Prayers Of The Spirit: Effective Communication
Study The Word
Philemon 1:4-6
I thank my God, making mention of thee always in my prayers, Hearing of thy love and faith, which thou hast toward the Lord Jesus, and toward all saints; That the communication of thy faith may become effectual by the acknowledging of every good thing which is in you in Christ Jesus.
We move on to the study of another amazing prayer of the Spirit. And this prayer point has to do with how we share, show and minister Jesus Christ to our world. It’s prayer point for our preparation for ministry; and it focuses on the communication, the distribution, the sharing of your faith—and he says it may become effectual! Effectual! That means effective and powerful! When you share the word of God, when you distribute the gospel of Jesus Christ, when you communicate your faith—it doesn’t just go out empty and powerless. It is accompanied, it is infused, it is charged with the effectual power of God Himself! This prayer for preparation will empower you with boldness, and also confidence – someone called it “Godfidence”!
ἐνεργής energēs effectual – active, efficient, effective, powerful, operative, working with energy
Think about this: Paul is saying that when you share your faith, when you communicate the gospel, it becomes energes! That Greek word energes means active, efficient, effective, powerful—it’s working with divine energy! Glory to God! This is not just talking; this is not just words floating in the air. This is the word of God going forth with the accompanying power of the Holy Spirit! Every time you open your mouth to share the gospel, every time you distribute the message of Christ, the Holy Spirit accompanies that word with His effective, miraculous energy. Hallelujah!
κοινωνία koinōnia communication – fellowship, partnership, distribution, sharing, participation, communion
Now, that word “communication” there is koinonia. We’ve studied this word before—it means partnership, fellowship, distribution, sharing together. But did you catch what’s happening here? It’s talking about your oneness with the faith! You’re not just talking about something external; you have become one with the faith of Jesus Christ! You’re mingled with the word of God! You’re in communion, in fellowship, in partnership with the word of God! And when you now communicate from that place of oneness, from that place of being mingled with the word, from that place of partnership with Christ—it goes forth with power!
The Living Bible translation says it beautifully: “And I pray that as you share your faith with others, it will grip their lives too.” It will grip them! Why? Because it’s going to be effective as it is backed by the power of the Holy Spirit! This is the will of God for us in Christ Jesus. Wherever we are, when we begin to communicate our faith, when we begin to share our faith, distribute our faith—it is with effective supernatural power!
Many Christians are sitting around waiting for some special anointing before they can share the gospel. They’re waiting for some special feeling, some special moment, some special gift. No! In your prayer in preparation to go and minister the gospel, pray this very prayer of the Spirit and then you set out and every time you share the faith, every time you communicate the gospel, it will be accompanied it with God’s power! You don’t need to wait! Don’t be a spectator! Participate! Share the faith! Share your faith in the gospel of Jesus Christ with somebody else, and you will begin to experience manifestations of the power of God that you otherwise would not experience until you start sharing and communicating your faith!
ἐπίγνωσις epignōsis acknowledging – full knowledge, exact knowledge, precise and correct knowledge, deeper understanding, recognition
And then Paul says something profound here—he says this effectual communication happens “by the acknowledging of every good thing which is in you in Christ Jesus.” That word “acknowledging” is epignosis! This is full knowledge, exact knowledge, precise knowledge of the gospel! And by this knowledge of every good thing which is in you in Christ Jesus, the communication of my faith is filled with power.
There are good things which are in you in Christ Jesus! When you came into Christ, there were deposits of good things—divine virtues, divine weaponry, divine devices, divine abilities and graces and blessings! Find out what those things are and begin to study them and learn about them so that your sharing will become effective. The Bible says in 1 Corinthians chapter 2 that God has given us these things by His Spirit. And now, as you share the word of God, as you distribute and communicate the message of Christ, the revelation of Christ—your faith becomes effectual! It becomes effective with power! And simultaneously, you begin to interact with these divine deposits! You begin to have deeper knowledge, deeper understanding, deeper relationship with all the blessings that God has placed in you!
You see, there is a reason why some Christians never grow! They’re not sharing! They’re not communicating! They’re sitting in church, absorbing, absorbing, absorbing—but never distributing! And because they’re not distributing, they never get to experiencing the accompanying power that comes with the communication of your faith! They’re not developing the deeper knowledge! But when you begin to share, when you begin to communicate your faith—oh goodness!—you enter into a whole new realm of interaction with the things of God!
So what are you going to do? Are you going to continue being a spectator, or are you going to become a distributor? Are you going to start communicating your faith? The world is waiting! People around you need to be gripped by the power of God! And God has chosen you to be the vessel through which His effectual power flows! Every time you share the gospel, it’s not just information transfer—it’s divine power transfer! It’s the effectual, energetic power of God gripping lives and transforming hearts! Glory to God! This is your portion! This is part of your inheritance in Christ Jesus!
Pray The Word
Heavenly Father, I thank You for the privilege of being a distributor of Your faith! Thank You that every time I communicate the gospel of Jesus Christ, it is accompanied by Your effectual, power! I refuse to be a spectator, and I choose to share my faith boldly, knowing that You grip the hearts of those who hear it. Thank You that as I distribute Your word, I also grow in deeper knowledge and understanding of all the good things You have deposited in me in Christ Jesus, in the mighty name of Jesus Christ, Amen.
Speak The Word
The faith of the gospel that I communicate and demonstrate is infused and accompanied by the effectual power of God! Every time I share the word of God, it grips the lives of those who hear it because God Himself supplies the effective, miraculous energy! I am not a spectator but a distributor of the faith, and as I share, I interact deeper and deeper with all the divine virtues, abilities, and blessings that God has deposited in me in Christ Jesus, in the name of Jesus!