Colossians 4 Devotional

Doors Only God Opens

“Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone.”Colossians 4:6 (BSB)

Colossians 4 begins by reminding masters that they too have a Master in heaven (4:1), then turns to prayer. Paul asks the church to pray that God would open a door for the message about Christ (4:3). He is in chains, yet he asks for opportunity and clarity, not release (4:3-4). Doors for the gospel are God's to open, and prayer is how his people take part in that work. Their words to outsiders should be full of grace and well chosen, so they can answer each person well (4:5-6).

The chapter ends with a list of names, and they quietly show what grace does. Onesimus, the same man Paul sent back to his master Philemon (Philemon 1:10-12), is now called a faithful and beloved brother (4:9). Epaphras keeps wrestling in prayer for the Colossians (4:12). These are ordinary people shaped by an extraordinary gospel. The God who opens doors also changes the people who walk through them, and he can give you gracious words for whoever you meet today.

To think about: Whom could you ask God to open a door to today, and what gracious word might you offer them?