The Marks Of Evangelism: Prayer Initiated

Paul’s Priority of Prayer in Evangelism
Prayer precedes evangelism. In fact, I might be willing to go far enough to say that evangelism is initiated by prayer. It would seem that every major gospel-proclamation movement was first preceded by a campaign of prayer. The Teschen Revival of the 1700s, noted for its influence in England and New England, began with a commitment to prayer. The Businessman's Revival of 1857 established itself through weekly prayer gatherings. And in the late 1800s, the Student Missionary Movement prioritized prayer. My personal opinion is that the mark of a lack of evangelism is a lack of prayer.

It was the Apostle Paul who first modeled the principle that prayer precedes evangelism. By calling Paul to labor for Him (Acts 22:6-21; Romans 1:14-15; Ephesians 3:7-9), we know that the Lord was faithful to equip Paul for that calling perfectly. The New Testament (especially the book of Acts) offers a testimony of the effectiveness of Paul’s witness. The success of the Holy Spirit’s work suggests that of all people, Paul was the least likely to need prayer. Paul surprises, though, and reveals his own deficiencies by requesting prayer for his ability to fulfill the Lord’s calling.

In multiple epistles, Paul solicits the prayers on his behalf from fellow Christ-followers, but what draws our attention here is his request to the Colossians in 4:3-4. There he writes: “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.”

This particular prayer request reveals four marks of evangelism for the church, beginning with the notion that a ministry of evangelism is prayer-initiated.

After urging the Colossians to devote themselves to prayer, Paul gives them an opportunity to prioritize prayer by requesting they include him in those prayers. Specifically, he asks them to join him in calling upon the Lord to open up opportunities for gospel proclamation. Such a prayer request is an affirmation that though the Lord uses human instruments, evangelism is the work of God. Such a prayer request is also an admission of Paul’s reliance upon the Lord in that work.

The Curious Elements Missing from Paul’s Prayer
The prayer request of Colossians 4:3-4 is curious not by what Paul prays for but by what he doesn’t mention in this prayer request. Notice first that he makes no appeal for his circumstances. Though he writes from prison, his petition involves nothing about being released from prison. Had it been me there, I am confident that my primary cry to the Lord would be for release. Therefore, I appreciate Paul's example here. It shows Paul's priority is the fulfillment of the Great Commission, which he elevates above his personal comfort and circumstances.

Called by the Lord to this role, Paul does not make the circumstances conform to his calling; instead, he conforms his calling to circumstances. By that, I do not mean that Paul has compromised his positions. Instead, I mean to point out that many of us look for the 'right' situation to present the Lord's truth. Only under ideal conditions will we risk sharing the gospel. And yet, by his prayer, Paul has surrendered himself to fulfill his calling in the Lord's plan in whatever conditions may be present. Indeed, he does right to preach the word whether convenient or not (2 Timothy 4:2), which seems to be precisely what he is willing to do [1].

Another fascinating aspect of this prayer is that Paul doesn't pray for the unsaved but for the saved. Most frequently, the prayer of evangelism today is to call upon the Lord to save people. There may be a mention of the saints’ faithfulness and the need for the Lord’s help, but often those requests make up a brief portion of the prayer . . . at least that’s often the case in my own prayers. Yet, that is not the appeal that Paul makes here. Instead, he prays for his own ability to present the word clearly.

Paul does not set this standard in prayers about Great Commission engagement. Instead, he seems to adopt it from none other than Jesus Christ. Matthew 9 presents a glimpse of Christ's earthly ministry, which is described this way: “Jesus continued going around to all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues preaching the good news of the kingdom, and healing every disease and every sickness” (Matthew 9:35).

The next verse goes on to say that while ministering to them, Jesus saw the crowds and felt compassion because they were like sheep without a shepherd. And from that compassion, the Lord Jesus Christ issues an instruction to the disciples, an instruction that has become a well-known verse in missions. He says to them, "The harvest is abundant, but the workers are few. Therefore, pray to the Lord of the harvest to send out workers into his harvest" (Matthew 9:37-38). Again, the primary prayer is not for the unsaved to become saved but for the saved to go and reach the unsaved.

Now, this does not mean that the unsaved are absent from Paul’s prayer. In his second letter to the Thessalonians, he prays for conversions (3:1). Even here, we could argue that Paul is praying for contacts, which is true, but he does it by appealing to the Lord's work, not to those contacts will. Therefore, let's not conclude that in our evangelism, we pray only for the ones proclaiming the gospel. Yet, at the same time, from the focus of these prayer examples, let's learn of the need to pray often for them as well.

Prayer is the first mark of evangelism. It is a labor of prayer as much as it is a labor of proclamation. Thus, a ministry of evangelism is not first undertaken on our feet but on our knees, calling upon the Lord to do His work. A ministry of evangelism is prayer-initiated.

[1] The ESV text of this verse reads, “Preach the word; be ready in season and out of season . . .” which the Holman Christian Standard Bible translates as “Proclaim the message; persist in it whether convenient or not . . .” which I utilize here to convey that specific nuance.

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