“What To Pray For This Year”
Colossians 1:9-14
Today is the first Sunday of a New Year! Perhaps you made a New Years resolution. Many of us do. Here is some interesting information about New Years resolutions from thee University of Scranton. Journal of Clinical Psychology, (Published: 12.13.2012)
The Top 10 New Years resolutions for 2012
1 Lose Weight
2 Getting Organized
3 Spend Less, Save More
4 Enjoy Life to the Fullest
5 Staying Fit and Healthy
6 Learn Something Exciting
7 Quit Smoking
8 Help Others in Their Dreams
9 Fall in Love
10 Spend More Time with Family
Percent of people who are successful in achieving their resolution 8%
Percent who have infrequent success 49%
Percent who never succeed and fail on their resolution each year 24%
I find the next two statistics interesting, especially because I turned 50 last year!
Percent of people in their twenties who achieve their resolution each year 39%
Percent of people over 50 who achieve their resolution each year 14%
So if you’re my age or older, the chances of keeping your resolution are much slimmer. Probably because the #1 resolution is losing weight, and that gets pretty tough the older you are.
The start of a New Year allows us to reflect on our goals and to consider a “fresh start.” Paul’s desire for the believers in Colossae was that they would be “filled with the knowledge of God’s will.” Today we will study Paul’s prayer for the Colossian church as a model to help us know how to pray for ourselves and others this year.
I. As we begin this new year, Pray to be FILLED with the KNOWLEDGE of God’s Will.
The book of Colossians was written during Paul’s imprisonment in Rome. The church at Colossae was established by those who worked with Paul, possibly Timothy or Epaphras. Yet he writes in a very personal way. The entire first chapter is an emotional appeal to the believers. Paul affirms his love and concern for them. Much of the chapter is a lengthy prayer that he describes in great detail. Paul describes his efforts in prayer in 1:3-8. Following that description, Paul gives them the content of his prayer in a lengthy sentence that stretches all the way from verse 9-20. This is one of those lengthy Greek sentences filled with clauses, prepositions, participles and phrases that modify phrases. The NIV breaks 1:9-14 into 3 sentences and 1:15-20 into 5 sentences, but it’s just one long complex sentence in Greek.
The key request of this entire prayer is found in v. 9 “to fill you with the knowledge of his will.” Everything else in this lengthy sentence describes one of the aspects of this request. It’s easy to lose sight of this central request, or to never see it because of the volume or words that Paul uses, but it’s right there for us to observe. Paul’s #1 concern for these Christians was that they would be filled with the knowledge of God’s will.
This is not a request that they would be given the luxury of knowing the particulars of what they should do about one thing or another. Paul is not thinking of “God’s will” in the sense that we often think of it - “should I buy this car, take this job, write this letter,” etc. Paul is really praying that they would know God more! This is the theme of this entire prayer, and it is also a theme that we can use to provide focus for our lives at the beginning of this new year.
Note how everything in Colossians 1:9-20 relates to the request that God would “fill you with that knowledge of his will.” This is actually a quick outline of the prayer, but it is helpful to see the scope of the prayer before we dig into the deeper meaning of the central request. Note the following parts of this prayer:
- The FREQUENCY of the prayer. 1:9a “we have not stopped praying for you.”
- The FULFILLMENT of the prayer. 1:9b “through all spitiaul wisdom and understanding”
- The PURPOSE of the prayer. 1:10a This is an infinitive and emphasizes the goal of living a life centered on knowing God. By doing so, they would “Live a life worthy of the Lord” (walk worthy of the Lord, in the KJV)
- The RESULT of the prayer. This is expressed in 1:10b-12 through FOUR PRESENT PARTICIPLES in Greek. These words describe the result that will take place in the life of a believer who grows in their knowledge of God’s will. The present tense indicates that these are continually occurring realities. In other words, God will continue to provide these things as you continue to grow in him:
a. Bearing fruit. (1:10)
b. Growing. (1:10)
c. Being strengthened (1:11)
d. Giving Thanks (1:12)
We will discuss these again at the end of this message.
The final section of the prayer is
- The POWER behind the prayer. This section contains deep theological truths about Jesus. Some of the richest teaching about Christ is located in these verses! For example, verse 15 teaches us about the eternal nature of Christ (“He is the firstborn or all creation.) Verse 16 teaches us about the creative power of Christ (“all things were created by him and for him”). Verse 18 teaches us about the central authority of Christ over all thing (“he is the head of the body the Church.”) Sometimes in our effort to teach these theological truths, we lose sight that this powerful passage about the deity and authority of Christ is contained within a prayer that Paul prays for a Church he had never visited! This should encourage our hearts that the power that we have in the Christian life - the things that we pray for and hope for - are secured for us through the power of Christ himself! As we consider all that Jesus has done for us, and all of his power, we are comforted because we know that he hears our prayers!
II. As we begin this New Year, Consider What it means “to be filled with the knowledge of His Will”
Simply put, it means to be CONSUMED with God. The word “filled “ in Colossians 1:9 “that God would fill you with the knowledge of his will,” is a word that means “filled completely.” It was a common word. One of the ways that it was used in the first century described “a ship’s sail filled out by the wind” (BDAG). This word carries strong theological meaning. It relates to the filling that God provides for his children.
The other key word in this phrase is “Knowledge.” This heavy theological word means spiritual knowledge imparted by God. It is likely that one of Paul’s concerns for the young church in Colossae was that they would be drawn away from Christ by those who advocated the pursuit of a deep mystical knowledge of the realities of the world. This type of mystical pursuit would take these Christians (and us) away from the reality of knowing God. Paul’s prayer reflects his desire that they know God for who he really is, and not a substitute experience falsely called “knowledge.”
This kind of knowledge comes only by REVELATION from God. The knowledge of God is Something that only God can give. How foolish it would be for us to claim that our efforts to figure out the universe could result in knowing God! The only way possible for us to know God is if he reveals himself to us, which he did when He sent Christ into this world (John 1:18)
So this prayer is the prayer that they would KNOW GOD.
This is something entirely different than knowledge about God.
This is INTIMACY with GOD
Illus - In today’s world of Smart Phones, tablets and instant internet access, there are many things that we can “know.” If someone asks the questions, “how long is the Verrazano Bridge,” a nimble person with a 4 G connection and an Iphone can ask Siri, “How long is the Verrazano Bridge,” and they will get an almost instantaneous response. But if we had sitting here an 85 year old retired construction worker that spent 2 years of his life building the Verrazano bridge in his 20’s we would get the right information, but we would also get it with great passion.
KNOWING GOD means knowing him PASSIONATELY
KNOWING GOD means being SATISFIED with him
KNOWING GOD means DESIRING HIM
KNOWING GOD means DELIGHTING in HIM
Henry Blackaby once said, “Your life is the sum of the responses you have made toward God. Once God makes himself known to you, what you do next is your decision. Your reaction reflects what you believe about Him”
II. An important question to answer is whether or not this is really the theme of Paul’s Prayer?
Grammatically, YES. This is the central part of the prayer contained in this long Greek sentence.
Contextually, YES. From the rest of the book, we know that Paul was deeply concerned that the Colossian church experience the true knowledge of God. For example, Colossians 2:2 provides the the PURPOSE for Paul’s writing of the epistle to the Colossians. "My purpose is that they may be encouraged in heart and united in love, so that they may have the full riches of complete understanding, in order that they may know the mystery of God, namely, Christ," Colossians 2:2
And in the same chapter, notice Paul’s use of this world fulness. Colossians 2:10 "and you have been given fullness in Christ, who is the head over every power and authority." Here, fullness relates to their knowledge of Christ.
We also know that Paul’s greatest passion in life was to know God more deeply. In another book written at the same time, from the same point of imprisonment in Rome, Paul gives a summary of his life’s pursuit. Philippians 3:10 "I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death,"
So it is clear that knowing God more deeply was the greatest concern in Paul’s life. It is why he preached the gospel, even at great personal cost. He wanted to help people to know God in the only way that such knowledge is possible, through a relationship with his Son.
III. What Does God Produce in the Lives of Those who Know Him? (Col 1:10-12) Here, we return back to the four present tense participles that provide us with a very detailed description of the result that will be provided to all those who know God. Notice that each of these four blessings address the great passions of the human heart. These are the things that we all yearn for. These are the things that motivate our lives. These are the attributes that prompt songs to be written, careers to be pursues, wars to be fought, families to be raised, cities to be built. These yearnings of the human heart are completely fulfilled through the knowledge of God! And when God fulfills these desires, they are fulfilled completely, leaving us satisfied and joyful!
A. FRUITFULNESS. “bearing fruit in every good work”
1. Our desire for SUCCESS will be satisfied
2. Our desire for SIGNIFICANCE will be satisfied
B. GROWTH. “Growing in the knowledge of God.”
1. Our desire for KNOWLEDGE will be satisfied
2. Our desire for IMPROVEMENT will be satisfied
C. STRENGTH “being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience”
1. Our desire for VICTORY will be satisfied
2. Our desire for POWER will be satisfied
D. GIVING THANKS “giving thanks to the Father who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the kingdom of light.”
1. Our desire for HAPPINESS will be satisfied
2. Our desire for SECURITY will be satisfied.
Of ALL The things we could ask for this year, the desire to KNOW GOD is the only request that will truly satisfy the longings in our heart.
Knowing God means having a relationship with him through his Son. It means forsaking all other pursuits to pursue him. It means inviting him to be the center of your life. It means dedicating everything that you have and all of your aspirations to knowing him and doing his will.
I propose to you that this is the most worthy goal that you can have this year. God invites you to know him. He has provided his Son as the source of light so that you can know him. All that you have to do is receive that light.
