Embracing Vulnerability: The Power of Prayer in Ministry

"Paul's request for prayer in Ephesians 6:19-20 reveals his deep understanding of vulnerability and humility in the Christian life. Despite being a mighty apostle, Paul acknowledges his need for the prayers of others, demonstrating that even the most spiritually mature individuals require support. His request is not for personal liberation from imprisonment but for the ability to proclaim the gospel boldly and effectively. This highlights the importance of prayer in spiritual warfare, as the battle is not against flesh and blood but against spiritual forces. Paul’s life exemplifies the necessity of relying on God’s strength rather than personal abilities." [00:00:54]

"Now here he is towards the end of his Christian pilgrimage and he is aware of his need of the prayers of the people who support him and who love him. I think it's important just to acknowledge that, that he has not if you like as a result of the effectiveness of his ministry as a result of the peculiar influence of his pen as a result of the many people that he has had occasion to speak to concerning the kingdom, and those of kings and princes and rulers, and all kinds of people some of whom have been ushered into the kingdom." [00:02:26]

"Sometimes it's those who apparently need the prayer the least who actually need it the most. Spurgeon was arguably the most effective preacher in the western world in Victorian England. The crowds that came and the members of parliament that came and even the royal family that came to hear him preach were quite dramatic and on one occasion someone said to him, how is it Charles that you account for the amazing influence of your ministry and he answered in one phrase, he said my people pray for me." [00:03:33]

"Although we refer to Paul as the mighty apostle, and mighty apostle he was, the fact is he was not a superhero. In fact, if he was a super anything out of his own mouth, he referred to himself as a super sinner. You remember when he says to Timothy that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners and it says and I'm the top of that list, of whom I am foremost, I am the chief of sinners." [00:04:16]

"He realizes that it is one thing for him to say, now you folks need to be praying and quite another for him to say, and I desperately need you to pray for me. I want to suggest to you just two things under this heading, first of all to notice his vulnerability, his vulnerability he has not written to them and said, you do not wrestle against flesh and blood but rather he has said we do not wrestle against flesh and blood." [00:05:10]

"His vulnerability is made clear in his awareness of the wholesale desertion to which he refers when he writes to Timothy, he says to him all who are in Asia have turned away from me. Now even when we allow for hyperbole, there was a massive decline, he's vulnerable to that, people deserted him. If you're a leader you don't want people to desert you, if you are leading a charge you don't want the numbers to diminish, you want them to increase." [00:06:10]

"He was also vulnerable to pride and this was made clear to him on a number of occasions throughout his ministry and nowhere more obviously so than when he asked the Lord on three occasions to remove from him what he referred to as a thorn in his flesh. You'll remember that you can read of it in Second Corinthians 12. Now what does he say of that there? Well he says, to keep me from becoming conceited." [00:07:24]

"To keep me from becoming conceited, well how why would he become conceited? Well because he was vulnerable to being conceited, if you think about his background before his conversion, he had a stellar background the kind of pedigree that he enjoyed the kind of education that he had pursued, the kind of influence that he had gained and so you can see how easy it would be for him in the journey of his life to revert to that, to default to that." [00:08:00]

"His father loves him so much that in order to prevent him becoming absolutely useless as a result of a fat head there was given me a thorn in the flesh what he refers to as a messenger of Satan to harass me and then he finishes the verse as he began it to keep me from becoming conceited pray also for me vulnerable to the desertion vulnerable to pride vulnerable to depression." [00:08:27]

"His request for prayer is specific, is specific this isn't just a generalization, he's not saying just pray for me but he's asking that they will pray in a particular way when we noted his prayers we realized that he wasn't preoccupied with many of the things that are often part and parcel of our prayers and once again here's the case and also for me, he doesn't say that I might get out of this imprisonment." [00:13:13]

"He doesn't pray for liberation he prays for effectiveness in proclamation the strength that he required wasn't just for his own personal confrontation with the evil one but actually what he's focused on is the evangelistic ministry of the gospel that he wants to make sure that in the context in which he finds himself he will have the privilege of doing that for which he has been set apart to see people rescued from the devil's dominion that that people will actually be transformed." [00:13:59]

"Paul is in Rome and he is in capacity as a result of his chains and he is entertaining some who wanted to see him, the leaders of the Jews they wanted to hear what he had to say in verse 23 of Acts 28 when they had appointed a day for him they came to him at his lodging in greater numbers from morning till evening he expounded to them testifying to the kingdom of God and trying to convince them about Jesus both from the law of Moses and from the prophets." [00:21:26]