One way to pray according to God’s will (1 John 5:14–15) and thus see God work more through our prayers is by tying our prayer requests directly to Scripture.
I’ve found the apostle Paul’s prayers useful for praying this way in a variety of situations. Let’s see an example from one passage that can help us pray for gospel proclamation.
Ephesians 6:19–20 closes the famous armor of God passage which closes the book of Ephesians. Paul encourages believers to continue in prayer (verse 18) before requesting prayer for his proclamation of the gospel (verses 19–20).
These verses provide two ways to pray for the advance of the gospel, not only for pastors and missionaries, but also for every Christian as a gospel proclaimer in their church and neighborhood:
“[Pray] also for me, that words may be given to me in opening my mouth boldly to proclaim the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains, that I may declare it boldly, as I ought to speak.” (Ephesians 6:19–20)
1. Paul asked for clarity.
“That words may be given me” (verse 19).
Paul knew he needed the prayers of others to share the gospel with clarity. This should encourage us. Paul, after all, wrote Romans and Ephesians, two of the clearest expositions of the gospel ever written! And yet, Paul realized he needed divine help.
The gospel is a message that demands a response. But, if we share the gospel without clarity, no one will believe the message because no one will understand it!
2. Paul asked for boldness.
Paul mentions boldness twice, once in verse 19 and another time in verse 20. Another way of saying “boldness” is to speak “fearlessly” (as the NIV translates this verse).
Why pray for boldness?
Often, because there is fear to overcome. Have you ever feared sharing the gospel with others? I know what it’s like too, especially if I think I’ll be rejected. The gospel can be offensive and bring opposition. Paul knew this—he wrote these words from a prison cell!
Paul’s desire for boldness should encourage us. He wrote thirteen books in the New Testament, was the greatest missionary the world had ever seen, and saw the resurrected Christ on the road to Damascus—you’d think boldness wouldn’t be an issue! But he saw his need and asked the church to pray that he would be bold in proclamation.
Do you feel a little better if you’ve ever feared evangelism? I hope so. Respond to your fears like Paul—instead of making excuses to avoid sharing the gospel, ask for the boldness you lack.
Ask God for Both
We need both clarity and boldness in testifying of Jesus. If we only had clarity and no boldness, we wouldn’t open our mouths. If we only had boldness and no clarity, our zeal might be unorganized babbling that would confuse our listeners. We want our listeners to hear the gospel clearly from a heart that earnestly desires their salvation.
As you’ve seen, adopting Paul’s two prayer requests from Ephesians 6:19–20 is very practical. You can pray for clarity and boldness when sharing Christ with family, friends, coworkers, and neighbors. Pray these petitions for your pastor every time he preaches. I pray it before my wife shares the gospel in the evangelistic girls club she runs and every time before I teach God’s Word.
God is ready to answer these prayers to advance His kingdom…let’s be sure to ask!
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This article is an excerpt of the session Praying the Apostle Paul’s Prayers from the free video course Pray the Bible.