Salt
My office is two doors down the hall from a designated room the senior ladies of our church use every Tuesday morning for prayer. I love to hear them bellowing with sincerity unto God. They are devoted to this weekly gathering and we certainly benefit from their prayers. I know that their devotion to prayer goes far beyond that of Tuesday mornings. Their lives demonstrate the results of individual time spent with God.
I was reading today the instructions Paul gave the church of Colosse in verses 2-6 of Colossians 4...
Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful. And pray for us, too,
that God may proclaim the mystery of Christ, for which I am in chains. Pray that
I may proclaim it clearly, as I should. Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders;
make the most of every opportunity. Let your conversation be always full of grace,
seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone.
Paul reminded the church to maintain the example of Christ by devoting ourselves to prayer. He stated it the way Jesus did by emphasizing "watchful" and "thankful" in praying. This is difficult for many to apply in their daily lives. Prayer is vital in our relationship with God. Paul knew this. We should know this.
We must capture the importance of having a consistent prayer life in the manner Paul instructs by making it priority #1. I don't believe it was coincidence that he started out this passage emphasizing prayer. I would add that it is more beneficial for us to begin our day in some way communicating with God. I have failed miserably at this. I blame it on "not being a morning person." I lacked the wisdom in dealing with others, did not make the most of opportunities (missed them altogether at times), used seasoning other than salt in conversation with others. Everything we are and everything we do should reflect Christ. How can that happen if we don't get into His presence to attain His image?
People and situations don't call for a record of time we spent in prayer. They call for the results. Paul was specific when he instructed us to have conversations seasoned with salt. The Greek word used here is, halas. This word does describe what you and I know so well as the seasoning itself. But, the last definition for this Greek word is, "wisdom and grace exhibited in speech." Our conversations should be seasoned with wisdom and grace. The master of displaying this was Jesus. It is imperative that we devote ourselves to prayer in order for us to be effective as the seasoning everyone needs us to be...salt.
I'm thankful for the example of Jesus, the reminder in Paul's instructions, and the demonstration of devotion I see in our seniors. God help us to season each moment of our lives with salt!
I was reading today the instructions Paul gave the church of Colosse in verses 2-6 of Colossians 4...
Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful. And pray for us, too,
that God may proclaim the mystery of Christ, for which I am in chains. Pray that
I may proclaim it clearly, as I should. Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders;
make the most of every opportunity. Let your conversation be always full of grace,
seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone.
Paul reminded the church to maintain the example of Christ by devoting ourselves to prayer. He stated it the way Jesus did by emphasizing "watchful" and "thankful" in praying. This is difficult for many to apply in their daily lives. Prayer is vital in our relationship with God. Paul knew this. We should know this.
We must capture the importance of having a consistent prayer life in the manner Paul instructs by making it priority #1. I don't believe it was coincidence that he started out this passage emphasizing prayer. I would add that it is more beneficial for us to begin our day in some way communicating with God. I have failed miserably at this. I blame it on "not being a morning person." I lacked the wisdom in dealing with others, did not make the most of opportunities (missed them altogether at times), used seasoning other than salt in conversation with others. Everything we are and everything we do should reflect Christ. How can that happen if we don't get into His presence to attain His image?
People and situations don't call for a record of time we spent in prayer. They call for the results. Paul was specific when he instructed us to have conversations seasoned with salt. The Greek word used here is, halas. This word does describe what you and I know so well as the seasoning itself. But, the last definition for this Greek word is, "wisdom and grace exhibited in speech." Our conversations should be seasoned with wisdom and grace. The master of displaying this was Jesus. It is imperative that we devote ourselves to prayer in order for us to be effective as the seasoning everyone needs us to be...salt.
I'm thankful for the example of Jesus, the reminder in Paul's instructions, and the demonstration of devotion I see in our seniors. God help us to season each moment of our lives with salt!
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