Colossians1v9to12: PAUL'S PRAYER FOR THE COLOSSIANS

Introduction.

Paul informed the Christians in Colosse: For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you. v9. Paul had prayed for the Colossian believers since being told by Epaphras of their love in the Spirit. I am not sure what the little phrase, love in the Spirit, means. When we say, two people are one in spirit we mean they share the same beliefs, objectives and enthusiasm. So if we love in spirit we share the same love - in this case for Jesus and his followers.

It is important for Christian leaders to pray for those who share their devotion to Jesus. Paul, having heard about the Colossian's faith and love, prays that they will continue to grow both in grace and knowledge.

(1) Paul's prayer for knowledge.

(a) Paul prays that the Colossians might know God's will.

We spend quite a lot of time in prayer letting God know what our will is and urging him to make it his will too. We forget what Jesus taught us to pray: "Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name; thy kingdom come, thy will be done."

There is nothing in the opening lines of the Lord's Prayer about OUR will. Instead we are directed to pray that God's will be done. Now if that is our priority in prayer it is important to know in general what God's will is.

We are given lots of information in Scripture about the desire of God. The Beatitudes describe the sort of person God wants us to be. The Parable of the Sheep and Goats identifies the type of acts God approves of. Jesus' final prayer for his disciples indicates what he wants for us in life. See John17v6to25.

During my days teaching in Debenham High I used to love to sing the school hymn - particularly the fourth verse:

          Be our strength in hours of weakness,
          In our wanderings be our guide;
          Through endeavour, failure, danger,
          Father, be Thou at our side.

(b) Paul also prays that the Colossians will be given wisdom and understanding.

The Colossians needed more than knowledge of God's will in general. They also needed to be able to apply that knowledge in practice; in day to day living. This requires wisdom. Below is an example:

On just one occasion our last pastor lost his temper with me. He went ballistic. I just happened to disagree with a point in his sermon. Our pastor said that church membership should not depend upon a person being baptised. I told him that insofar as we were a Baptist church it was not expecting too much of applicants for membership to be baptised. I made my view known in a good humoured fashion. I certainly did not deserve the pastor's ill tempered outburst.

I was able to forgive my pastor quite easily. I knew why he was upset! Our organist had muttered as she left our chapel: "You need to stop him from moving the flower display off the front table when he gives his children's address. It is very, very annoying." Unfortunately the pastor was just behind the organist and heard every word. His anger at me was a case of transference. He was really angry with the organist. Knowing this and being hot tempered myself I easily forgave my pastor - much to his surprise!

(2) Paul's prayer for good conduct.

Paul wrote: 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. v10.

There are 4 points to make.

(a) The life we live should be worthy of the Lord.

As a school teacher it is wonderful when a pupil produces work and exam performances worthy of your teaching. I taught a girl like this. She excelled at GCSE. Then she transferred to a prestigious public school where she won the Geography prize in the lower sixth. After a great A level result Victoria took a degree in the subject.

Recently I received an email from an old pupil who is now a missionary in Laos. He has a string of qualifications to his name: B.Th, M.Th and a PhD in Theology. What pleased me was Garry's admission that despite his qualifications he still models his sermons on my old school assembly addresses - packed as they were with anecdotes.

Paul prayed that the conduct of the Colossians should match up with Christ's teaching. This should also be true of us. For 20 years I was the sports organiser at Pioneer Camp - a Christian camp for young people. I took my role seriously and did a fine job. However, old Albert did a better job. It was easy to mock Albert. If I was entertaining the kitchen staff at the end of the day with a risqué anecdote, Albert was inclined to leap to his feet and suggest a time of prayer. He was a very obstinate man. When we camped at Orford he tried to persuade me that a wind off the North Sea was coming from the West! BUT there was one way Albert surpassed me. He took with the utmost seriousness Jesus' command to his followers to make disciples for him. Albert had a burden for souls. It was his top priority. He undoubtedly led several young people to the Lord. In that respect Albert lived a life worthy of the Lord.

(b) The life we live should please him in every way.

I taught several boys and girls who pleased me in many ways. Take Kate, for example. She was hard working, keen, could take a joke against herself, didn't mind the occasional pat on the head, had a sense of humour, admired her teacher .... . But did she please me in every way? No, she had an obstinate streak when it came to wearing the school uniform. Kate was inclined to experiment!

Paul prayed that the Colossians would please God in EVERY way. This is a tall order! Take the Beatitudes; these are a challenge because our response to each individually can vary from very bad to excellent. Just consider the first Beatitude, "Blessed are the poor in spirit." How does our humility rate:

Very bad: Proud, arrogant, boastful.

Bad: Self-conscious, self-centred, worried about what people think.

Average: Aware of our worth, not pushy, realistic.

Good: Modest, unassuming, self-effacing, can laugh at ourselves.

Very Good: Unself-conscious, unaware of value and virtue, will undertake the lowliest of tasks, puts others first, unassuming, can take criticism.

We please Jesus when we wash one another's feet!

(c) The life we live should bear fruit.

What good fruit should we bear? Let us consider just one important fruit, namely, kindness. It is one of the Beatitudes. It is one of the fruits of the spirit Paul lists in his epistle to the Galatians. Kindness is the virtue that separates the sheep from the goats in the parable of that name. Jesus makes it clear what kindness consists of: Feeding the hungry, providing a drink for the thirsty, showing hospitality, relieving dire poverty and visiting the shut in. I have often been glad of a cup of tea: When cutting the yew trees in our chapel graveyard, after a tedious morning session at our Association Business Meeting and on hot afternoons refereeing football matches at Pioneer Camp. I still remember our cook, Freda, for the mugs of tea she sent out to the hot and bothered sports organiser. We don't forget acts of kindness - nor does God!

(d) The life we live should bring us closer to God.

We don't just grow in the knowledge of God through Bible study, meditation and prayer. We will also get to know God better as we work for him. It is as we bear fruit in every good work that our knowledge of God develops.

Employees find out a lot about a boss while working for him or her. They discover what is acceptable and what is unacceptable. They find out how far their employer will back them up. The employee discovers the extent to which the boss values their imput and the extent to which certain qualities are taken for granted.

I can write from experience. God supports me when I serve him. For instance, I am endowed with the spirit of cheerfulness when I vist the old and shut in. They tell me my visits do them good!

God gave me a little extra something when I spoke at whole school assemblies. The children never thanked me for my Geography lessons but they did thank me for my assemblies. God, the Holy Spirit, helped me capture pupil's attention in those assemblies. He was pleased when I spoke about Jesus. For an example of one of my little talks: See, 'The Hug'.

(3) Paul's prayer for specific virtues.

The virtues that Paul singles out were in all probability those they were lacking.

(a) Endurance.

William Barclay writes: Endurance is the ability to deal triumphantly with anything that life can do to us. It allows us to rise to the challenge of overcoming difficulties. It is the attitude of the sportsman who eagerly looks forward to, and delights in, taking on any opponent, however skilful.

When I was a young man in my twenties I looked forward to playing cricket against Lakenheath. They had the best fast bowling attack in the whole of West Suffolk. It was led by Colin Rutterford who later became a fixture for Suffolk among the minor counties. I excelled against Lakenheath because of my attitude - because of my endurance.

It is good to have this attitude to Christian work. I think I had it when serving at Pioneer Camp. I rose to the occasion and with God's help served effectively.

(b) Patience.

This is the quality that ensures we are long suffering in our relationships. It is the disposition of heart and mind that allows a person to bear with the failings of others without bitterness or despair. It is the spirit that never loses patience with, belief in, or hope for a man or woman.

There is a growing tendency in England for non-conformist ministers to give up after about ten years. Dr V. Raymond Edman, late president of Wheaton College, used to remind his students, "It is always too soon to quit."

Think what the church would have lost if the great apostle Paul had given up on the wayward fellowship at Corinth. We wouldn't have his two epistles to the Corinthians and the wonderful truths they contain.

(c) Joyful thanks.

William Barclay reckoned that joy is a radiant and sunny hearted attitude to life. Christian joy is joy in any circumstances. This is not exactly what I think! I don't believe it is possible for Christians to be joyful on all occasions. Jesus was not joyful at the tomb of Lazarus or in the Garden of Gethsemane. However, Christians should have episodes of joy. We should, for instance, be intensely happy whenever we celebrate our adoption by God into his family. Our status as sons of God and joint heirs with Jesus is something to be joyful about.

In the final months of our prayer meeting at the Baptist chapel in Brockley my old friend Peter Chaffey and I used to vie with one another to best express our thankfulness for all God had done for us. Our prayers were a great blessing to one another and to the faithful few who attended the meetings. I have quite often been thanked for my public prayers although I am never conscious of "praying well" - which leads me to the conclusion.

Conclusion.

Paul acknowledged that the Colossians will only develop endurance, patience and joy as they are strengthened with all power according to his (God's) glorious might.

We need God's help if we are to mature as Christians and bear fruit to Christ's glory. It is when we are plugged into God's glorious might that we become truly a blessing and a boon to others. It is on such occasions that we shine for Jesus.

          Shining for Jesus in a world of sin;
          Shining for Jesus, bringing lost ones in;
          Shining for Jesus, glorifying Him;
          Shining all the time for Jesus.

ANY COMMENTS FOR JOHN REED: E-mail jfmreed@talktalk.net

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