Epaphras, who is one of you and a servant of Christ Jesus, sends greetings. He is always wrestling in prayer for you that you may stand firm in all the will of God, mature and fully assured.

I vouch for him that he is working hard for you and for those at Laodicea and Heropolis. Let's pray. Father, thank you that you want to hear from us. Please help us to treasure the opportunity to talk to you and pray for others each day. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. Thanks so much for listening today. My name is James Banks, and today's encouragement was provided by Our Daily Bread Ministries.