Paul's Prison Epistles: Paul's ImprisonmentSample

Themes in Paul’s Letters—Preaching: Ephesians 6:19-20

As we have seen, Paul endured prison mainly to gain new opportunities to proclaim the gospel. And his letters from prison reinforce this idea. We see this not only in his regular identification of himself as Christ’s ambassador in chains, but also in the prayers he solicited from the churches to which he wrote.

For instance, consider his request in Ephesians 6:19-20:

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).

Paul knew that, even in prison, his primary responsibility was to proclaim the gospel. And so, he asked the Ephesians to pray for him so that he would have the strength to fulfill his apostolic responsibility. Similarly, in Colossians 4:3-4 he wrote:

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. Pray that I may proclaim it clearly, as I should (Colossians 4:3-4).

Paul wanted prayer so that he would have the opportunity to preach the gospel so that he could take good advantage of the opportunities before him.