The Logistics of Spiritual Warfare Text: Colossians 4:2-4
Introduction: The Air War and the Ground War
In any significant conflict, there are different fronts, different kinds of battles being waged. There is the air war and there is the ground war. There is the artillery barrage from a distance, and there is the infantryman taking a hill. The Christian life, which is nothing less than a life of constant spiritual warfare, is no different. We are engaged in a long, generational siege against the fortifications of a rebellious world, and we must be wise about our strategy. We must understand the logistics of this war.
The apostle Paul, writing from a Roman prison, is a high-ranking general in this conflict. And what does he spend his time doing? He is not simply issuing top-down commands. He is calling for air support. He is directing the artillery. He is telling the Colossian church that the advance of the gospel on the ground is directly tied to the prayers they offer up to the throne of God. Prayer is not a pious add-on to the real work of ministry. Prayer is the real work of ministry. It is the air war that makes the ground war possible.
Our secular, pragmatic age has a hard time with this. We are activists. We want to form committees, develop five-year plans, and measure our metrics. But Paul, in chains, understands that the most potent force in the universe is not a political movement or a clever marketing campaign, but a company of saints on their knees. He is not asking for a legal defense fund or a letter-writing campaign to Caesar. He is asking for prayer. Why? Because he knows that the doors he needs opened are not prison doors, but hearts. And only God has the key to those. The central conflict is not between Paul and Rome, but between the Word of God and the spiritual darkness that blinds the minds of unbelievers. Therefore, the decisive battle must be fought in the heavenlies.
In these three verses, Paul gives us a compact but incredibly dense manual on the Christian's wartime duty of prayer. He shows us the manner of our praying, the mindset of our praying, and the mission of our praying. This is not just for pastors and missionaries; this is the fundamental calling of every believer. You are either on the front lines of this spiritual conflict, or you are AWOL.
The Text
Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful in it with thanksgiving; praying at the same time for us as well, that God will open up to us a door for the word, so that we may speak the mystery of Christ, for which I have also been bound, that I may make it manifest in the way I ought to speak.
(Colossians 4:2-4 LSB)
The Manner and Mindset of Prayer (v. 2)
We begin with the foundational command in verse 2:
"Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful in it with thanksgiving;" (Colossians 4:2)
The command is to "devote" yourselves to prayer. The word means to be steadfast, to persevere, to continue earnestly. This is not a casual, occasional activity. This is a discipline, a vocation. It pictures a soldier holding his post, a sentry on the wall. Prayer is not meant to be the spiritual equivalent of a spare tire, pulled out only in emergencies. It is the engine. It is the constant, driving force of the Christian life. This is corporate. He is writing to the church. The lifeblood of a faithful church is the corporate prayer meeting. Where there is no devotion to prayer, the church is not a church but a club, and it is dying on its feet.
And this devotion must have a particular character. It must be "watchful." This means to be alert, to stay awake. It is the opposite of sleepy, rote, mechanical praying. Watchfulness in prayer has two sides. First, we are to be watchful for opportunities to pray. We are to have our eyes open to the world, to the needs of our families, our church, and our nation, so that we can bring them before God. We are not to be spiritual navel-gazers. Second, we are to be watchful for answers to prayer. God is not a cosmic vending machine, but neither is He silent. He answers. And when He does, we are to be alert enough to notice, which leads directly to the next point.
We are to be watchful "with thanksgiving." Thanksgiving is the essential grammar of Christian prayer. It is the atmosphere in which all our requests should be offered. An ungrateful Christian is a contradiction in terms. Thanksgiving keeps our prayers from degenerating into a whiny list of demands. It anchors our hearts in the goodness and sovereignty of God, regardless of our circumstances. Paul is in prison, and he is overflowing with thanksgiving and instructing others to be thankful. Why? Because gratitude is a weapon. It is a declaration of faith that God is good and in control, even when the empirical evidence looks grim. A thankful church is an unconquerable church.
The Mission of Prayer (v. 3)
Having established the how, Paul moves to the what. He directs their prayer toward the central mission of the church.
"praying at the same time for us as well, that God will open up to us a door for the word, so that we may speak the mystery of Christ, for which I have also been bound," (Colossians 4:3 LSB)
Notice the immediate application of their devoted prayer life. It is to be aimed at the apostolic ministry. "Pray for us." This is astounding. The Apostle Paul, the spiritual giant, is dependent on the prayers of the ordinary saints in Colossae. This is God's design. The ministry of the Word is a partnership. The preacher in the pulpit is the tip of the spear, but the shaft of that spear is the praying church that backs him up. A prayerless church will inevitably have a powerless pulpit.
And what is the specific request? It is not for comfort, or release from prison, or for an easier life. It is for "a door for the word." Paul understands divine sovereignty and human responsibility perfectly. He knows that God is the one who must open the door. Evangelistic opportunity is a gift of God. The hearts of men are locked from the inside, and only God can turn the key. We are to pray that God would providentially arrange circumstances and soften hearts so that the gospel can be proclaimed. We pray for open doors, and then, when God opens them, we are commanded to walk through them with courage.
The purpose of this open door is "so that we may speak the mystery of Christ." What is this mystery? Paul has already defined it in this letter. It is "Christ in you, the hope of glory" (Col. 1:27). The mystery is that the promises of God, once largely confined to Israel, have now, in Christ, been thrown open to the Gentiles. It is the glorious, previously hidden truth that God is building one new man, the church, from both Jews and Gentiles. This is the substance of the message. This is the gospel. It is not a message of self-improvement or moralism. It is the declaration of what God has done in His Son, Jesus Christ. And it is for this very message, Paul reminds them, that he is "bound." His chains are his credentials. They are a testimony to the supreme value and offensive nature of the gospel.
The Manner of Proclamation (v. 4)
The final verse sharpens the prayer request. It is not enough to have an opportunity and a message; the delivery matters.
"that I may make it manifest in the way I ought to speak." (Colossians 4:4 LSB)
Paul prays for clarity. "That I may make it manifest." The word means to make clear, to reveal plainly. This is a standing rebuke to all forms of preaching that are obscure, unnecessarily complex, or aimed at impressing people with the speaker's intellect. The goal of preaching is not to show how smart the preacher is, but how glorious Christ is. The gospel is profound, but it is not complicated. It must be presented in such a way that a child can understand it, even while it contains depths that the most brilliant theologian will never exhaust.
And this clarity is a matter of duty. Paul wants to speak "in the way I ought to speak." There is a divine standard for gospel proclamation. It ought to be spoken with boldness (Eph. 6:20). It ought to be spoken with love. It ought to be spoken without compromise. It ought to be spoken plainly. Paul, the master communicator, feels his own inadequacy here. He knows that without the empowering grace of God, given in answer to the prayers of the saints, he is liable to muddy the waters, to pull his punches, to fail in his duty. If Paul needed the church to pray for him to speak as he ought, how much more do your pastors and elders need that same prayer?
Conclusion: Your Prayer, Your Part
This passage leaves us with no room for passivity. The advance of the Kingdom of God is tied to the prayers of the people of God. What Paul asks of the Colossians, he asks of us. We are to be a people devoted to prayer. This is not optional.
Your prayers for the ministry of the Word here, and for missionaries around the world, are not incidental. They are essential. You are not a spectator in this great work; you are a combatant. When you pray, you are firing artillery into the enemy's camp. When you pray for open doors, you are asking the King to breach the walls of fortified cities. When you pray for clarity and boldness for your pastors, you are sharpening the tip of the spear.
The world is dark, and the task is great. But our God is greater. He has ordained to accomplish His purposes through the prayers of His people. So devote yourselves to it. Be watchful. Be thankful. And pray for the Word. Pray that God would open doors, and pray that when He does, we would have the grace to speak His glorious mystery as we ought to speak. For it is by this Word, proclaimed in the power of the Spirit and borne aloft by the prayers of the saints, that Christ is building His church, and the gates of Hell will not prevail against it.