A prayer for all seasons – Colossians 1:9-14
By James Galbraith
First Baptist Church, Port Alberni
September 16, 2007
Text
9 For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you and asking God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all spiritual wisdom and understanding.
10 And we pray this in order that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and may please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God, 11 being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience, and joyfully 12 giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the kingdom of light.
13 For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, 14 in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.
Review
Last week we were introduced to the early church in ancient Colossae. We learned that Colossae itself was a diminishing city – once great but now slowly crumbling.
The church there was new, and composed of a mixture of Jewish and Greek converts to Christianity. The apostle Paul has written this letter to them to correct some errors that have crept into their church, but before he tackles these problems he introduces himself and affirms that they share a common hope through the gospel of Jesus Christ.
He now shares with them a powerful prayer that touches upon all the important elements of their faith. It is my goal this morning to work though this prayer, so that we can have a model to work from when we pray for each other.
Before we dig into the meat of this prayer, let’s consider this story:
Introduction
In a seminary missions class, Herbert Jackson told how, as a new missionary, he was assigned a car that would not start without a push.
After pondering his problem, he devised a plan. He went to the school near his home, got permission to take some children out of class, and had them push his car off.
As he made his rounds, he would either park on a hill or leave the engine running. He used this ingenious procedure for two years.
Ill health forced the Jackson family to leave, and a new missionary came to that station. When Jackson proudly began to explain his arrangement for getting the car started, the new man began looking under the hood.
Before the explanation was complete, the new missionary interrupted, "Why, Dr. Jackson, I believe the only trouble is this loose cable." He gave the cable a twist, stepped into the car, pushed the switch, and to Jackson’s astonishment, the engine roared to life.
For two years needless trouble had come become a routine. The power was there all the time. Only a loose connection kept Jackson from putting the power to work.
J.B. Phillips paraphrases Ephesians 1:19-20, "How tremendous is the power available to us who believe in God." When we make firm our connection with God, his life and power flow through us.
Prayer is an essential part of that vital connection,
and it is a prayer that is at the heart of our passage today.
VS. 9 – Praying for you
9 For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you and asking God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all spiritual wisdom and understanding.
“For this reason”, attaches what we’re going to see with what’s already been said.
Paul had encouraged them that they are part of something big,
the spreading of the gospel,
and that they can have hope because of the God behind the message.
It is their bond in the gospel message that prompts Paul to pray for them – they are brothers and sisters in Christ even though they’ve never met.
That still rings true today – when we join the Christian faith through our commitment to Jesus Christ, we enter a family of millions, most of whom we’ll never see.
“Heard about” - even though Paul and Timothy have never met these people in Colossae, they pray for them constantly
And their prayer is so insightful, caring, deliberate, comprehensive
(and short!)
- “not stopped” doesn’t mean they are babbling over and over again
- Jesus warns against this in Matt. 6:7
7 And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans,
for they think they will be heard because of their many words.
- it means persistent, targeted prayer
- same kind of prayer that brought the Iron Curtain down and continues to shake the world
The main “request” in their prayer for the Colossians is that they would be filled with
“Knowledge of God’s will”
– that they would be intimately aware of God’s desire for their lives,
- not just head knowledge but heart knowledge too,
which involves changed lives
And that they would become aware of God’s will through,
“Spiritual wisdom and understanding”
(as opposed to earthy wisdom, which will be discussed later)
In short, they are praying that the Colossians will draw closer to God through getting to know him better,
with the understanding that “knowing God” means far more than having a casual acquaintance with him!
Vs. 10-12 the heart of the prayer
The prayer’s hope is that they will live life’s worthy of the Lord, and strive to please him in every way.
A life worthy of the Lord is not only a life that shows our love for him,
it also is a reflection of the amazing love he has shown us in his son.
It doesn’t mean we have to be perfect overnight, but that we take his love for us seriously and try to show it in the way we live!
Pleasing him in every way means bringing all parts of our lives under his Lordship
- habits, friendships, possessions, family, the works.
- they all still matter, but God directs how we live and deal with them.
We work toward this goal in four different ways, as shown in Paul’s prayer:
1. bearing fruit in every good work
2. growing in knowledge of God,
3. being strengthened in all (His) power
4. giving thanks to the father for the amazing love he’s shown.
1. bearing fruit in every good work
- even as new Christians, we have awesome privilege of being a part of God’s active work, doing things which will build his church and touch people’s lives with his love.
- they weren’t given the line “you’re not ready for this yet”, they were encouraged to be a part of the work, and not neophyte spectators
Another thought – is it possible to NOT bear fruit in good works?
Can we do good deeds, but not see fruit come from them?
I believe we can, if we “perform” good deeds for wrong reasons,
such as pride, guilt, vanity.
But the point here is that the Christians here, as fresh as they were, are still expected and encouraged to start serving the Lord in good works, right from their birth, and keep serving until they’re dead.
You’re never to young or too old to serve the Lord – so don’t bother making the excuses.
2. growing in knowledge of God
- always more to learn!
- if you tell others you know more than they do, you have more to learn!
- not just information about God, but also knowing him more
“knowing” was much more an intense concept than it is now,
involved deep, close relationship, not just casual acquaintance
- we know God more when we learn about him, trust in him, pray to him, study his word, talk about him with others, etc.
3. being strengthened in all power
- living for God means getting his help to do his work!
- we don’t have to rely on our own power to appease a distant, demanding god!
Instead, he gives us power to do his work, his way, for his glory and our growth!
He calls us to his standards, but he also gives his guidance and power to get there!
Imagine teaching a child to ride a bike
– you hold the seat until she’s ready to ride on their own.
With God and his work, he keeps holding the seat, never leaving us on his own
We still tackle harder and harder trails,
and live through harder and harder trials,
But he never lets go!
The presence of his power in our lives builds endurance and patience in us, they are by-products of his presence
When we come to God for patience,
he uses his presence in our hardship to build it.
And by the way, I’ve been told many times to be careful asking for patience!!
4. giving thanks to the Father
- in all this we give thanks to the Father who loves us and sent his Son for us!
This was to remind the Colossians of what their faith is built on,
and what our first reaction to God should always be.
“qualified you to share…”- a promise to the Colossians
that even though they are new to the faith,
and so far out of the way,
and even though many of them weren’t Jewish converts,
(most Christians were at this period)
that they were just as much a part of God’s love and future blessings as every other believer
vs. 13-14 – reminder of God’s ‘already love”
Paul wraps up this potent prayer by reminding the Colossians of what God has already done for them.
When we’re being encouraged to grow in faith,
it’s good to hear what that faith has already done in our lives!
The distance he has already brought us is so much farther,
so much bigger than the journey we still have ahead of us.
We have been brought
from darkness to the Kingdom of God
from condemnation to redemption
from damned to forgiven!
That distance took the life, death and resurrection of the Son of God to bridge, so wherever he wants to take us now is easy! (for him, not for us)
To wrap this up, how does this prayer minister to us today?
1. God wants what is best for us and is willing to help us get it!
I don’t mean riches and perfect health, but rather a life lived in his love and for his glory!
“live a life worthy of the Lord and pleases him”
- not an “easy street” life, but a life full in faith and trust
We show our love for him and please him by
getting to know him better,
working for him,
relying on his strength and
showing gratitude for his continuous love.
2. it is also an encouragement to see how even a short prayer can be so effective
- we don’t have to be as eloquent as Paul, it’s the heart that counts
- there is nothing more powerful for us to do then to kneel down and pray – God hears the sincere prayer, and acts according to his wisdom
3. Finally, it serves as a reminder of the amazing love God has already shown,
and is willing to keep showing to all who love him (and even those who don’t).
