Sermon Tone Analysis

By Pastor Glenn Pease

Dietrich Bonhoffer was a leader in the church of Germany at the time of Hitler's rise to power.

He opposed Hitler and was imprisoned in 1943.

He did not cease to influence people, however, even in prison.

He inspired others by his courage.

The guards were supposed to be his enemies, but they so respected him that they smuggled out his writings that have influenced millions since.

One of the men who was in prison with Bonhoffer was the English officer Payne Best.

He survived the war and wrote this account in a book.

I want to share it with you because it represents the kind of example of Christ likeness that we see in the Apostle Paul, who wrote the letter of Colossians from his prison cell in Rome.

Best wrote- "Bonhoffer-was all humility and sweetness, he always seemed to me to diffuse an atmosphere of happiness, of joy in every smallest event in life--He was one of the very few men I have ever met to whom his God was real and close to him."

Then after Best describes a service that Bonhoffer held for the prisoners on Sunday, April 8, 1945 he wrote, "He had hardly finished his last prayer when the door opened and two evil looking men in civilian clothes came in ;and said 'prisoner Bonhoffer, get ready to come with us.'

Those words, come with us-for all the prisoners they had come to mean one thing only--the scaffold.

We bade him good-bye-he drew me aside-this is the end, he said.

For me the beginning of life.

Next day, at Flossenburg, he was hanged."

This courageous optimism in the most negative of circumstances is one of the characteristics we see in the Apostle Paul.

In his prison epistles we do not hear any whining or complaining, but only words of joy and thanksgiving.

Paul had indeed learned to be content in every state of life.

He too faced death at any time, yet he wanted to use his time to write and encourage others.

His negative experience has led to positive results in the lives of millions through history.

George Jackson, in a tribute to Robertson Nicole, the editor of the British Weekly said, "He flung down a bunch of keys for me, and has set me to opening doors for myself on every side of me."

This is what Paul has done for the Colossians and for the whole church of Christ.

He has thrown down a bunch of keys that enable us to open doors to God's best on every side.

As we focus on v.3, we can see that Paul has given us three keys to a better prayer life.

The first key is-

I. THE PARTNERSHIP OF PRAYER.

Notice Paul says, "We always thank God."

He does not say I thank God, but he included his partner Timothy.

The idea of a prayer partner is very Biblical.

Jesus said prayer is more powerful when two agree on what they desire from God.

In Matt.

18:19-20 we read, "Again, I tell you that if two of you on earth agree about anything you ask for, it will be done for you by my Father in heaven.

For where two or three come together in my name, there am I with them."

It seems as if God has designed prayer to be a promoter of unity, fellowship and brotherhood.

He has promised to answer more effectively those prayers that come from a partnership.

This is a key to a better prayer life, but it is often neglected.

We have potential power in prayer that we seldom use.

Cabeza deVaca tells of how he and his companion explorer went from Florida to the Pacific between 1528-1536.

On one occasion they were lost and starving and in a state of despair when they were found by Indians.

The Indians felt that since they were white men they should have the power to heal some of their sick.

They were miserable themselves and now they were expected to heal others or die.

He wrote, "We prayer for strength.

We prayed on bended knees and in agony of hunger."

Then they blessed the sick Indians, and to their amazement the ailing redmen said they were made well.

DeVaca wrote, Being Europeans, we thought we had given away to doctors and priests our ability to heal.

But here it was, still in our possession.

It was ours after all; we were more than we thought we were."

The fact is, all of us are more than we think we are.

If we form partnerships in prayer we will have a key that will open many doors that otherwise might never open.

When Jesus taught the disciples to pray, He made it clear he expected them to pray in partnership.

He used only plurals.

It was our Father, give us this daily bread, forgive us, and lead us not into temptation.

Every believer needs to develop some relationship with another believer where they feel like true partners in prayer.

In prayer, the loner is a loser.

We may pray much alone, but we need to know that there is someone else who is one with us in our praying.

When Lavonne and I began to hold hands each night, and talk over requests, and agree on what we desire to bring before God, it lead to so many answers we stopped keeping track of them.

We are convinced any couple would be enriched if they would begin this practice of partnership in prayer.

Learn how to enjoy the we of prayer.

In verse 9 Paul says again, "We have not ceased to pray for you."

A we prayer is a better prayer than an I prayer, and so the more you pray in partnership the better prayer life you will have.

II.

THE PERSISTENCE OF PRAYER.

Paul says, "We always give thanks."

Always refers to the persistence of Paul's prayer.

The modern language Bible puts it, "We constantly give thanks to God."

In verse 9 we see this emphasis again, "and from the day we heard of it we have not ceased to pray for you."

Paul did not just say prayers, he prayed, and there is a world of difference.

I can say a prayer in a matter of seconds, but to pray takes up a part of my consciousness, and becomes a real concern of my life.

This kind of prayer does not cease, for it is a persistent factor in ones life.

Paul wrote this letter as a part of his prayer concern.

Prayer is not only asking God for His guidance, it is the listening and responding to His guidance.

Paul's response in writing this letter is a part of the circle of prayer.

It is Gods answering his prayer for them through him by writing to them the things they need to hear.

Persistence in prayer means there is some listening and follow-up.

It is not just flashing a telegram to God, but a listening for an answer, and putting feet to your prayer by doing what you can to be a part of the answer.

This is another partnership in prayer, for it is a partnership with God.

God does not want to work alone any more than we do.

He wants to work with us and have us work with Him to achieve His purpose in history.

In verse 9 Paul says he has prayed for them to be filled with the knowledge of God's will.

He asked God to do this for them, and then he wrote this letter to tell them the will of God and thus, he was an answer to his own prayer.

He was a partner with God.

Much unanswered prayer is due to our not persisting in prayer until we see how we can be partners with God in answering it.

Persistence is a test of our sincerity.

Much prayer is a matter of routine and can easily be superficial, but if you persist and thank God always for certain aspects of life you demonstrate a true and deep interest.

By his persistent prayers Paul proves he really cares about the Colossian Christians.

Paul makes it clear that he expects them to also pray for him.

In 4:2-3 he writes, "Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful.

And pray for us, too, that God may open a door for our message....." Paul wants their partnership in prayer too, and we thus can conclude that the number of people caring about a matter enough to persist in seeking God about it makes a difference with God.

Persistence is a principle that is necessary for success in any area of life.

The more you use things the more they wear out and become useless, but the more you use the things of the spirit the more they develop and become more useful.

Professor Phelps in his "Autobiography with Letters", tells of how he hated his first concert of classical music.

He decided to keep on trying to enjoy it and the day came when the symphony became one of his greatest pleasures.

The first time he read Browning he was not impressed, but he persisted in reading until he came to almost idolize the man's writings.

If we keep at something and persist in seeking its value we can come to love and value what we did not care about at all.

This is the point of persistence in prayer.

We give up to soon and lose the joy of answered prayer that would make it a greater pleasure rather than a chore.

What do you pray for always?

III.

THE POSITIVE OF PRAYER

The prominent part of Paul's prayer was thanksgiving.