Colossians 4:2-6

Devote Yourselves To Prayer

Paul commands the church at Colossia to devote themselves to prayer. This means that they were to be commited to praying. They were not to do it periodically and sporadically, but to pray often and with consistently.

Paul knew that prayer was necessary for the church to accomplish the mission of the Lord which was to spread the gospel. Prayer has a way of causing us to focus on the gospel. For example prayer serves as a reminder to confess our sin for the purpose of forgiveness. 1 John 1:9

1 John 1:9 NASB95

If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

When we confess our sin it is a reminder to us that Jesus paid the price for our sin and He is our Savior. As we consistently pray we will recognize Jesus as our Savior and tell others that they too can be forgiven of their sin and be saved by Jesus.

Keep alert with an attitude of thanksgiving

Paul is reminding the church to not become lazy in their prayer life. They need to be alert in praying. They need to listen to the Lord and make request in accordance to His will. They need to make their request known to the Lord.

Christians become lazy in their prayers when they say the same prayer rover and over again that have no meaning. Jesus calls them empty words that have no meaning. Matt. 6:7

Matthew 6:7 NASB95

“And when you are praying, do not use meaningless repetition as the Gentiles do, for they suppose that they will be heard for their many words.

Just because we pray long prayers doesn’t mean that the Lord will hear and answer them. When we pray we are to pray for the Lord’s will to be done,we need to ask for the Lord’s provision, forgiveness, and deliverance from evil. These seem to be generic request that do not have much meaning, however when you pray these things in the context of your life they make all the difference in the world.

Let’s analyze these prayers. When we ask that the Lord’s will be done, we are asking Him to use us in accomplishing His will. We must be sensitive to His Spirit in our prayers to know how we can effect His purpose through our lives.

When we ask for His provision, we are demonstrating our dependence on Him to supply our needs. Our needs come from Him through our jobs, the generosity of others, and many other ways He chooses to supply our needs. When we have specific needs He invites us to make them known. He will answer based on His determination as a need or a want that He blesses us with that is for our ultimate good and His glory. This is why we can have a heart of thanksgiving.

When we ask Him to forgive us of our sins as we forgive others of their sin against us, we are reminded to forgive others as Christ has forgiven us. Eph. 4:32

Ephesians 4:32 NASB95

Be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you.

When we forgive others of their sin we are forgiven of our sin and it reminds us of the wonderful gift of forgiveness and salvation. For this we can be thankful.

When we ask Him to deliver us from evil, we are asking Him to save us from our fleshly desires. We do not have a chance to overcome our evil desires on our own. It is only God who can deliver us from our self. It is in this that we can rejoice because He gives us the grace and power to overcome our own evil desire. For this we can be thankful

Pray for the gospel to spread

Paul ask the church to pray for him as he went out to share the mystery of Christ. What is the mystery of Christ. Eph. 3:4-6

Ephesians 3:4–6 (NASB95)

By referring to this, when you read you can understand my insight into the mystery of Christ, which in other generations was not made known to the sons of men, as it has now been revealed to His holy apostles and prophets in the Spirit; to be specific, that the Gentiles are fellow heirs and fellow members of the body, and fellow partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel,

The mystery of Christ is the gospel. People can be forgiven of their sin and have salvation of their soul through Jesus Christ

Conduct Yourself With Wisdom Towards Outsiders

Christians have an obligation to the lost. We must live our lives wisely so that they may see Christ in us and desire to know Him.

The lost world is watching Christians because they really want something to believe in. Unfortunately they prefer to see Christians fall morally so they don’t have to surrender their lives to Jesus. Instead they can justify their sin by saying Christians are no different than them. However, when they see Christians living wisely they are drawn to it and desire “the secret” which is no secret at all. It is living obediently to the commandments of Christ consistently.

Ephesians 5:15–16 (NASB95)

Therefore be careful how you walk, not as unwise men but as wise, making the most of your time, because the days are evil.

Christians are to make the most of every opportunity. There will be times when unbelievers will face times of uncertainty and hardships. They will seek you because of your demonstration of wisdom. Christians need to use that opportunity to share the gospel.

Have Graceful Speech

Just as salt brings out the good flavors of food, our speech should bring out the good qualities of others. Eph. 4:29-31

Ephesians 4:29–31 (NASB95)

Let no unwholesome word proceed from your mouth, but only such a word as is good for edification according to the need of the moment, so that it will give grace to those who hear. Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice.

Our words should be a blessing to others not a curse. They should be truthful and purposed in love.

We are not to cuss or tell inappropriate jokes. We are not to laugh or encourage such behavior. Instead we are to use our speech to edify, teach, and encourage others.