“¶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. ¶Walk in wisdom toward outsiders, redeeming the time. Let your words always be with grace, seasoned with salt, so that you will know how you should answer each person.” Colossians 4:2-6 LSB https://bible.com/bible/3345/col.4.2-6.LSB

Prayer is integral to the Christian life. Prayer is an essential discipline of the Christian life. For what should we pray? In this passage, the focus of our prayers is on the spread of the gospel. We pray for those whom we call missionaries, those who are spreading the gospel throughout the world. We should add the church in the world as well, for the true church is also making Jesus known as Savior and Lord. We pray for ourselves, too, that we would be faithful to use our words to bring others into the kingdom of God. We, too, are missionaries where we live and work, among our family and people in our lives. The Great Commission is the mission of every Christian, and prayer is the fuel by which we stay focused on the people who need Jesus in our lives, as well as the people who know Jesus are faithful to share Him with others until the whole world is saved. The world’s reflection of the commands of Jesus is the result of our, the church’s, fervency in prayer and obedience to sharing the love of God expressed to humanity through the life, death, and resurrection of God in Jesus the Savior.