A Prayer for the Church

Introduction:

It helps to know people are praying for you. But so often we will tell people that we are praying for them and we don’t follow through. Or, we make quick little nothing prayers for them that are really just cop outs to say we prayed, but we really aren’t saying much, especially when we remember that God doesn’t need our prayers and we aren’t informing Him of anything!

But how special it is to know not only that someone is praying for you, but to get to hear what they pray! Paul, not only thought it was important to pray for the Colossians, but he also thought it was important for them to hear his prayer for them. We have this prayer recorded in . Tonight, we are going to take a closer look at Paul’s prayer.

1. To be filled with the knowledge of God’s will (v.9a)

2. To have all spiritual wisdom and understanding (v.9b)

3. To walk in a manner worthy of the Lord (v.10)

A. Pleasing to God (v.10)

B. Bearing Fruit (v.10)

C. Increasing in the knowledge of God (v.10)

D. Being strengthened by God (v.11)

E. Having endurance and joy (v.11)

4. Thanksgiving for what God has done for the Church (v.12-14)

A. God has qualified them (v.12)

B. God has given them an inheritance (v.12)

C. God has transferred them to His kingdom(v.13)

D. God has redeemed them (v.14)

E. God has forgiven them (v.14)