By the time of this letter Paul is a seasoned missionary. He has preached. He has suffered. He has planted churches and yet despite his experience he still calls upon others for support. "Pray for us," he says, "that God might open doors." Paul himself is behind closed doors. He is imprisoned. But despite his imprisonment he asks the Colossians to pray that God would open hearts to the word of God; the mystery of Christ. Paul knows that doors for the gospel don't open automatically. What opens the door again and again is prayer. If Paul needs prayer of course I think we all do. As part of a church we are mutually responsible to one another in our prayer lives. I need you to pray that I will make known the mystery of Christ wherever I go and you need me to do the same. We all need one another's prayer and intercession. But that is not all we need. We need to pray for open doors but we also need to live godly and delicious lives that are characterized by wisdom and draw others to Jesus & finally we need to be prepared to give answers for the hope that we have. Oh that we might be a church, a people of God like that.

Grace and peace from Marcus