I hope you remember the Peanuts cartoons. One day Lucy and Linus had a chicken wishbone and were going to pull it to make a wish. Lucy was explaining to Linus that if he got the bigger half his wish would come true. Linus said to her, ‘Do I have to say the wish out loud?’ Lucy said, ‘Of course, if you don’t say it out loud it won’t come true’.
So Lucy went ahead and made her wishes first. She said, ‘I wish for four new sweaters, a new bike, a new pair of skates, a new dress and one hundred dollars’. Then Linus made his wishes and he said them out loud. He said, ‘I wish for a long life for all of my friends, I wish for world peace, I wish for great advancements in medical research’. About that time, Lucy took the wishbone and threw it away saying, ‘Linus, that’s the trouble with you. You’re always spoiling everything’.
Two different wishes, two different prayers, two petitions asking for very different things.
Today we begin to look at Paul’s prayer in Col 1:9–14. These verses are not grammatically easy for Paul piles idea upon idea as he brings the needs of the Colossian church before the Lord. The purpose of the prayer is made clear in verse 10, ‘And we pray this in order that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and may please him in every way’. This is why Paul prays, and I think he shares his prayer with the Colossians and with us because he wants us all to learn to pray this way.
‘For this reason’, Paul writes in verse 9, ‘since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you’. (Col 1:1:9). ‘For this reason’? For what reason? What reason drives Paul to petition God on behalf of the saints in Colossae? It’s the thankfulness the apostle has for the church. ‘We always thank God, the Father of the Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you’—Paul says in verse 3—‘because we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus’.
Paul’s thankfulness for the Colossians in verses 3–8 provides the fodder for his intercessory prayer in verses 9–14. Their faith in Christ, their love for the saints, their longing for heavenly realities—Paul is thankful and he intercedes—he prays that God will give the Colossians more of the same. What Paul has thanked God for (verses 3–7) are now the kind of things which Paul prays for more of in verses 9–14. This drives us to an extremely important conclusion: although we are inclined to pray for people and situations only when they fall into desperate need, Paul’s common practice is to pray in all circumstances for those entrusted to him.
When life derails and we are on the rocks, these are the times when we pray with a renewed sense urgency. When there is accident, illness, financial pressure, moral failure, dissension in the church, a difficult decision, tensions in the family—these are the times when we are driven to prayer. In itself, this type of prayer is not bad. It’s great that we take our needs and fears to God.
But if we pray only during these times, we are overlooking a great lesson from the apostle’s prayer life. Paul tells us in verse 9 that he prays for others even when there are signs of life and power and grace. Paul’s concern is that such signs should be protected and increased. So after Paul gives thanks for a particular situation, he doesn’t move on to pray for another groups of believers—he keeps praying for the church that is doing well. Paul prays just as earnestly for a healthy, mature church as he does for the shaky, problem-ridden churches under his care.
We must ask ourselves whether or not our instincts push us in the same direction. Do we feel the burden of prayer only when our church is experiencing trouble? Perhaps when finances are down or numbers are declining. Do we only pray for other congregations when they are suffering? Are we as eager to pray for our children and grand-children when they are making great progress in the faith, or only when they are under the influence of ill-chosen friends?
With these three words, ‘For this reason’, Paul teaches us to link our prayers of petition with our prayers of thanksgiving. The spiritual growth which causes us to be thankful to God ought to become the subject of our prayers of intercession. When we have seen the fruit of the Spirit amongst us, then we must keep asking God for ongoing evidence of perseverance and endurance, for the prize awaits only those who cross the finishing line.
Notice in verse 9 that Paul hadn’t met those for whom he is praying. The Colossian church was apparently founded by Epaphras, himself a Colossian converted through Paul’s ministry in Ephesus. Paul comments that he has been praying, ‘since the day we heard about you’—though he had ‘heard’ about them he had never met them. This is confirmed in Col 2:1, ’I want you to know how much I am struggling for you and for those at Laodicea, and for all who have not met me personally’. Even though he hasn’t met them, Paul is praying for them.
We must ask ourselves how extensive our own praying is. Do all our petitions revolve around our own families and churches, our own cherished but rather small circle of friends? Of course, if we don’t pray for our own circle then no-one else will. But if that is the furthest reach of our prayers, we become close-minded and introverted. Perhaps the scope of our prayers indicates how small and self-centred our world really is.
Now of course, we can only pray for all believers in the most general of ways. Don Carson says, ‘It will do us good to fasten onto reports of Christians in several parts of the world we have never visited, find out what we can about them, and learn to intercede with God on their behalf. Not only is this an important expression of the fellowship of the church, it is a critical discipline that will enlarge our horizons, increase our ministry, and help us to become world Christians’. I think particularly of the ministry of ‘The Voice of the Martyrs’ who bring before us the needs of persecuted Christians whom we do not personally know. We must encourage ourselves to keep praying for the worldwide church.
‘For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you’. Paul regularly prays for the Colossian church in an ordered, disciplined way. And there are some things for which we must pray again and again.
Prayer is God’s appointed means for receiving the riches which are ours in Christ Jesus. Since we need to be blessed again and again to sustain life, so we must constantly ask God to fill us with his Spirit. For example, we learn to thank God, at each meal, for our food. The Lord’s prayer teaches us to ask for our food day by day. And again, it’s simply not good enough if only every six months or so we pray that God will make us holy. This needs to be our constant prayer, and as we persist in our petitions to God, so he constantly meets our needs. Someone put it this way, ‘As we are involved in unceasing thinking, so we are called to unceasing prayer’.
That’s the sort of thing Paul has in mind when he tells the Colossians that he has ‘not stopped praying’ for them. There are certain things that we need again and again, constantly, if we are to live and serve as Christians. For these things Paul intercedes with his heavenly Father on the Colossians’ behalf. The unceasing nature of his prayers encourages us to learn persistence in prayer. This is not easy to learn and we need to encourage one another in this regard.
And so in the first part of verse 9, Paul models good habits for prayer: the spiritual growth which causes us to be thankful to God ought to become the subject of our prayers of intercession—so we will continue to grow and mature in Christ. We must persevere in prayer, not forgetting Christians whose specific circumstances are unknown; and we must pray regularly to God who is willing to bless us abundantly if only we ask him.
Oswald Chambers is quoted as saying, ‘Every time we pray, our horizon is altered, our attitude to things is altered, not sometimes but every time, and the amazing thing is that we don’t pray more’. E.M. Bounds in his majestic book on prayer says, ‘To pray is the greatest thing we can do, and to do it well, there must be calmness, time, and deliberation’.
The content of Paul’s prayer for the Colossian church occupies the remainder of verse 9, ‘For this reason, 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’.
Paul prays that God will ’fill’ the saints with the ‘knowledge of his will’. This is not a filling with new knowledge which transcends the gospel of Christ. The false teachers were promoting this view. They were saying that the gospel is OK, but one needs to be filled with more knowledge in order to find salvation. As an example, Christians who turn to other philosophies for physical and spiritual healing. When I go to the doctors I’m not replacing my Christian worldview with an alternate, new age philosophy which offers new channels of spiritual healing. False teachers want to fill our heads with knowledge that takes us beyond Christ.
Nor, in verse 9, is Paul praying that will God fill us with the will of God as we are prone to think about the will of God. We often ‘seek the Lord’s will’ over whom we should marry, over major purchases, over what church to attend or when to take holidays. None of this is bad, for naturally we turn to the Lord for guidance. Yet is this what Paul means here? Is this all there is to the will of God? We must think through what Paul means when he prays that God fill us with ‘the knowledge of his will’.
Douglas Moo clarifies what Paul means by the will of God. It is ‘an abiding understanding of the revelation of Christ and all that he means for the universe (vv. 15–20) and for the Colossians (vv. 21–23)’ (Moo, 93)—and therefore for us. The will of God is big and its exciting! It’s the knowledge of God’s will for the cosmos—its an understanding of where God is taking this world and how its going to get there—it’s a life-changing appreciation of how we fit into God’s plan for eternity.
God’s will isn’t a mystery, the mystery is why we treat it like it’s a mystery!
God’s will is revealed in his Word and it is knowable and it guides and shapes our lives. Have a look at Psalm 143:10 (look up). David says to God, ‘Teach me to do your will, for you are my God; may your good Spirit lead me on level ground’. Here the psalmist doesn’t encourage us to find God’s will, it’s known and David wants to live in harmony with it. You see, its not ‘teach me your will’, but ‘teach me to do your will’. What God has revealed to us is his will, and we must learn to conform with that will.
Elsewhere, Paul says to the Roman Christians, “Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will” (Rom. 12:2). As our character and conduct are renewed, then we learn to live in harmony with God’s will for this universe and for us. So Paul says to the Ephesians, ‘Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is’ (Eph. 5:15–17). As we make the most of every opportunity, as we avoid foolishness and live as wise people, then we show that we understand what the Lord’s will is.
And Paul prays that God will fill us with a ‘knowledge of his will’. For when we see the plan for creation we can see his plan for us. Sometimes we need to get our heads out of our own lives so we can see the grand scheme of things. Paul says God intends ‘to sum all things up in Christ, things in heaven and things upon the earth. In him’ (Eph 1:10, NASB). The gospel is the power of God to redeem the universe and restore creation to its former glory (and even more) in the new heavens and the new earth. And with knowledge like this we are equipped to decipher our lives and we are free to live a life worthy of the Lord.
Now according to verse 9 in the NIV, God gives us the ‘knowledge of his will’ through the qualities of ‘spiritual wisdom and understanding’. We ought not read this as ‘knowledge’ at the top of the list and that ‘wisdom and understanding’ are secondary because they are the means of acquiring knowledge. This is a list where ‘knowledge’ and ‘wisdom’ and ‘understanding’ are on an equal footing and they complement one another.
Paul prays that God will fill the saints with knowledge’ and ‘wisdom’ and ‘understanding’. This is what David prayed for his son Solomon as he took charge over Israel, ‘May the Lord give you discretion and understanding when he puts you in command over Israel, so that you may keep the law of the Lord your God’ (1 Chron 22:12). Solomon himself asked for this wisdom in light of his burdens, ‘Give me wisdom and knowledge, that I may lead this people’ (2 Chron 1:10). This is same wisdom and understanding which Paul prays for the Colossian Church. The knowledge of his will, and the wisdom and the understanding to apply his will to our everyday lives.
Our knowledge of God’s will must always be practical. But firstly it must exist. And so we must be Bible readers, for that’s we were learn about the will of God. We must come to church and hear about the will of God and discuss its implications for our lives. We must pray that God will fill us with the knowledge of his will because we cannot exist without it.
If we don’t understand the gospel then we don’t know what God is doing in this world and where he is leading this world. And so we don’t know where he is leading us. From time to time I hear that people feel discouraged because they became Christians late in life, or they didn’t listen in Sunday School when they were young, or not academically bright. The comment is something like this, ‘I know so little about the Bible, everyone knows more than me, I’ll never catch up’. And you can feel the despondency.
Friends, if this is you, may I give you three words of advice, ‘Get over it’! Instead make Psalm 143:10 your prayer, ‘Teach me to do your will, for you are my God; may your good Spirit lead me on level ground’. And take some responsibility—swallow your pride—ask questions […] and pray that God will fill you with a knowledge of his will.
Then we must know how to apply our knowledge of God’s will to our particular situation. For how else will we withstand the pressure of our surrounding culture? How else will we bring our minds and hearts and conduct into conformity with God’s will?
Some of us have chased every fad, scrambled aboard every bandwagon, adopted every gimmick, experimented with every new experience. Others of us have rigidly cherished every tradition, determined to change as little as possible, worshipping what is aged simply because it is aged.
Don Carson bluntly asks, ‘But where are the men and women whose knowledge of God is as fresh as it is profound? Where are the men and women who delight in thinking God’s thoughts after him? Where are the men and women who ensure that their study of Scripture is never merely intellectual and self-distancing? Where are the men and women whose desire to please God easily outstrips residual and corrupting desires to shine in public?’
And so the last point is a short one: understanding and knowledge are never intellectual pursuits in the Bible. So James says Jas 3:13, ‘Who is wise and understanding among you? Let him show it by his good life, by deeds done in the humility that comes from wisdom’. Then verse 17, ‘But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere. Peacemakers who sow in peace raise a harvest of righteousness’ (Jas 3:13, 17–18). Knowledge, wisdom and understanding are relational: bringing us into deeper relationship with the living God and teaching us how to love one another.
Short conclusion (and I promise that we shall cover more than one verse next time). Paul prays that God will fill his people with the knowledge of his will, and give us spiritual wisdom and understanding. We should be praying the same way: that God will fill this church with an abundant and overflowing knowledge of his will—that we should understand his will—and then we ask God to give us the wisdom to let it shape our lives.
We must learn to prayer persistently, not only for ourselves, but for the wider church and even for those saints whom we have never met. And we must link our prayers of thanksgiving with our prayers of petition. And we do this to the glory of the one who rescued us from the dominion of darkness and has brought us into the kingdom of the Son.
