A Prayer Worthy of God's Holy People
A Prayer Worthy of God’s Holy People
Colossians 1:9-14
Since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you and asking God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all spiritual wisdom and understanding. And we pray this in order that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and may 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 joyfully giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the kingdom of light. For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.
How would you characterise your prayers? Are they powerful? Are your prayers heard in heaven so that they are recognised as capable of changing conditions and transforming lives? Or are your prayers mundane, pedestrian, unspectacular? If the proof that you are a Christian depended upon the prayers you offered up before the Lord God, would there be enough proof to convince others that you are a child of the Living God?
Without question each of us who name the Name of Christ long to be powerful in prayer. We read the words of James, the brother of our Lord, and find our spirits strangely stirred. We wish we could be noted as righteous and as one whose prayer is characterised as powerful and effective [see James 5:16b]. Unfortunately, few Christians are able to demonstrate whether their prayer life is powerful and effective. It is for this reason that I encourage people to maintain a prayer notebook in which our prayers are written and in which the manner in which God answers is noted. Whether others ever see the record, our own faith is strengthened and God is honoured, especially as we are able to encourage others to seek our prayer-hearing God.
In the text before us, the Apostle Paul briefly reveals His prayer life to the Church in Colosse. Examination of the apostolic prayer life will serve to encourage us to become prayers and it will serve to strengthen us in our resolve as we are instructed how to pray. Join me in exploring a prayer worthy of God’s holy people.
The Prayer – Since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you and asking God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all spiritual wisdom and understanding. In this brief sentence, we are introduced to the Apostle’s prayer—a prayer which is pithy and passionate. Though we have received the Model Prayer from our Lord, this prayer is more pointed as we discover how to intercede for God’s people.
The Apostle has already related that he prays with thanksgiving for these saints. We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you [verse three]. He could pray with thanksgiving because the Colossians were noted for their faith in Christ Jesus and for their love for all the saints. Perhaps you wonder how faith and love is revealed? Of course, the answer is that faith and love are revealed through service. Faith leads the child of God to obey Christ in all things and love leads the child of God to serve those whom he loves. This is a truth which is unfortunately overlooked among contemporary Christians.
When Paul wrote the Thessalonian church for the first time, he expressed his gratitude to God for them, just as he did for this Colossian church. Listen once more to the opening words in Paul’s first Thessalonian letter. We always thank God for all of you, mentioning you in our prayers. We continually remember before our God and Father your work produced by faith, your labour prompted by love, and your endurance inspired by hope in our Lord Jesus Christ [1 Thessalonians 1:2, 3].
Note the evidence of faith and love expressed within the Thessalonian church. Faith causes us to work. Their work is nothing less than the expression of obedience to what God commands. Similarly, love causes them to toil laboriously [kovpou]. Because we love, we will invest ourselves without reservation in those whom we love. We love God, and since we wish to demonstrate our love to Him we labour for those whom He loved and for whom He sacrificed Himself—the church [see Ephesians 5:25].
Because of their faith and love, the Colossians also worked and served with the result that the message of God’s grace was bearing fruit and growing. Souls were being saved and the people of God were growing in grace and knowledge of the Lord Christ [see Colossians 1:6]. This is the foundation for Paul’s prayers on their behalf. In our text, the words for this reason indicate that he knows of their faith and of their love because he is receiving messages concerning their obedience and their service.
What is our church noted for? I wonder what people think of when they hear about the First Baptist Church of Dawson Creek? I pray that we are a people noted for faith and love. I pray that we are increasingly a people known as workers and as servants. I suspect that we have some distance to go, however. Most of our people are yet uninvolved in any determined manner in the work of the church. There is a place of service for each of us. Nevertheless, I pray that we will continue to reach for the goal of being known as a church where work and service results in the salvation of souls and in the growth of Christians in the Faith of Christ the Lord. However, this longing is an aside to the message—an aside of significance for us as the people of God, but an aside nevertheless. Focus again on the prayer worthy of God’s holy people.
The prayer worthy of God’s holy people is persistent. Paul says that this particular prayer had been continually offered before God since he first heard about the church. Earlier he had said that both he and Timothy were always thankful as they prayed for the Colossians. Literally, they gave thanks at all times [pavntote]. Now, expanding on this continual thankfulness, the Apostle says that since the first time he heard of the Colossians he had prayed for them.
Understand that Paul did not establish this church. It would appear that Epaphras established the church [see Colossians 1:6, 7], and then informed Paul of their existence. Though Paul may have passed through Colosse at an earlier date, his influence was likely exerted during his Ephesian ministry [see Acts 19:10]. He was not well known among the churches of the Lycus Valley where Colosse was situated [see Colossians 2:1], but we might speculate that Paul had personally dispatched Epaphras to evangelise his hometown while Paul remained in Ephesus [inference from Acts 19:26]. What is apparent is that Epaphras enjoyed Paul’s full support. At some point, following establishment of the congregation, the founding minister had reported the fruition of the work to the Apostle with the result that Paul began to pray quite specifically for their continued blessing. The text before us is an account of the specific manner in which Paul prayed for them. This prayer had continued for perhaps as much as a decade or more.
The prayer worthy of God’s holy people is pointed. There is an old saying in the southern United States informing us that if we pray in general, God answers in general. What this means is that we are to pray specifically. When we pray for God to bless our soggy corn flakes, how will we know if He has answered the prayer? If we pray that God will enable us to act with wisdom and speak with conviction and courage, we will know at the end of the day whether God heard our prayer.
Again, if, as we pray, we mindlessly ask God to bless all our missionaries, though He is gracious and may indeed answer this particular prayer, we will not know of the answer. On the other hand, if we pray for God to protect our missionaries from harm, to enable them to speak without hindrance, and to advance the kingdom of God, we have a standard by which to measure the answer God provides.
Paul prayed as an intercessor, for he prayed for you [uJpe;r uJmw`n]. At the time he wrote this letter, the Apostle was a prisoner in Rome. Yet, he set aside concern for his own situation and pleaded for the Colossians. James charges us to pray for each other. Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other [James 5:16]. When we bear one another’s burdens, praying specifically, we practise the law of Christ [see Galatians 6:2].
In out text, Paul prayed that the members of the Church at Colosse would be filled with the knowledge of God’s will through all spiritual wisdom and understanding. Pointedly, the Apostle asks that the Colossian saints have a clear knowledge of God’s will. Apparently, knowing the will of God figured large in the mind of the Apostle, just as it should loom large in our own minds. When we know the will of God, we will act with wisdom and understanding.
The prayer worthy of God’s holy people is passionate. Paul realised that those for whom he prayed had been qualified to share in the inheritance of the saints within God’s Kingdom of Light. Whereas once those for whom he prayed had been identified with the kingdom of darkness, they were now part of the kingdom of the Son of God. In Him, we have redemption, even the forgiveness of sins. This is a passionate issue with those who are so delivered.
Some have wondered on occasion why I seem to weep so easily as I speak of judgement or as I speak of the freedom I enjoy in Christ. I struggle to speak of what God has accomplished in my life without feeling deeply my gratitude to Him. I was under divine condemnation and sentenced to death when God saved me. I was brought from a life marked by filth and muck when He set my feet on the solid rock. He struck off the chains which had bound me in darkness and gave me freedom to walk in the light. How can I speak of that transition and of that transformation without deepest emotion? You, also, if you have experienced that freedom in Christ, will find it difficult to speak without feeling deeply the sense of gratitude to Him who loved you and set you free.
Paul asked God on behalf of the Colossians. The verb he used [aijtouvmenoi] originally meant to want or to demand something as one’s share. This concept does not apply in approaching God, but God does encourage His children to make requests of Him. Everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened [Matthew 7:8]. No Christian can demand anything of God, but he can ask Him for that which He has promised to give. Paul’s request, delivered in the middle voice, demonstrates his strong interest in seeing this request brought to pass, and his plea brought him into emotional union with the Colossians. Underscore in your mind that the Apostle involved himself emotionally when he prayed for the Colossians.
The Reasons Behind the Prayer – We pray this in order that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and may please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work. What sort of requests do you make of God on behalf of your fellow worshippers? What sort of requests do you make of God on behalf of your Pastor? What sort of requests do you make of God on behalf of your spouse who shares your faith and your life? Paul gives us insight into what changes we should seek as we pray for others.
Remember that the Apostle is praying that the Colossians will be filled with knowledge of God’s will as expressed through spiritual wisdom and understanding. It was knowledge of their faith in Christ Jesus and knowledge of their love for all the saints which prompted the Apostle to pray with thanksgiving, but now to their faith and love he is asking that God will reveal His will, together with spiritual insight and understanding. Why pray for such things.
We pray this in order that you may live a life worthy of the Lord. A prayer worthy of God’s holy people will ask that God will reveal His will in order that those who know His will, will live a life worthy of Him. What does it mean to live a life worthy of the Saviour?
We are saved by grace and not on merit. Consequently, none of us deserve salvation. Nevertheless, God showers us with His love and draws us to salvation in the Son of God. Thus, it is the grace of God which makes us worthy of fellowship with God. Having come into this living relationship with the Son of God, our worth is decided by obedience to the message of life. Jesus calls us to a life of radical abandon and we are responsible to obey Him. Anyone who does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me [Matthew 10:38].
Knowing the will of God, we are obedient to that will. Consequently, our obedience is fitting for those who are redeemed. As we live in obedience to Christ the Lord, we demonstrate our suitability to be called by His Name. Underscore in your mind that we do not live right in order to be called by His Name, but because we are called by His Name, we live right and thus honour Him.
This same truth is seen elsewhere in Paul’s letters. For instance, in the letter to the Philippians is an exhortation is to demonstrate obedience to the Gospel of Christ. Whatever happens, conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ. Then, whether I come and see you or only hear about you in my absence, I will know that you stand firm in one spirit, contending as one man for the faith of the gospel [Philippians 1:27]. In Ephesians, Paul urges us to live a life worthy of our calling [Ephesians 4:1]. In First Thessalonians, believers are called to live lives worthy of God, who calls you into his kingdom and glory [1 Thessalonians 2:12].
By this particular call, Paul links the motive and the goal of Christian service. The goal of our prayer is that God is glorified through obedience to His will, but the motive for this obedience resides in what God has done for us. He saved us and revealed His will, and thus we obey Him. Underscore in your mind this instruction which Paul delivers. We are taught to pray that as fellow believers have received the Lord Christ as Master of life, they will find themselves impelled to honour Him through obedience in all things. The principle of this particular aspect of our study is that if we know the will of God, whether expressed through the Gospel or whether expressed in the calling we have received, we are accountable before the Lord to live a life pleasing to Him. We are to honour Him through obeying His will.
We pray this in order that you may … please Him in every way. Associated with obedience to the Master is this business of pleasing Him. Obedience honours Him, but we enjoy a love relationship. We serve Him, not out of craven fear, but out of a sense of love. He redeemed us from condemnation and set us free from guilt, and we are therefore committed to finding what pleases the Lord.
In Paul’s encyclical is an extended passage which is germane to this particular issue. Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children and live a life of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.
But among you there must not be even a hint of sexual immorality, or of any kind of impurity, or of greed, because these are improper for God’s holy people. Nor should there be obscenity, foolish talk or coarse joking, which are out of place, but rather thanksgiving. For of this you can be sure: No immoral, impure or greedy person—such a man is an idolater—has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God. Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of such things God’s wrath comes on those who are disobedient. Therefore do not be partners with them.
For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light (for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness, righteousness and truth) and find out what pleases the Lord [Ephesians 5:1-10].
Based on the love of Christ for us, we are commanded to imitate God through living a life of love. The Apostle then becomes quite pointed on the manner in which we live a life of love. Avoiding even the suggestion of sexual immorality or uncleanness (approval of homosexuality or pornography) or greed is the first evidence of a life of love. If these commands are somehow thought to be imprecise, the Apostle appends three hapax legomena—words which occur only once in Scripture—obscenity, foolish talk and coarse joking. Christians should not be compelled to express themselves through cursing, through double entendre or scathing witticisms. Instead, we demonstrate our relationship to the Father through thanksgiving.
Before we focus again on the primary purpose for this excursus, note that the Apostle becomes quite pointed in stating who is excluded from the Kingdom of God. Immoral, impure and greedy people have no place in the Kingdom of God. This verse is an iteration of a previously published verse found in 1 Corinthians 6:9, 10. Do you not know that the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor male prostitutes nor homosexual offenders nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God.
How I live does not save me; but how I live determines whether I have been saved. In my life, I am to do that which honours God who saves me. Living a life without concern for how it reflects on the Father demonstrates that I am one with the disobedient, and ensures that the wrath of God yet rests on me. Again, in the passage in Ephesians, the summary statement urges us to live as children of light. This is accomplished as we find out what pleases the Lord.
We pray this in order that you may … bear fruit in every good work. We pray that fellow believers may know the will of God, may be filled with spiritual wisdom and understanding, so that they may bear fruit in every good work. I am distressed by the condition of the churches of our Lord in this day. In far too many instances, those calling themselves by the Name of the Son of God have decided that the Christian Faith is a spectator sport. We are saved to serve! Each Christian is called to bear fruit.
I am deeply moved by the words of the Master which have been recorded for our benefit in John 15:1-8. I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful. You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.
I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. If anyone does not remain in me, he is like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you. This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.
Fruit is the natural product of the disciple of Christ. Because we are united to the vine—Christ the Lord—we will of necessity bear fruit! This is foundational to the call for professing Christians to grow in grace and knowledge of the Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ [see 2 Peter 3:18]. No doubt fruit refers to those coming to faith in the Son of God and to the spread of the Gospel [see Colossians 1:6], but it must also refer to the fruit of the Spirit—love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control [Galatians 5:22, 23]. It is impossible to bear fruit without knowing the will of God.
Permit me to take a moment to explore what we have discovered so far in the text. Christians are to pray for their fellow saints to know the will of God and to be filled with spiritual wisdom and understanding. By thus seeking what honours the Lord, those for whom we pray will bear fruit, please God and live a life consistent with what they profess. In short, the churches among whom those saints worship will be godly and the Faith of Christ the Lord will spread rapidly. Because we love our fellow believers, we pray for them, knowing that as we pray for them they will glorify God.
The Expressions Result from our Prayers – A life worthy of the Lord and pleasing to Him will be evident to all who know us. Paul lists three expressions which reveal that we have attained such a life. The first evidence is that A life worthy of the Lord and pleasing to Him is revealed through bearing fruit in every good work [verse ten]. This statement assumes that Christians are active. A Christian that does not invest life in the Body is at best a stagnant Christian. That statement is made with a view to confronting each of us to review whether we have invested ourselves in the life of the Body!
Christians are expected to be vibrant and alive, participating in the life of the Body. Church is not a place for us to go once a week. Church is who we are. We are the Body of Christ, the Community of Faith, the Living Expression of God at work in a darkened world. Consequently, each of us is called to be on mission with God. Though not all of us are to leave family and home, journeying to exotic locations, each of us is on mission with God. We need to realise that we are to work for Christ.
Paul saw ministry as a struggle in which all Christians were invited to join in [Romans 15:30]. Christians are called to give themselves fully to the work of the Lord, knowing that their labour in the Lord is not in vain [1 Corinthians 15:58]. God’s grace abounds in us so that we will abound in every good work [2 Corinthians 9:8]. The Body builds itself up as each part does its work [Ephesians 4:16]. Our life is described as a struggle [Ephesians 6:12]. We are each responsible to work out our salvation with fear and trembling [Philippians 2:12]. The Christians life is an active life.
Overarching the words of encouragement to be fruitful is the apostolic command reminding us: whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men [Colossians 3:23]. When the Apostle speaks of his calling in Colossians 1:28, 29, an individual could draw the erroneous conclusion that this work was performed in isolation. We proclaim him, admonishing and teaching everyone with all wisdom, so that we may present everyone perfect in Christ. To this end I labour, struggling with all his energy, which so powerfully works in me. Paul spoke of his labours in an effort to call others to join him in the work.
I have spoken of all this, not because I want us to exhaust ourselves in tiresome toil, but that we might work with a goal. The proper goal is that we will be fruitful in every good work. A Sunday School teacher has no business teaching if there is no change in his or her students. There should be a steady stream of souls coming to faith in the Son of God through our Sunday School. There should be a steady growth in grace and knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ as result of our Sunday School. If such change is not noted, there is no fruit in this labour.
There should be growth in Christian character as result of every Bible study. There should be souls brought into the Kingdom of God through our witness. There should be developing throughout the homes represented among us godly families as result of our instruction of our children. Otherwise, why pretend that we are Christian? Our language should be progressively transformed as we walk with Christ. Our lives should reveal increased grace as we walk with the Living God. Our actions should be increasing Christlike if we are indeed investing time in the presence of Jesus.
A life worthy of the Lord and pleasing to Him is revealed through growth in knowledge of God. Every member of this church is a theologian. Whether one is a righteous theologian or whether one is an unrighteous theologian is revealed in his or her view of God and of His character. Unfortunately, too many professing Christians are ignorant of the character of God. Peter urges the young Christians who are part of the Diaspora to grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ [2 Peter 3:18]. Christians are expected to specifically demonstrate increasing knowledge of the character of the Saviour. If I know no more of the Saviour today than I did a year ago, it is effective evidence that I have failed to spend time in His presence.
Moments ago I stated that a Christian who fails to invest himself or herself in the Body of Christ is a stagnant Christian. The evidence that far too many of the professed saints of God are stagnant is seen in the fact that they know little of Christ. Every Christian should be able to speak of the Person of Jesus our Lord. Each Christian should be capable of telling a lost soul of the salvation of Christ the Lord. That so few tell others of Him is evidence that they are stunted in character and in knowledge of the Lord.
I notice something of deepest significance in the account of the first church. Listen to Doctor Luke’s description of those first saints. They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. Everyone was filled with awe, and many wonders and miraculous signs were done by the apostles. All the believers were together and had everything in common. Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need. Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favour of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved [Acts 2:42-27]. Notice the activities of the first church, and the order in which Luke relates those same activities.
First, they devoted themselves to apostolic doctrine. They wanted to know what the Apostles would say concerning the Lord. Then, they devoted themselves to the fellowship. They wanted to spend time together. Then, they devoted themselves to worship, but there is not a hint of music at this point! Their focus in worship is Christ as Redeemer! At last, they devoted themselves to prayer—they petitioned the Lord on behalf of others. Only after all these aspects of the church are noted does the divine author possibly note that they engaged in praising the Lord!
The reason I point this out is to point out the contrast in contemporary Christians. We too often seek to entertain ourselves, calling our efforts worship! Vibrant songs and repeated choruses with exciting rhythms are what we call worship, and we believe that this is paramount if we will grow! A semi-entranced state seems almost mandatory for contemporary worship, not unlike the efforts of some shaman. The first saints focused on knowing the Lord and then on knowing one another—and they did grow. Regardless of how much I enjoy lively music, I must caution that if we neglect biblical truth—that is, doctrine—we will never worship, nor will we grow in knowledge of God and of Christ.
A life worthy of the Lord and pleasing to Him is revealed through being strengthened with all power, resulting in endurance, patience and joyful thanksgiving. Paul prayed that the Colossians would be filled with knowledge of the will of God in order that they might be strengthened with divine power, demonstrating endurance, patience and joyful thanksgiving. Whatever else may be true, the Christian life is a strenuous life. This Faith we possess is demanding, and we must prepare ourselves for prolonged conflict.
The military, prior to lowering standards so that women could qualify to serve as combat troops, set a standard which was physically demanding. Those troops meeting the standards were forced to strengthen their muscles so that they could carry heavy loads, march long distances and engage the enemy. That regimen of basic training was the first step in continued training designed to make a soldier strong. After basic training, the soldier was sent to Advanced Infantry Training (AIT) where they were trained to endure long periods of wakefulness and yet be prepared to engage the enemy.
I find it surprising that secular armies recognise the need for soldiers to be strong and prepared to endure hardship, yet the armies of the Lord expect ease. Perhaps we are not convinced that we have an enemy of the soul. Perhaps we do not really believe that our loved ones are under sentence of death. Perhaps we do not believe the Lord. Whatever may be the cause, the churches of our Lord demonstrate decided weakness in opposing evil and a failure to endure hardship. Because contemporary Christians are so focused on the self-life, we fail to reflect a spirit of joyful thanksgiving.
This glaring failure is precisely the result of ignorance of the will of God, with the concomitant loss of spiritual wisdom and understanding. Thus, you realise the vital importance of praying for one another, asking the God clearly reveal His will to us, and that we seek to know what that will may be. As you pray during this coming week, I urge you to ask that God will reveal His will for each member of the Body. Better yet, name the members of the congregation by name, asking that God fill each one with the knowledge of His will through all spiritual wisdom and understanding. Ask that you have opportunity to witness His grace in answering this request as together we live lives worthy of the Lord, as we endeavour to please Him, as we bear fruit in every good work, and as we grow strong in the Faith and gain endurance and patience. Amen.