Devote yourselves to prayer and it’s application

If you have ever taught a Sunday School class to young children you have probably discovered that the answer to the question is always God, Jesus or the Bible.

Now it may well be a commentary on your teaching skills that the children haven’t actually heard the question.

Or it may simply be that we haven’t put enough thought into how we communicate the Scriptures to young minds.

All to often I have had to stop and take the time to really consider what it is I am teaching and how I communicate it.

You see if a child answers a question with an answer that has no connection to what you have just been talking about, then something is very wrong.

Quite simply they haven’t grasped the point.

It is often the same with a call to prayer.

As a pastor you sometimes get this feeling that somehow the communication hasn’t really worked.

It goes something like this.

“Let’s pray for the church to have a heart for evangelism!”

Someone responds with, “Hallelujah Lord, Give Pastor Stephen great power in preaching your word, give Pastor Stephen a special touch of your Spirit to declare the Gospel with power and conviction Lord so that people will be saved”

Now if I was to say to that person that I would certainly like to see the Lord at work in my life in this manner but this wasn’t the sort of praying that I had in mind.

Then they might respond with, “Hallelujah Lord, Give Pastor Toni great power in preaching your word, give Pastor Toni a special touch of your Spirit to declare the Gospel with power and conviction Lord so that people will be saved”

Now while Toni would also like to see the Lord at work in her life that way and there is actually nothing wrong with the prayer as a stand alone request.

In fact it would be great to see this sort of praying.

But in context I was actually asking for something else.

For the church to devote itself to prayer and it’s application.

Somehow the point hasn’t quite got across, the idea is to call the church to prayer for the church to be involved in evangelism.

Prayer for the mission of the church isn’t praying that the leaders alone see the victory.

It isn’t that the leaders alone are exclusively gifted to do the work of ministry.

Prayer for the church to be involved in mission is asking that the church be devoted to intercession and it’s application.

To give the right answers we first need to understand and ask the right questions.

In Colossians 4:2-6 the Apostle Paul wrote to the church about prayer.

These few verses are right in the middle of a whole heap of practical instruction on how the church was to live as a witness in a society that knew nothing of the Gospel.

The fundamentals of prayer

There are some fundamental concepts in this instruction.

Look closely at Colossians 4:2

Colossians 4:2 NLT

Devote yourselves to prayer with an alert mind and a thankful heart.

There are three key words in this single sentence about our approach to prayer.

Devotion

Devote yourselves to prayer carries the sense of action.

Devotion isn’t an emotional response to something or someone.

When we are devoted to someone there is far more than an emotional attachment. Devotion properly expressed is active.

We act for, on behalf of, in the the best interests of. We put time and effort in because that which we are devoted to is important.

The English Standard Version uses the term “Continue steadfastly in prayer”.

What the various translations are trying to convey is to be persistent.

To keep on doing.

This is the same idea conveyed in

1 Thessalonians 5:17 NLT

Never stop praying.

In the midst of a whole list of exhortations to do things which build us up to live out the Christian faith is a simple phrase, “Never stop praying”

Be continually in a place of prayer.

But Colossians 4:2 goes even further than this, in the original Greek, is the idea of mighty power in this action of keeping on doing.

We don’t just do prayer, we are to be prayerful in all we do.

For in this prayerfulness is a place of spiritual power

Keep Watch

The second key word is Keep Watch.

When a person is given the responsibility of keeping watch, they are to be the one who is awake, alert to what is going o around them.

You may have seen a movie where the person on watch isn’t paying attention. It might be that the beautiful maiden draws their attention away from the task.

Now the beautiful maiden may be a genuine love interest, or her motives may be more sinister.

She is a diversion so that the person on watch doesn’t see the danger approaching the camp.

Being watchful is about seeing what is actually going on, not being distracted by unimportant things.

Being watchful includes the moral courage to focus on the task and the mental alertness to actually watch what is important.

It is exactly the same in prayer.

Praying watchfully in Colossians 4:2 isn’t going on about speculative ideas about end times or conspiracy theories as we so often see people do.

The context and the words used in this passage don’t allow that interpretation.

Colossians 4:2-6 is praying with an eye to the opportunities for the gospel to be declared in peoples lives.

What is going on that will open the opportunity to share Christ, what is going on that means people are going to be more accepting of the message.

What is going on that will compel you to step forward in faith and share the message yourself, instead of hoping someone else will do it.

Thankful

The third key word is thankful.

Actually the literal expression is “being watchful in thankfulness”

This is important always but especially in times of challenge.

Paul clearly states in verse three that he is in prison.

Now that would be pretty challenging for anyone.

I have visited a few people in prison and one or two about to go to prison.

None of them were particularly excited about it.

But even in this situation, Christians are to be thankful.

Thankful for all that God has done through Christ, thankful for every opportunity to share the gospel with those around them.

Thankful for every opportunity that others have to share the gospel.

And thankful for every thing that God will do so that the Gospel message spreads.

In Colossians 4:2 we see a threefold rhythm.

Intercession; watching for answers to prayer; thanksgiving when answers appear and always

1 Thessalonians 5:4-11 sheds more light on our approach to prayer.

We are not to be focused and distracted about the end.

We should be sure that our place at the end of time is secure because of Christ.

Then we are to be children of this day, this time.

Keeping watch over a sleeping world; a world which has no understanding of their fate without Christ.

A world which is the object of God’s love.

A world that Christ died for.

John 3:16 NLT

“For this is how God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.

This world, all its people is to be the object of our love, so we need to be devoted to watchful focused prayer for it.

What to pray for

Now it is all good to understand the approach we should take to prayer, however you need something specific to pray about.

Colossians 4:3 ESV

At the same time, pray also for us, that God may open to us a door for the word, to declare the mystery of Christ, on account of which I am in prison—

The specific request is that God will open a door for the message.

Now this could mean admission of Gentiles to the people of faith.

Or it could mean the prison door that which represents the challenges to ministry so that Paul can get his message out.

The phrase literally means “A door for the word”.

A path for the word of God to enter into the hearts and minds of individuals.

It is a spiritual pathway for the word of God to work into peoples lives so that they can be transformed.

Here the word of God is personified.

The concept is of a person, the living word Christ himself entering in through a door.

A door to the soul, where a soul can be transformed into a child of God.

What happens when we pray this way

God works through apostolic preaching, supported on a foundation of intercession; so that the mystery of Christ is at work in people’s lives.

This is why we preach.

So that the mystery of Christ is proclaimed in peoples lives.

The plan of salvation for the world is Christ, who he is, what he has done.

Our responsibility; To Live wisely as a witness

Colossians 4:4–6 NLT

Pray that I will proclaim this message as clearly as I should. Live wisely among those who are not believers, and make the most of every opportunity. Let your conversation be gracious and attractive so that you will have the right response for everyone.

It is no use praying if you don’t live out the prayers.

It is more than explaining a truth, it is revealing the truth through the mystery of Christ at work in your life.

So pray devotedly, watch for how God is at work opening doors for you to declare the mystery of Christ through words and actions and always be thankful for all that Christ has done and is doing.

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