In our verses for last week, Paul encourages believers to pray for the purposes of God and one another. Then, last of all he asks for prayer for himself, which we see in Ephesians 6:19-20:

Paul was in prison when he wrote this letter. His execution was likely to be soon. You would think that he would have desperately asked the church to pray for his release in the very first sentence of this Epistle, but he never asks for this. Asking for prayer at all for himself seems like an afterthought. Then, what he asks for is not freedom for himself, or anything for himself, but rather for the message, the gospel, to go forth unhindered. This is unquestionably the letter of a man who had truly emptied himself of anything but a desire to the glory of the Lord made known.

One would think that the Lord would be so moved by compassion for this most faithful servant as to send legions of angels to set him free. There is no question of the Lord’s favor for this one who truly was “not in the least inferior to the most eminent apostles” (II Corinthians 11:5). However, He showed His favor by letting this great apostle remain in prison, to write even more letters that would help set the course of history, and then finish his course with martyrdom.

It is also truly a remarkable thing that the King of kings would even allow the imprisonment of one of His greatest ambassadors, and possibly the greatest messenger of freedom to ever walk the earth other than Himself. He allowed this because within it there is another great message—true freedom can never be imprisoned. There is no jail on earth that can restrain the Word of God, or shackles that can bind the truly free soul. Throughout history, this is possibly the reason why some of the most powerful messages of freedom have been penned by those who were in prison.

Paul is certainly the greatest of these messengers of freedom. His words from prison have set countless people free from every form of bondage. His story is one of the most inspiring stories of all the great men and women who have walked with God since the beginning. His letters form the heart of the New Testament, and have possibly been used to change the world more than any words ever written.

Not only did Paul write the bulk of these Epistles from prison, but he didn’t even have a laptop! No email, no fax machine—not even a phone. He did not have a world-wide televison ministry, or even a mailing list for getting the word out. Yet, there have almost certainly never been any words penned that have been distributed more widely, or read and studied more thoroughly,

I am not belittling the incredible advantages that we have today with modern technology. Much is being accomplished that we should truly appreciate. However, the Word of God cannot be either shackled or limited by technology or anything else—neither are the messengers of the Word of God. We should use what advantages we have been blessed with, but if we lose them all, and are even imprisoned, it will not restrain the Holy Spirit in any way from continuing to use us, possibly even in a greater way. In fact, it would probably even make the work of the Holy Spirit more evident.