In his letter to the Ephesians, the apostle Paul brings his final charge to put on the full armor of God. He concludes with an emphasis on prayer: “And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints” (Eph 6:18). He begins the next verse by making his own request, “Pray also for me…”. Paul, the apostle of Jesus Christ, the “greatest missionary”, the author of 13 letters of the inspired Word of God, makes a personal prayer request for himself:
“Pray also for me, that whenever I open my mouth, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare it fearlessly, as I should.” (Ephesians 6:19-20).

You can tell a lot about a person’s heart and focus in their prayer requests. Of all the things Paul could be concerned about and want prayer for, he asks this: That every time he opens his mouth, he’d be given words to boldly proclaim the Gospel. Paul just got done urging the believers to continually be in prayer and he asks of them a continual request, for every time he opens his mouth. And he prays for boldness and fearlessness in doing so. Paul knew where our boldness of speech comes from. He says in 2 Corinthians 3:12, “Therefore having such a hope, we use great boldness in our speech” (NASB). We’re bold, because we have hope; and as Paul tells Timothy, Christ Jesus is “our Hope” (1 Tim 1:1).

We also see a glimpse of his intentions in this request, which could not be more selfless. He demonstrates humility in even asking for prayer, showing his need and weakness apart from prayer and God. The Gospel is his main concern, and sharing it with others was his passion and desire. There is no focus on himself in this request, only an interest in spreading the Gospel. Paul had no greater ambition in life here, and it is clear to see through his request. In other letters he wrote, Paul makes very similar requests which further show his heart’s main passion. “Pray for us that the word of the Lord will spread rapidly and be glorified, just as it did also with you” (2 Thessalonians 3:1). “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 forth the mystery of Christ, for which I have also been imprisoned” (Colossians 4:3).

Remember also, Paul is writing this letter from jail, while in chains; however, there is no mention to pray for his pain or circumstances. He’s far more concerned for the spread of the good news of Christ. Remember, this is the man who reminded us that God works all things together for our good, and he believed it (Romans 8:28). He believed that God knew what was best for Him, and these trials and sufferings he went through must be ultimately good in his Father’s eyes. So he endured them, even found joy in them, knowing that the cause of Christ far outweighed his earthly desires.

Paul understood this and wanted us to see it too. “Now I want you to know, brothers, that what has happened to me has really served to advance the gospel. As a result, it has become clear throughout the whole palace guard and to everyone else that I am in chains for Christ. Because of my chains, most of the brothers in the Lord have been encouraged to speak the word of God more courageously and fearlessly” (Philippians 1:12-14). His prayer request from his letter to the Ephesians was being answered! Paul delighted in the Lord and His Truth more than himself, and God gave him the righteous desires of his heart (Psalm 37:4). As he saw God using his momentary troubles greatly for His kingdom and saw his story giving boldness to others to do the same, he wanted to share it with the Philippians to set them ablaze with boldness for the Gospel’s sake too.

Paul’s obsession with the Gospel is so convicting to me. The way he minimizes his own trials and struggles in order to maximize the cause of Christ is more than admiral. I’d have to think that if I were being beaten in prison, my main prayer request/concern would deal with that present trouble. But Paul does not make much mention of it. I want to be far more concerned about proclaiming the Gospel than anything else. I want to know that the best thing that could happen to me is that I would make a difference for my Savior. I want to know what it’s like to desire boldness over a place to rest my head. And I want to understand that when I pray that God would use me to do the greatest good, that it could include being beaten, flogged, whipped, stoned, shipwrecked, endangered, hungry, thirsty, cold, naked, or unbearably weak, yet if Christ be glorified, that would indeed be the greatest good (2 Cor 11:23-29).

“He must increase, but I must decrease.” (John 3:30 )