EXPECTANT

DEVOTIONALS

PASTOR RYAN LADEN – DEVOTIONALS

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Think back on a time when you knew for a fact that the Lord used your words, your work, and your efforts to see his will be done. In those times when we are aware of God’s movement in our lives, we feel most alive and most connected with the Lord. Those times of connection and usefulness need not be occasional but should be constant. We ought to expect the Lord to be at work in us as often as we submit ourselves to his service. 

In the passage below, we hear a teaching from the Apostle Paul that challenges us to pray with the expectation that the Lord will hear our request and act in and through us.

2 Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful. 3 And pray for us, too, that God may open a door for our message, so that we may proclaim the mystery of Christ, for which I am in chains. 4 Pray that I may proclaim it clearly, as I should. 5 Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity. 6 Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone.

(Colossians 4:2-6 NIV11)

Join

The Apostle Paul is speaking to people like you and me when he asks for the people of the church to join him in his desire to see God move.

Paul is asking the people of the church to join with him in praying that the Lord would use Paul’s efforts, actions, words, and movements in a way that would bring God more glory and bring success to Paul’s evangelistic mission. 

Paul is expectant. He believes that the Lord wants to use his life to expand the kingdom of God and to help others draw near to Jesus. 

Open Door

Paul is asking the people of the church to petition the Lord on his behalf. What is it that Paul wants the people of the church to ask the Lord to do for Paul? Is Paul asking for relief from persecution, rescue from hardship, pain or trial? No. Paul is asking that the Lord would move in such a way as to make his work fruitful. 

Catch that. Paul believes that the Lord wants to move and to act. Paul expects that the Lord will answer this prayer. He expects that the Lord will use his travels, no matter how difficult, to bring Paul to the right people so that his witness for Jesus would be productive. 

Make the Most of Every Opportunity

Paul also challenges the people of the church to join him in his expectation. He calls the people of the church to commit their interactions with non-believers to the Lord and to ask the Lord to help each of them make the most of every opportunity to be a witness for Jesus. 

Well-Seasoned 

I love the language used by Paul in verse 6 when he said, “Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt”. Again, Paul expects that the Lord will use even our commonplace conversations to help others discover the love and grace of Jesus Christ. 

Paul is calling the people of Jesus to speak about the Lord in a way that draws people in. To season your conversations with salt is to allow the Lord to guide your conversations as you share the reason for the hope that you have in Christ. 

In these well-seasoned conversations, we can expect the Holy Spirit to use us to accomplish great things for the glory and greatness of God.

You and Me

We are being challenged in this teaching to be willing to be used by God in our everyday lives.

We are being challenged to commit our work, our studies, our every conversation to the Lord because we expect that God wants to work in and through us. 

We are being called to ask the Lord to open a door before us today so that we might walk through, ready for service. 

Prayer

Lord Jesus Christ, I know that you want to use my every step for your glory and for the good of those you have placed into my daily life. Help me to pray this prayer of expectation today. Help me to look for you in my conversations and in my opportunities for real service to others. 

In Christ, 

Ryan Laden

PASTOR RYAN LADEN

Works at MTN. CHURCH

Former Senior pastor at Warnbro Community Church

Studies at New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary

Studied at New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary

Studied at Baylor University

Studied at Texas Tech University

Went to Castle Hills First Baptist

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