How We Ought to Answer

“Continue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful in it with thanksgiving. At the same time, pray also for us, that God may open to us a door for the word, to declare the mystery of Christ, on account of which I am in prison— that I may make it clear, which is how I ought to speak. Walk in wisdom toward outsiders, making the best use of the time. Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer each person” (Colossians 4:2-6 ESV).

Prayer is not to be something we do just at mealtime or just when we have our times of personal devotions in the study of God’s word. To me, prayer is open communication with God 24/7 (24 hours a day, 7 days a week). And it is two-way communication with the Lord to where anytime of day or night we can speak to him and him to us about anything that is on his heart or on our hearts. So we can be talking with the Lord when we are driving down the street, or doing laundry, or watching small children, etc.

And we are to be watchful in it with thanksgiving. And this word “watchful” means to be spiritually awake, alert, vigilant, and responsible. We are not to just recite prayers off of a list, but we are to be spiritually alert to the needs all around us, and of the things that are of concern to the Lord that we should be bringing before him in prayer. And we shouldn’t be the ones doing all the talking, but we should have our minds and hearts ready to hear from the Lord regarding what he wants to teach us, too. 

And we should pray for all those who are actively sharing the truth of the gospel of our salvation and who are ministering to the needs of the body of Christ, whether they be physical, emotional, and/or spiritual needs. So this is about praying for all those within the body of Christ who are sharing the gospel message, the whole counsel of God, and who are ministering God’s truths and his love and grace to their fellow Christians. But make certain that you are praying in the will of God and for those who are sharing truth.

I see far too many requests from different “Christian” organizations who want our financial and prayerful support in order for them to spread the gospel, but so many of them are not teaching the truth of the gospel but a man-made gospel which is an altered version of the true gospel. So I believe this is where this word “watchful” comes into play. Test those who say they are of God and that they are sharing the gospel to make certain what they are sharing is what Jesus and his NT apostles taught, in biblical context.

And this leads right into this next part, for those of us who are literally sharing the gospel message in its fulness (the whole counsel of God) appear to be far in the minority here in America. And we get opposed a lot. And so many people now are being trained to teach the altered gospel message and to oppose the truth of the gospel and to lead the people to reject the true message of the gospel and to embrace the lies, instead. And so we need people to pray for us for open doors to share the gospel in its fulness. 

And, yes, pray for clarity of mind and heart so that we will be in tune with the Spirit’s voice and so that we will share what the Lord wants us to share at any given moment and opportunity which he grants us to share his gospel message with other humans. For it is critical that we speak the truth, and that we speak the critical factors of the gospel message and that we don’t leave out anything that it critical for people to hear in order to enter into genuine biblical relationships with Jesus Christ by God-given faith in him.

And all of us who believe in Jesus Christ should be sharing the truth of the gospel with others and we should be ministering to the needs of the body of Christ. And we should be walking in wisdom toward outsiders, making the best use of the time. So we need to be spiritually sensitive to those divine appointments our Lord gives to us to share his truths. But first of all we must be those who are walking the walk, who are not just talking it. We need to be obeying our Lord and living holy lives pleasing to him.

Now when this says that we are to let our speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, this never involves compromise of truth and righteousness so as not to offend people with the truth. We are to speak the truth of God’s word, but to do so in love. For grace is God’s gift to humankind, but that grace trains us to renounce (say “NO!” to) ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives. And kindness is never telling lies to people to make them feel good.

And if our speech is seasoned with salt, what does that mean? Well salt has to do with preserving and seasoning. And to season something can mean to mature it, to prepare it, to condition it. So this definitely can be related to helping fellow believers in Christ to maturity in their walks of faith, to help them to become sensible, responsible, and reliable servants of the Lord Jesus Christ. And to preserve is to protect, to maintain, to uphold, to keep, and to continue in, which is how all of us are to approach our faith in Christ.

And we are to let our speech be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that we may know how we ought to answer each person. So, we should be speaking the truths that Jesus and his NT apostles spoke, and what we share should include the fulness of the gospel message and the teachings on walks of maturity in Christ in spiritual growth, too. None of us should give a diluted gospel message out to people, but we should share all that is necessary to the proper instruction in righteousness and holiness and in godly living.

Jesus taught the gospel message when he said that if anyone would come after him, he must deny self, take up his cross daily (die daily to sin) and follow (obey) him. For if we hold on to our sins, we will lose our lives for eternity. But if for the sake of Jesus we deny self, die daily to sin, and follow our Lord in obedience, then we have eternal life with God. For Jesus died that we might die to sin and live to righteousness, and he died to free us from slavery to sin so we will now walk in obedience to his commands.

[Matt 7:21-23; Matt 24:9-14; Lu 9:23-26; Rom 1:18-32; Rom 2:6-8; Rom 6:1-23; Rom 8:1-14,24; Rom 12:1-2; Rom 13:11; 1 Co 6:9-10,19-20; 2 Co 5:10,15,21; 1 Co 1:18; 1 Co 15:1-2; 2 Tim 1:8-9; Heb 9:28; 1 Pet 1:5; Gal 5:16-21; Gal 6:7-8; Eph 2:8-10; Eph 4:17-32; Eph 5:3-6; Col 1:21-23; Col 3:5-17; 1 Pet 2:24; Tit 2:11-14; 1 Jn 1:5-9; 1 Jn 2:3-6,24-25; 1 Jn 3:4-10; Heb 3:6,14-15; Heb 10:23-31; Heb 12:1-2; Rev 21:8,27; Rev 22:14-15] 

The Prayer

Written by David Foster, Carole Bayer Sager, 

Alberto Testa and Tony Renis

I pray you'll be our eyes

And watch us where we go

And help us to be wise

In times when we don't know

I pray we'll find your light

And hold it in our hearts

When the stars go out each night

Remind us where you are.

Let this be our prayer

When shadows fill our day

Lead us to a place

Guide us with your grace

To a place where we'll be safe.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cqFCbtRz1Z0

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