A Faithful Aim (Colossians 4:2-6)

A Faithful Aim

Colossians 4:2-6

Sunday, August 23, 2026 — Land O’ Lakes Bible Church

Introduction

I’m sure many of you can relate, but the early days of dating were always filled with lots of conversations. In the case for my wife and I, most of our communication for the first 4 months were phone calls or FaceTime as we dated long distance. With her in Wheaton, IL and me in Bristol, TN.

We would hop on the phone to talk. While conversations ranged on many subjects and various lengths of calls, I remember Wednesday night calls the best for some reason. Not necessarily because the calls on those nights were the best. In fact, they were probably the least coherent conversations.

The reason for that, I was a student pastor at the time. The church where I was serving had a van ministry where we would drive all over Bristol, TN picking up various kids to bring them to our Wednesday night gatherings. Vans that would begin running about 4PM on a Wednesday afternoon and typically not finish until close to 10PM.

And it would be after all that was done, a phone call would often happen between Darcy and I. For I would by then be finished with my Wednesday night activities and she would be finishing with serving the youth at her church, but an hour earlier with the time difference.

And yet, there we were talking for about 30 minutes or so on those Wednesday nights on the phone. Darcy, driving on her way back to her apartment, me trying to stay awake, but wanting to talk. What lengths we would go to in trying to pursue the other through conversation. Maybe many of you were in the same vote in those early days of dating.

But now let’s shift gears a bit, from pursuing someone in dating to our pursuing to speak with God with the same eagerness.

However, the reality is, when it comes to prayer many of us struggle. We struggle to be a people who give ourselves to focused prayer. We struggle to regularly commune with God. Or when we do, it is a quick rambling of a list of wants and desires that we think we need.

Yet, prayer is a vital part of the Christian life and something we should pursue on the regular as it is our means of talking with the Lord, our God. In fact, as we will see in our passage this morning, it is something that we are instructed to do as Christians and should joyfully pursue.

Please then take out your Bibles and open with me to Colossians 4:2-6. That can be found on page #1170 in the Bibles in your seats.

Recap: For the past 11 weeks, we have been working our way here through the book of Colossians. And in this letter, the melody that has been playing in the background is that Christ Jesus is Supreme.  

His supremacy was declared plainly in Colossians 1:15-23 as the one Supreme over creation and redemption. His supremacy was further declared as it was said in Colossians 2:15 that he has disarmed the rulers and authorities, putting them to shame.

And because Jesus is supreme, we are taught that we need not be taken captive by deceit and empty philosophy that would have us turn to anything else for us to walk in a worthy manner of the Lord, that we only need to look to Jesus. That he who has the whole fullness of deity dwelling in him has now filled those who have received him by faith. And this fullness has brought from death to life. Therefore, our eyes and our minds are to be set on Him, and we are to walk in Him just as we have received Him.

This call to walk in Christ is a call to put to death what is earthly in us, to put off that of old and put on the newness of Christ Jesus in us. As we are then called to this high calling to walk in Christ, we are now being instructed to pray, to commune with our Triune God. READ COLOSSIANS 4:2-6…

Main Point: As you seek to put on Christ and walk in Him, be a people devoted in watchful and thankful prayer as those continuously dependent upon the Lord.

1. Devoted in Watchful Prayer

2. Walk Wisely Towards Outsiders

I. Devoted in Watchful Prayer

Here in Colossians 4:2-4, Paul turns from imperatives of how to walk to an imperative regarding prayer. An imperative being that of a command or an instruction.

The imperative here is to be devoted in prayer. To be devoted in prayer is a call for us to remain long and consistent in prayer. Or another way of putting it is a giving ourselves to persistent, ongoing prayer.

This call to be devoted in prayer should not surprise us at all if we are familiar with the Bible. For even as we consider the early church, we read the following in Acts 2:

“And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers.” (Acts 2:42, ESV)

Prayer has and will continue to be an essential part of the Christian life. The reason for this is that it is through prayer that we have been given the great privilege of speaking with our God. For he speaks to us through His given word found in the pages of the Bible with the aid of the Holy Spirit to rightly understand and apply these unchanging words in our lives.

Prayer then is our speaking back to the Lord. It is our speaking to Him in praise for what he has done. It is our making petition to Him for ourselves and others. It is our coming in lament, expressing our sorrow and affliction with complaint that moves to the reminder of hope we have in our God.

John Piper in his book, Let the Nations be Glad, has also described prayer as a War-Time Walkie Talkie. That is, prayer is a means of us getting reinforcements and directions of movement in the battle for our souls and for the souls of others.

And while our lives are hidden with Christ in God and we await to appear with him in glory, at present we are not there yet. And so, we find ourselves waiting.

Waiting as sojourners living in a foreign land with idols seeking to lure our hearts away from our God. A foreign land threatening us if we do not bow down to the idols of this world and affirm all that it does. Therefore, we must be devoted in prayer, being watchful in it as we communicate with the Lord of hosts, the Lord of armies.

A. Watchful in Prayer

This is why Paul adds this instruction to our being devoted in prayer, by telling us to be watchful in it with thanksgiving.

To be watchful is a call to keep alert, to be aware of our surroundings. Consider the watchmen of old who would sit high up in the towers of the city wall where they would keep watch for any intruders that should arise and threaten the city. Their entire duty was to notice quickly and sound the alarm to call the city to prepare for attack.

Therefore, in our being called to be devoted in prayer and watchful in it, is calling us to be alert. We are to stay awake and keep watch lest we should find ourselves under siege by an enemy.

Please do not miss this call to stay awake as a literal call that we can never sleep. The call to stay awake is not a call to never sleep. It is a call for constant vigilance as we live this side of glory. And to remain devoted in prayer in our staying watchful.

1. Watchful in Prayer for Yourself (Your own Sanctification)

I submit to you saints, that the first part of this call to be devoted in prayer, being watchful in it is in regards here to our own walks with Christ. Paul here is concerned with our sanctification, our becoming more like Jesus in putting off these old ways and on these new. So we must be watchful in prayer towards these things.

This implication for this call to be devoted in prayer becomes clear when we consider the context of this command. It comes on the heels of this massive call for us to walk in Christ just as we have received Christ. A call full of warnings to not be deceived and captive by the philosophies of false teachers. Calls to kill and put off our old self, our old nature, while also putting on this new nature in Christ that effects even our various relationships in this world.

He has clearly taught us what this is to look like, but now he emphasizes the key piece of this work to put on and put off. It is not to be done by our own efforts or in our own strength. We are being called to be devoted in prayer, watchful in it so that we may continually be putting off this old nature and on more of Christ Jesus our King!

Furthermore, consider Paul’s prayer earlier in the letter there in Colossians 1:9-14, where Paul prayed on behalf of the Colossians for them in their sanctification. We read there (Col 1:9-14)…

Paul now here in Colossians 4:2 is essentially calling for the Colossians to continue persistently praying this prayer for themselves, for their own sanctification. To keep watch of their own lives, lest sin that they have been waging against reappear suddenly within them.

Just over 10 years ago, I was sitting in a park in Louisville, KY with a friend. We had our feet dangling in the water of the creek as we talked. Out of nowhere a water snake pokes its head up, causing us to have to react in a careful, but quick manner.

Saints, in the same way that this snake popped its head up quickly out of the water, so does our sinful nature. Even that old nature that we may think we have completely put to death.

Therefore, we must be ever devoted in prayer and watchful in it.  We must continuously be praying against the desires of the flesh as we seek to set our minds evermore on our glorious Redeemer, King Jesus.

2. Watchful in Prayer with Thanksgiving

It is to this end that we are then called not just to be watchful in prayer, but to be watchful in prayer with thanksgiving.

This call to thanksgiving in prayer goes back to the very thanksgiving that Paul and Timothy gave to God in prayer for the Colossians back in Colossians 1:3-8. A thankfulness for what the Lord had already done in them in bringing the message of the gospel to them, giving them ears to hear, and working faith in them through the message of the gospel. A thankfulness for the fruit that has already been borne in them and at work in them. A thankfulness for the fullness of what they have received in Christ!

Our present prayers and fight against the things of this world are fueled not out of duty, but by the recalling of what God has already done.

For as important as killing sin and putting off the old is, as important as putting on the new is, as important as being watchful in prayer is against these things, they are not the gospel. They are implications of the gospel as part of the law of Christ.

The gospel itself though is the message of how God has rescued us from our sins, from our trespasses against him. It is the message declaring that Christ has come and lived the life we couldn’t. That he died the death under the judgment of God that we deserved. And that he was raised for our justification. This is the message of the gospel, that in Jesus comes the forgiveness of our sins.

Saints, this is the message that we have heard and believed! And it is this very message of the gospel and what has been done for us that should cause our prayers to be filled with great thanksgiving!  

Therefore, let us be watchful in prayer with thanksgiving by giving thanks to God for the message of the gospel! Let us be devoted in prayer, watchful in it with thanksgiving for how the gospel message has come to us and bore fruit in us, making us new in Christ!

Let us give thanks to God for the ways that he has been transforming us from our old nature and helping us even as we continue the fight against present sin in us.

Saints, there is much to give thanks to God for in what he has done for us in Christ! Let us then not only be devoted in prayer by being watchful against sin in us, but watchful with thanksgiving for what God has already done and is continuing to presently do us in Christ!

For it is in these prayers of thanksgiving that our hearts are stirred to delight in our Triune God and love him more deeply. And it is here with our hearts delighting in God that we are empowered by the hope of the gospel and the power of the Spirit to continue to wage war against sin that remains in us and put on newness in Christ!

But beware a great enemy to such devotion in prayer, the enemy of pride. Pride will kill our prayer lives. For when pride fills our hearts, we are a people who are not full of thanks to God, and we think that by our own strength that we can do what the Lord has called us to in this walking in Christ.

If you struggle with being devoted in prayer, saint, consider part of this struggle might be the pride of your own heart. For pride is self-reliant rather than being dependent on another. Pride boasts in self rather than giving thanks to what another has done. Pride presumes you are pretty good, whereas humility recognizes your ongoing weakness.

Beloved, your path to being devoted in prayer requires the killing of pride within! Therefore, remember the gospel and how it humbles us from such pride. Remember that your only hope is in Jesus and not yourself! Remember the cross of Christ where Jesus died so that you could live! And then as you remember the cross, continually cry out for the Lord to work humility into your heart where you are more dependent on him as that of a little child is on their parents.

B. Pray also for Us (Gospel Advancement)

Paul though does not here only encourage the Colossians to be devoted in prayer for themselves. He encourages prayer towards others. Verse 3…

Paul has two requests for the Colossians to pray for Timothy and him: (1) An open door for the gospel and (2) to make the gospel clear.

1. Pray for an Open Door

First, there is this prayer request for an open door for the word. Paul makes clear here to the Colossians that he is in prison on account of the gospel and his proclaiming it. However, his prayer despite his being in prison is not for his release. It is that God would open a door for the word to continue declaring the mystery of Christ as found in the message of the gospel.

Paul continually desires to share the gospel with those who have yet to hear. He continues to be a faithful steward. And so, he asks that the Colossians would pray that God would open the door for this very thing.

Saints, this is a fitting prayer request for our ministry partners. You desire to know how to pray for them in the work that they are doing, pray that God would open doors for the word to increase in the regions of the world in which they are working in. Pray that God would open doors for the word among their neighbors, among those in their cities. Pray that God would open doors for the word to take root in hearts of men and women and children in these cities. Ask God to open up a door even amongst government leaders and officials.

It too is a fitting prayer for us to pray collectively as a church for our own community. Praying that God would open up for us a door for the word to declare the mystery of Christ here in the Northwoods.

2. Pray the Word be Made Clear

Paul asks that not only would an open door for the word, the mystery of Christ to be declared, but that it would also be made clear. Verse 4…

Notice how Paul says that he ought to speak with such clearness yet still asks for prayers for further clarity in the message of the gospel.

The mystery of Christ in the gospel should be presented in a clear and precise manner as possible. But Paul recognizes here the need for the aide of the Lord to help make it clear so that others may hear and understand.

Again, this is a fitting prayer for us to make for our ministry partners. Praying for them to have a clearness as they declare the mystery of Christ in the gospel. It is also important for us to pray for this in our evangelism efforts here. As we pray during our prayer times for one another, praying for evangelism opportunities, let us pray that these gospel conversations would be clear.

This is even a part of being asked to pray regularly for our Sunday gatherings. As you are encouraged weekly to pray for the preaching of the word. Pray for your hearts to receive it, but also pray for me or others preaching to make the word clear so that it may be clearly and rightly understood.

C. Be devoted in prayer, watchful in it with thanksgiving

Saints, there is much for us to pray about in both our lives and for one another. Let us then be a people devoted in prayer, being watchful in it with thanksgiving so that we may keep alert and endure by the grace of God through the strength of God!  That’s the first truth we need to apply in our lives.

II. Walk Wisely Towards Outsiders

Paul moves from calling us to being devoted in prayer to this call in how to relate towards outsiders.

This language of outsiders is referring to those who are outside the family and people of God. Those who are outside of God’s promised blessings found in Christ. Outsiders, because they have not received Christ through the message of the gospel.

And it is towards these outsiders that Paul instructs us to first walk wisely towards them and then be gracious in speech towards them.

A. Walking in Wisdom

First, we are instructed to walk in wisdom towards outsiders there in verse 5. As we have already seen in Colossians, this call to walk is communicating the normal pattern and behavior of our lives. And therefore, here we as believers are being instructed to exercise wisdom towards outsiders as the normal pattern of our lives.

But we must not miss the clarifier here that is to shape what it means to walk in wisdom towards these outsiders. We are to walk in wisdom towards them, making the best use of the time. Or more literally, redeeming the time.

Saints, if you have not yet come to this reality, I’m sorry to burst your bubble, but time is short. Time is short. Though the days may feel long, the years are short. Parents, just consider how fast your children grow up. You blink and you from a newborn to 7 in what seems like days. And then you blink again and they are graduating and beginning their own lives.

And if this is true of our own children, how much shorter are our opportunities with outsiders regarding the gospel? So, we are then encouraged to walk in wisdom towards them and redeem the time by not wasting it or being slothful in it.

So then, we should seek to walk wisely towards these outsiders. And here are some ways then that we can walk wisely towards them:

· We must not lose this distinction of outsiders and insiders. A great modern-day error exists in that many want to remove barriers for outsiders in seeking to allow them to belong before they actually believe. And while I want to be gracious towards those who have gone down this road, it is a practice that has not been thought through well. Because in practicing this belonging before believing, gospel confusion enters. For when non-believers begin to serve, they begin to think that they belong without understanding that to belong means belonging to Christ. For that is what marks the people of God, that is what sets the church apart from the world.  Belonging before believing confuses the clarity of the gospel and is not a wise use of our time.

· We walk wisely before outsiders by walking distinctly from them in pursuing the things of Christ. Pursuing that of godliness.

· We walk wisely before outsiders by continually putting to death the old man in us, putting off the old ways in which we walked before Christ.

· We walk wisely before outsiders by redeeming the time and seeking to regularly turn ordinary conversations into gospel conversations.

· ???

B. Gracious Speech

Secondly, we are called to be gracious in speech towards outsiders. Verse 6…

How we speak, the words we use towards outsiders are to be that of salt. Salt preserves, not destroys. Therefore, it is not only wives we are not to be harsh with or children in whom we are not to provoke and discourage with our actions and our words. The same is to be true of outsiders.

In our speech towards outsiders, we should seek to be compassionate, gentle, humble, patient, and kind.

As we speak to them, regardless even if they should respond with hostility towards us, our speech is to be gentle and kind as we continue to seek to speak the truth to them and point them to Jesus! We must not become as those who lift our voices in rage against our opponents, for this is not the way of Christ.

But let me now turn myself and speak with you who are outsiders. GOSPEL PLEA!

III. Conclusion

As Christians we have the privilege of speaking with our Great God through prayer. Praising him for what he has done and asking for his continued aide. Let us be devoted then in prayer to this great God of ours who has rescued us from the sins of death and brought us to life in Jesus! Let us seek his aide as we await the day of glory when our Glorious King will appear!

And as we await, let us redeem the time by walking wisely towards outsiders and speaking with grace towards them. May our God strengthen us towards this end!

Let’s pray!