¹⁹ And pray for me, too. Ask God to give me the right words so I can boldly explain God’s mysterious plan that the Good News is for Jews and Gentiles alike.^[a]

³ Pray for us, too, that God will give us many opportunities to speak about his mysterious plan concerning Christ. That is why I am here in chains.

²⁹ And now, O Lord, hear their threats, and give us, your servants, great boldness in preaching your word.

Paul’s Request for Prayer

3 Finally, dear brothers and sisters,^[a] we ask you to pray for us. Pray that the Lord’s message will spread rapidly and be honored wherever it goes, just as when it came to you.

²⁵ Dear brothers and sisters, pray for us.

¹⁸ Pray for us, for our conscience is clear and we want to live honorably in everything we do.

² You know how badly we had been treated at Philippi just before we came to you and how much we suffered there. Yet our God gave us the courage to declare his Good News to you boldly, in spite of great opposition.

⁷ Since you excel in so many ways—in your faith, your gifted speakers, your knowledge, your enthusiasm, and your love from us^[a]—I want you to excel also in this gracious act of giving.

Paul Ministers in Ephesus

⁸ Then Paul went to the synagogue and preached boldly for the next three months, arguing persuasively about the Kingdom of God.

⁴⁶ Then Paul and Barnabas spoke out boldly and declared, “It was necessary that we first preach the word of God to you Jews. But since you have rejected it and judged yourselves unworthy of eternal life, we will offer it to the Gentiles.