Pray for Opportunities to Speak about Jesus

To be an effective witness for Christ, you must be a consistent example of living out Christlike virtues, at home, at work and in any other place in the world. Being like Christ is the necessary backdrop for speaking about him. But as you seek to live and share Christ with the people you know, you must also learn to practice a very important habit. You must learn to pray for distinct opportunities to be an effective witness to nonbelievers.Continue earnestly in prayer, being vigilant in it with thanksgiving; meanwhile praying also for us, that God would open to us a door for the word, to speak the mystery of Christ, for which I am also in chains, that I may make it manifest, as I ought to speak. (Col 2:2-4)

Pray persistently.

When Paul says, "Continue earnestly in prayer," he is urging persistence in prayer. He is teaching believers to devote themselves to prayer on a regular basis, in a recurring way. Behind the actions of your life and the words of your mouth should be a heart engaged in regular prayer to God.

Pray persistently for open doors to speak about Christ.

As Paul encourages believers to pray, he highlights a specific prayer request, "That God would open to us a door for the word." This is a request for God to provide opportunities to speak the words of the gospel message to people in need. As Paul wrote, he was imprisoned in Rome on false charges. Yet rather than requesting prayer for his release, he requested for opportunities to speak about Christ.This may seem like an unnecessary request, because every person you meet is an opportunity to share Jesus, whether in prison or in any other place.  Paul understood, however, that just because a person is standing in front of you does not mean you have an open door for speaking about Christ. When you interact with people, you often encounter closed doors rather than open ones. In fact, it is normal and natural for a person to be too busy, too distracted, too antagonistic, or too disinterested to hear the truth about Christ, no matter how winsome you may be and no matter how much you may care.

Just because a person is standing in front of you does not mean you have an open door for speaking about Christ.

For this reason, you must do more than live in a compelling, Christlike way. Before you speak, you must pray for distinct opportunities prepared by God. Pray that people will be available and eager to listen. Pray for timely moments and for wisdom to notice when these occur.

Pray persistently for open doors to speak about Christ clearly.

As you pray for opportunities to share Jesus through words, pray also for wisdom to speak about Jesus in a clear way. After all, when you talk about Jesus, you want to do more than fulfill an evangelism assignment from God. You want the person who hears you to understand what you are telling them. Therefore, you need wisdom to explain the gospel in a clear and accurate way that understands their needs and responds to their concerns. You also need wisdom to answer unexpected questions.

You need wisdom to explain the gospel in a clear and accurate way

Though every person needs to hear the same good news about Jesus, not every person needs to hear it in the exact same way. When you study the New Testament book of Acts, you discover that Peter, Paul, and other believers shared the good news about Jesus on multiple occasions. But though they presented the same gospel message in every case, they tailored the presentation to the needs of the audience. You need wisdom to do the same thing. Are you praying that way?