Prayerful Proclamation

Prayerfully proclaiming God’s Word in the power of the Holy Spirit is the heart of disciple-making ministry. From the testimony of God’s Word and church history, we see that prayer has always preceded and sustained fruitful, gospel-advancing endeavors (Acts 1:14; 2:42; 4:23-31; 6:4; 13:3; 14:23). In this blog article, we will explore ways we can pray Biblically for the gospel’s advance as we seek to reach our unbelieving friends and family for Christ.

Praying Biblically for the Gospel’s Advance

Pray for the Spirit’s Convicting Work

One of the ministries of the Holy Spirit is to convict the world of sin, righteousness, and judgement (John 16:7-11). The word translated “convict” means to expose sin or prove some someone’s guilt in a court of law. The Spirit enables people to see their sin the way God sees it. The Spirit’s goal, however, is not to leave people in their guilt, but to turn them from their rebellion and unbelief to Christ.

Sin

The Spirit enables people to see the gravity of their sin and guilt before God. A classic example of this convicting work can be found in Acts 2:36-37. Upon hearing the gospel, the crowd at Pentecost was “cut to the heart.” The Spirit had convinced them of their sin of rejecting Christ as the Messiah, which led them to cry out, “Brothers, what shall we do?”

Righteousness

The Spirit makes us painfully aware of infinite gap between God‘s righteousness and our sinfulness. Through the Spirit‘s convicting work, we begin to see that our best deeds, compared to God‘s holy standard, are like filthy rags (Isaiah 64:6). As the Spirit convicts us of our spiritual bankruptcy, we begin to realize how great our need for a Savior really is.

Judgment

The judgment that is being referred to in this text refers to the ultimate defeat of Satan and those who follow in his rebellion. Jesus decisively defeated Satan through His death and resurrection (Gen.3:15; John 12:31; Col.2:15; Heb.2:14), thus thwarting his plan to overthrow God’s redemptive plan. Like Satan himself, all those who remain in their rebellion against Christ will be eternally condemned. The inescapable reality of judgment drives us to the One who took sin’s judgment upon Himself. 

Pray for Open Doors

Colossians 4:3 states, “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.” We ought to pray that God would grant us open doors or divine appointments to declare the gospel. How many times have we missed out on gospel opportunities simply because we have not prayed for them? As we pray Colossians 4:3, we become more sensitive and prepared to proclaim the gospel when opportunities arise.

Pray for Boldness

All throughout the book of Acts, we see boldness as a key demonstration of the Spirit’s power upon gospel preaching. For example, in Acts 4, we find the church praying for boldness in light of imminent persecution. In Acts 4:29-31, the church prays, “Lord, look upon their threats and grant to your servants to continue to speak your word with all boldness… And when they had prayed, the place in which they were gathered together was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and continued to speak the word of God with boldness.”

God’s Word advances powerfully as God’s people are filled with Spirit-empowered boldness (see Acts 4:13; 9:27-28; 13:46; 14:3; 18:24-26; 19:8; 26:26; 28:31). Boldness, of course, is not brashness. Rather, it is a confident, settled trust in the power of God to use His Word to convert and transform sinners. The believer who speaks the gospel boldly is motivated by the fear of God and not the fear of man (2 Cor.5:11; 1 Thess. 2:1-8).

Pray that the Spread of the Gospel Would Triumph

2 Thess. 3:1 states, “Finally, brothers, pray for us, that the word of the Lord may speed ahead and be honored, as happened among you.” Paul is praying that the spread of the gospel would triumph as it goes forth “in power and in the Holy Spirit and in full conviction” (1 Thess. 1:5). He is also praying that hearts would be receptive even in the midst of persecution and suffering. Ultimately, the spread of the gospel is a divine work that can only be accomplished through divine aid. As we pray, we are acknowledging our dependence upon God to do what only He can do—bring new life to those dead in trespasses and sins.

Conclusion

Every believer longs to be used by the Lord to reach others for Christ. May the Lord use us as we seek to proclaim the gospel with clarity and prayerful expectancy.