Colossians 1:9-12
For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you. We continually ask God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all the wisdom and understanding that the Spirit gives, so that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God, being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience, and giving joyful thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of his holy people in the kingdom of light.
Devotion
As Pastor Bob stated in his message a week ago, Colossians is a companion letter to Paul’s letter to the church at Ephesus. Ephesians is about the body of believers, called the church, of which Christ is the head. Colossians focuses our attention to the head of the body, who is Christ. In this letter Paul emphasizes that Christ is “the fullness of God.”
Historians believe that the church at Colossae met in the home of Philemon. Colossae was a great fortress city and was considered the doorway to the Orient. During the time of its writing, the people of Colossae had fallen into paganism and great immorality. No doubt it would have been difficult to live for Christ in such an environment. Paul understood that in order to thrive in these hostile conditions, believers would have to be grounded in their understanding of the person and work of Christ.
Once again, we see the heart of a shepherd as Paul prays for these believers. He prays that they would be “filled with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding.” During this time period, a heretical group called the Gnostics claimed to have special knowledge about Christ that others didn’t have. Paul prays for the believers in Colossae that they would have superior knowledge that comes directly from God.
The stated purpose of Paul’s prayer is that the believers in Colossae would “walk worthy of the Lord.” This is similar to how Paul opened his letter to the Ephesians (see Ephesians 4:1). Given the nature of the culture in Colossae, Paul knew that the believers would be tempted to submit to the culture and worship the idols of the day. He knew that they would need strength and truth in order to withstand the evil of the day.
As you can see, Paul’s prayer is very practical. After evaluating their situation, Paul asks the Father to give these believers exactly what they needed. As we look at Paul’s prayer, it is easy to see the relevance today as we experience the difficulty of living for Christ in a post-truth culture. This prayer is the prelude to some pretty heavy theology. We will take a closer look at this theology the rest of the week.
Questions to Ponder
How can we thrive spiritually in this post-truth culture? What does Paul’s prayer teach us about praying in evil times? Why is absolute truth important for a society? How are you being tempted to surrender to the changing standards of our society?
Prayer Points
- Hallowed be His name from your own heart. Worship our mighty God as the Lord of heaven and earth, revealer of Truth, Savior of the world, wonderful Counselor, Redeemer, Alpha and Omega, faithful and true!
- Thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, for your own salvation and relationship with Him. Thank Him for brothers and sisters at Oak Pointe Church and surrounding churches (just as Paul thanked God for those in Colossae – see Colossians 1:3-8).
- Thank God for their faith in Christ Jesus and their love for all the saints—the faith and love that spring from the hope that is stored up for you in heaven.
- Thank God for the Gospel that is growing and bearing fruit all over the world in and through Oak Pointe Church and the greater one church. Thank the Lord for our local and global missionaries.
- Ask the Lord to help us to grow in our prayer life.
- Pray we all will be faithful ministers of Christ Jesus and united by the bond of love in the Spirit. Pray we will be in the world but not of it. Ask for wisdom for yourself and God’s church to daily reflect Him and His love by the power of the Holy Spirit.
Suggested Prayer
Abba, we join in with our brother Paul’s prayer from Colossians 1:9-14. We ask, first, that You would grip our hearts for the place of intercession, and that we too would be ones that never stop praying for others. Mark each one of us with this holy calling and blessing that You invite and empower us into, to partner with Your heart in the place of intercession. Help us all to be mature and fully assured of all of Your will.
We pray back Your Word now and lift up ourselves, the saints at Oak Pointe Church, and the greater one church throughout the world.
We ask God that You would fill us with the knowledge of Your will through all spiritual wisdom and understanding. We pray this in order that all of us will live a life that is worthy of the Lord and may please You in every way, bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of You, oh God, being strengthened with all power according to Your glorious might so that we may all have great endurance and patience, and joyfully giving thanks to You, our Father, who has qualified us to share in the inheritance of the saints in the kingdom of light. Thank You, Abba, for rescuing us from the dominion of darkness and bringing us into the kingdom of Jesus Christ, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. I ask all these things in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen (prayer adapted from Colossians 1:9-14).