Colossians 4:2-6 – Transforming Work of Prayer

      2Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful, 3as you pray also for us, that God may open to us a door for the word, so that we may proclaim the mystery of Christ, for which I am in chains. 4Pray that I may declare it clearly, as I should.
      5Act wisely toward outsiders, redeeming the time. 6Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone.

Interesting Words
Devote yourselves

(προσκαρτερέω – Greek) – proskartereó ► verb: To persist, persevere in, continue steadfast in; I wait upon – Acts 1:14; 2:42, 46; Rom 12:12;

watchful

(γρηγορέω – Greek) – grégoreó ► verb: I am awake (in the night), watch, I am watchful, on the alert, vigilant. From egeiro; to keep awake, i.e. Watch – Matt 24:42-43, 36:41; Mark 13:34;

proclaim

(λαλέω – Greek) – laleó ► verb: A prolonged form of an otherwise obsolete verb; to talk, i.e. Utter words – 1Cor 2:6-7; 1Thes 2:4; 1Peter 4:11; plus some 200+ uses by Jesus Himself and the apostles.

declare it clearly

(φανερόω – Greek) – phaneroó ► verb, from phaneros (evident, render apparent), To make clear (visible, manifest), make known – John 1:31-32, 17:6; 2Cor 2:14, 4:10-11; 1John 1:2;

redeeming

(ἐξαγοράζω – Greek) – exagorazó ► verb: From ek and agorazo; (present participle middle), to buy up, i.e. Ransom; figuratively, to rescue from loss – Gal 3:13, 4:5; Eph 5:16;

seasoned

(ἁρτύω – Greek) – artuó ► verb: derivative of airo (to prepare), i.e. Spice (with stimulating condiments), arrange, make ready; season, flavor – Mark 9:50; Luke 14:34;

Cross References

▪︎ Parable of the unrighteous steward – Luke_16:1-9
      1Now He was also saying to the disciples, “There was a rich man who had a manager, and this manager was reported to him as squandering his possessions. 2“And he called him and said to him, ‘What is this I hear about you? Give an accounting of your management, for you can no longer be manager.’ 3“The manager said to himself, ‘What shall I do, since my master is taking the management away from me? I am not strong enough to dig; I am ashamed to beg. 4‘I know what I shall do, so that when I am removed from the management people will welcome me into their homes.’ 5“And he summoned each one of his master’s debtors, and he began saying to the first, ‘How much do you owe my master?’ 6“And he said, ‘A hundred measures of oil.’ And he said to him, ‘Take your bill, and sit down quickly and write fifty.’ 7“Then he said to another, ‘And how much do you owe?’ And he said, ‘A hundred measures of wheat.’ He said to him, ‘Take your bill, and write eighty.’ 8“And his master praised the unrighteous manager because he had acted shrewdly; for the sons of this age are more shrewd in relation to their own kind than the sons of light. 9“And I say to you, make friends for yourselves by means of the wealth of unrighteousness, so that when it fails, they will receive you into the eternal dwellings.

▪︎ 1Thes 5:16-17;
▪︎ Phil 4:6-7;
▪︎ 2Tim 4:2;

Discussion Questions
Download questions to Word document (download). Enter your answers, then meet with some friends to discuss. You can also compare your answers to mine for a virtual discussion… answers

1. Describe the kind of prayer that Paul describes in Col 4:2

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2. What does the first phrase in Col 4:3 subtly indicate that the target of our prayer should be?

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3. What exactly is on Paul’s prayer list?

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4. Paul uses several different ways to communicate the gospel to others in this passage. Can you find them, and how does each support success?

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5. What does Paul mean by the phrase… “redeeming the time”? Consider also the parable of the unrighteous steward ( Luke 16:8, 9)

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6. How do you accomplish Paul’s goal of clarity using seasoning without changing the gospel message?

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7. Check out the cross references. What are the common thread(s) you see? Why are they important?

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