WRESTLING IN PRAYER
Text: Col. 2:1-5
Introduction
1. Illustration: During the dark days of the American Revolution, when the Continental Army had experienced several setbacks, a farmer who lived near the battlefield approached Washington's camp unheard. Suddenly his ears caught an earnest voice raised in agonizing prayer. On coming nearer he saw it was the great General, down on his knees in the snow, his cheeks wet with tears. He was asking God for assistance and guidance. The farmer crept away and returned home. He said to his family, "Its going to be all right. We are going to win!" What makes you think so? his wife asked. "Well," said the farmer, "I heard General Washington pray out in the woods today such fervent prayer I have never heard. And God will surely hear and answer that kind of praying."
2. Have you ever agonized in prayer? I mean have you ever been so desperate for an answer from God that you prayed from the depths of your being?
3. That is the kind of prayer that Paul prays for the churches in Colosse and Laodicea.
4. In this text Paul talks about...
A. Struggling In Prayer
B. Struggling For Understanding
C. Struggling For Faithfulness
5. Let's stand together as we read from Col. 2:1-5
Proposition: Effective prayer is characterized by earnestness, ferverency and energy.
Transition: First, Paul talks about...
I. Struggling In Prayer (1).
A. Agonized For You
1. Watchman Nee wrote, "Our prayers lay the track on which God's power can come. Like a mighty locomotive, His power is irresistible, but it cannot reach us without rails."
2. Corrie Ten Boon expressed the life of being a vibrant Christian and she asks, "Is prayer a steering wheel or your spare tire?"
3. All mature adults appreciate the benefits of listening to a musician that has put a great deal of time and energy into their music. So it is with prayer. It is those who spend time in prayer individually, corporately and continually, who bless those for whom they have been praying.
4. In v. 1, Paul says, "I want you to know how much I have agonized for you..."
A. Paul's labor and struggle were not limited to those churches he had planted or even to people he knew personally. Paul also worked on behalf of those who had never met him.
B. He agonized for the Colossians in prayer and with the concern that had prompted the writing of this letter.
C. The New Testament writers used agony concerning the spiritual contest, which each Christian must endure; always in the background was the association of agony with the athletic games of Greece (The Complete Biblical Library Greek-English Dictionary Alpha-Gamma, Under: "72).
D. The word refers to the contests, struggles, and efforts at the athletic games; the toil and conflict to obtain a victory.
E. It refers here to the anxious care, the mental conflict, and the earnest prayer, which he prayed on their behalf, in view of the dangers to which they were exposed to from the false teachers (Albert Barnes, Barnes' Notes on the New Testament, Under: "Colossians 2").
F. Paul struggled, knowing that the false teaching threatened to keep the Colossian believers from maturing in their faith.
5. In addition to the Colossians, Paul says he prayed, "...and for the church at Laodicea, and for many other believers who have never met me personally."
A. Laodicea was located a few miles northwest of Colosse. Like the church at Colosse, the Laodicean church was probably founded by one of Paul's converts while Paul was staying in Ephesus, perhaps even Epaphras, who had founded the Colossian church.
B. The city was a wealthy center of trade and commerce, but later Christ would criticize the believers at Laodicea for their lukewarm commitment.
C. Revelation 3:15-16 (NLT)
15 “I know all the things you do, that you are neither hot nor cold. I wish that you were one or the other!
16 But since you are like lukewarm water, neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth!
D. The fact that Paul mentioned this city and either wanted this letter to be passed on to the church there or wrote a separate one, indicates that false teaching may have spread there as well (Barton, Life Application New Testament Commentary, 877).
E. Paul was so concerned for these two churches that he fought in prayer for their souls.
F. He struggled like Jesus did in the garden where it says that his sweat became like drops of blood.
B. Earnest Prayer
1. Illustration: Jim Cymbala discusses the importance of prayer in his new book Break Through Prayer:
He states, "Everywhere I travel, I keep hearing the defensive teaching that fervent prayer, heartfelt prayer is really overrated and not necessary today. Since God is love, some people reason, we just have to ask once and politely for what we need and everything will turn out fine. No need today for prayer meetings and prolonged times of waiting on the Lord, no answer comes. No, that's part of an old-fashioned, out-of-date theology that belongs to another era...Well, I have two questions in response to all that: 1. what do these words from the Bible mean? And the Lord said, "Listen to what the unjust judge says. And will not God bring about justice for his chosen ones, who cry out to him day and night? (Luke 18:6-7) He also notes; If Jesus himself prayed with "loud cries and tears" at times, then we can certainly feel free and unashamed to pour out our souls to God" (22). 2. When it comes to de-emphasizing prayer and the prayer meeting in churches across the land, where are the spiritual results that prove we have found a better way?"
2. If you want the power of God to be evident in your life you have to be willing to wrestle with Him in prayer.
A. James 5:16 (NLT)
...The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and produces wonderful results.
B. The Christian's most powerful resource is communication with God through prayer.
C. It is the instrument of healing and forgiveness and is a mighty weapon for spiritual warfare.
D. The results are often greater than we thought were possible.
E. Some people see prayer as a last resort, to be tried when all else fails. Our priorities are the reverse of God's. Prayer should come first (Barton, 1093).
F. But one of the major problems that we have with prayer is that we are too passive when it comes to prayer. We think that one, "hey God this would be nice!," is enough to get the job done.
G. However, Jesus taught us that we should keep on asking, keep on seeking and keep on knocking in prayer.
H. We give up too soon, stop too short, and strive too little.
I. We need to be like Jacob who wrestled with God and wouldn't let go until God blessed him.
J. We need to be like Elijah who prayed that no rain would fall and none did for three and a half years.
K. We need to be like those early Pentecostal pioneers who tarried at the altar until revival came.
L. It's time that we wrestle with God in prayer again!
Transition: One of the things we need to struggle with God for is understanding.
II. Struggling For Understanding (2-3).
A. Understand God's Mysterious Plan
1. In order to wrestle in prayer one needs to have an objective or goal in which we want to get an answer from God.
A. For businesses the goal is to be successful and make money.
B. For a sports team the goal is to win a championship.
C. For a student the goal is to get good grades and earn a diploma.
2. For the Christian the goal is grow in your faith and deepen your relationship with Christ. In v. 2 Paul says, "I want them to be encouraged and knit together by strong ties of love. I want them to have complete confidence that they understand God’s mysterious plan, which is Christ himself."
A. Paul wanted those he had not been able to visit to know that he was interested in them and was praying diligently for them.
B. He simply prayed that the Colossians would be encouraged and that they would be knit together by strong ties of love. These two characteristics would help them resist false teaching.
C. Encourage: "to give comfort to another person, to urge a person toward action or a new thought pattern" (NLT Study Bible, 2224).
D. Paul also wanted these churches to have full confidence because they have complete understanding of God's secret plan, which is Christ himself. Christ is the secret, yet he is a secret revealed to those who believe.
E. Complete Confidence: to be completely certain of the truth of something - 'to be absolutely sure, to be certain (Johannes P. Louw and Eugene A. Nida, Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament: Based on Symantic Domains, Under: "31.45).
F. This complete understanding obtained through a personal relationship with Christ himself assures believers of the truth and helps them recognize and avoid heresy.
3. Then in v. 3 Paul says, "In him lie hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge."
A. Everything anyone wants to know about God and his purposes in the world is answered in the person of Christ. The secret is revealed because it is Christ in whom lie hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.
B. It is common to compare anything valuable with "treasures" of silver or gold. The idea here is, that in reference to the wisdom and knowledge needful for us, Christ is what abundant treasures are in reference to the supply of our wants (Barnes, Under: "Colossians 2").
C. True wisdom is found only in Christ; true knowledge is found only in Christ.
D. Knowledge is often described as good judgment, wisdom as application of that good judgment in the form of good actions.
E. The knowledge which is requisite to guide us in the way to life. Christ is able to instruct us in all that it is desirable for us to know, so that it is not necessary for us to apply to philosophy, or to the teachings of men (Barnes, Under: "Colossians 2").
F. The false teachers claimed to have a higher knowledge than what ordinary believers possessed. Against this, Paul argued that all wisdom and knowledge were in Christ and that Christ's treasures were accessible to every believer.
G. Hidden does not mean concealed but rather that they were laid up or stored away to be made available to those who desire a relationship with Christ.
B. Understand The Confident Hope
1. Illustration: Suppose I take my 2 year old to the doctor and he gets a shot in the arm and it really hurts. He doesn't understand that the shot is to help him get better. All he knows is that shot hurt. And daddy just stood there. Doesn't dad know how bad a shot hurts? Was he unable to stop the nurse from giving me the shot? So he gets all his friends together and tells them how painful his shot was and how powerless his dad was to stop it from happening. Is any of that true? Does his dad know how painful a shot is? Yes, of course, he's had many. Was dad powerless to stop the shot? No, his dad brought him in for the shot and could have stopped it at any time. Doesn't his dad care? Very much. He suffers to see his boy suffer, but he knows it's for the child's best. What's the problem? A 2 year-old's understanding is limited. And as a child of God, my understanding is limited. And as much as a toddler's understanding is limited in comparison to mine, so is my understanding limited in comparison to God.
2. We need to gain Christ's understanding and see things through His eyes.
A. Ephesians 1:18-20 (NLT)
18 I pray that your hearts will be flooded with light so that you can understand the confident hope he has given to those he called—his holy people who are his rich and glorious inheritance.
19 I also pray that you will understand the incredible greatness of God’s power for us who believe him. This is the same mighty power
20 that raised Christ from the dead and seated him in the place of honor at God’s right hand in the heavenly realms.
B. I love the phrase that Paul uses here in Ephesians, "flooded with light."
C. What he is saying is that "I want the light to come on," that's what we says when we come to understand something. We say, "Then the light came on!"
D. We need the light to come on and understand what is ours now that we belong to Christ
E. We need to understand the confident hope that we have in Christ, that even when we make mistakes, we are assured that if we continue to follow him that he has prepared a place for him in heaven.
F. We need to understand that we have access to the same mighty power that raised Jesus from the dead.
G. We need to understand that the promises of the Word are our promises, that he will always be with us, that he will not leave us, that he cares for us, and that we can put complete faith and confidence in him.
H. We need to understand that even when we sin, if we confess our sin and turn towards him and away from sin, he will forgive us and take us back.
I. We need to understand that we have victory in Christ!
Transition: Another thing that we wrestle for in prayer is faithfulness.
III. Struggling For Faithfulness (4-5).
A. Living As You Should
1. I think we can all agree that living the Christian life is not easy, and that it is frequently a struggle.
A. Romans 7:21-24 (NLT)
21 I have discovered this principle of life—that when I want to do what is right, I inevitably do what is wrong.
22 I love God’s law with all my heart.
23 But there is another power within me that is at war with my mind. This power makes me a slave to the sin that is still within me.
24 Oh, what a miserable person I am! Who will free me from this life that is dominated by sin and death?
B. So if Paul struggled, can we agree that we too will struggle?
2. However, even though it is a struggle there is victory in Jesus. Paul says in v. 4, "I am telling you this so no one will deceive you with well-crafted arguments."
1. The believers in Colosse already knew what they needed to know to be saved; they already knew the One they needed to know to have eternal life.
2. But they needed to grow to maturity in the faith they had received. That way no one would be able to deceive them with persuasive arguments.
3. The false teachers did a good job of making their teachings sound believable and of using persuasive tactics to cause the believers to question their faith.
4. When believers are fully committed to the truth in Jesus, they will not be easily deceived (Barton, 878).
3. Then in v. 5 Paul says, "For though I am far away from you, my heart is with you. And I rejoice that you are living as you should and that your faith in Christ is strong."
1. Paul couldn't go to Colosse due to his imprisonment, but his heart was with them.
2. He knew that they were living as they should and had strong faith in Christ.
3. These two characteristics caused Paul to be happy, for they meant that the Colossians had not succumbed to the false teaching. They were a unified body, steadfast in their faith (Barton, 878).
4. Some commentators suggest that these are characteristics of a battle scene and fitting of a congregation under fire.
5. Yet Paul expresses delight in their steadfastness and firm faith, probably because he is present with them in spirit; and while Paul's tone throughout this section is harsh toward his opponents, it remains gentle toward his readers (Wall, Colossians: IVPNT Commentary, 103).
B. Faithful As He Is Faithful
1. Illustration: John Wesley once said: "Give me a hundred men who love nothing but God and hate nothing but sin, and I will shake the whole world for Christ." It doesn't take many; but it does take someone who decides to be faithful. In December 1944, the German army launched an unexpected attack. In what was to become known as the Battle of Bulge, the Nazis drove deep behind Allied lines. Writing in WW II about the reaction of the American troops to this attack, James Jones said, “No one of these little road junction stands could have had a profound effect on the German drive. But hundreds of them, impromptu little battles at nameless bridges and unknown crossroads, had an effect of slowing enormously the German impetus. These little die-hard "one man stands," alone in the snow and fog without communications, would prove enormously effective out of all proportion to their size."
2. Everyday their is a battle going on for your soul; will you be faithful in the battle?
A. 2 Corinthians 10:3-5 (NIV)
3 For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does.
4 The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds.
5 We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.
B. Satan is constantly on the offensive, and his goal is to destroy you and cause you to fall away from Christ.
C. He wants to tempt you, and little by little to cause you to doubt and walk away from your faith.
D. But I have good news for you today, greater is he that is in you then he that is in the world.
E. The weapons that we have at our disposal are divinely empowered, and they have the power to destroy the strong holds of Satan.
F. The weapons that we fight with are more powerful than anything in the world or anything that Satan knows and can understand.
G. The weapons are both spiritual and mental because Satan wants to use your own mind against you.
H. But we have the power to take those negative thoughts captive and cause them to obey Christ.
I. Above all he has given us the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God that Satan cannot fight against.
J. In addition to the Word the Lord has also given us our prayer language that we were given when we were baptized in the Holy Spirit. If you want to see Satan run in frustration and horror start praying in tongues next time he bombards you!
K. It may seem overwhelming at times but we have been given all the ammunition to be victorious!
Conclusion
1. Today Paul talks about...
A. Struggling In Prayer
B. Struggling For Understanding
C. Struggling For Faithfulness
2. THREE THINGS TO REMEMBER...
A. WRESTLING IN PRAYER WILL NOT BE EASY, AND AT TIMES WILL BE PAINFUL, BUT THE RESULTS WILL BE OUT OF THIS WORLD. REMEMBER NO PAIN, NO GAIN!
B. ASK GOD TO CAUSE THE LIGHT TO GO ON IN YOU SO THAT YOU CAN UNDERSTAND HIS WILL AND MOVE FORWARD IN YOU FAITH.
C. STRIVE TO BE FAITHFUL IN YOUR WALK WITH THE LORD, AND WHEN YOU SLIP REMEMBER THAT WHEN WE ARE FAITHLESS HE IS ALWAYS FAITHFUL!
