“AN AWESOME PRAYER” Colossian 1:9-14
FBCF – 7/7/24
Jon Daniels
INTRO – Author Kevin Halloran – "When Prayer is a Struggle" – discovered one of top answers as to why people struggle to prayer – “I don’t know what to pray.” Many people feel like they’re stuck in a rut, repeatedly praying the same thing, & they give up.
- First, let me say that there’s nothing wrong w/ praying the same thing over & over again as long it is a genuine concern of your heart – Don’t know many people who pray for their spouse/kids/grandkids one time & say, “Ok, I’m done praying for them.”
- Words like Paul’s in 1 Thessalonians 5:17 – “Pray without ceasing”, & Jesus’ in Matthew 7:7 – “Keep on asking, and you will receive what you ask for. Keep on seeking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened to you.” (NLT) make it clear that heartfelt repetitive prayer should be a part of every Christ-follower’s prayer life. SATAN WANTS YOU TO GIVE UP!
But we have to admit that there are those times when we feel like we’re just going through the motions, when we want to infuse our prayer lives w/ a freshness & newness. One of the best remedies is to pray the Bible – to let the actual words of the Bible inform & impact the words that we say in our prayers. Kevin Halloran – “Praying the Bible is simply responding to the conversation that God our Father has already started.” (https://openthebible.org/article/25-powerful-prayers-from-the-bible/)
There are beautiful prayers all throughout the Bible in both the Old & New Testaments that you can utilize to open up your heart & mind to the power of praying the Word of God back to God.
- Psalm 51 – “Have mercy on me, O God, according to your steadfast love; according to your abundant mercy blot out my transgressions. 2 Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, & cleanse me from my sin!... Create in me a clean heart, O God, & renew a right[b] spirit within me. 11 Cast me not away from your presence & take not your Holy Spirit from me. 12 Restore to me the joy of your salvation & uphold me with a willing spirit.”
- 1 Chronicles 4:10 – “And Jabez called on the God of Israel saying, ‘Oh, that You would bless me indeed, and enlarge my territory, that Your hand would be with me, and that You would keep me from evil, that I may not cause pain!’” (NKJV)
- The Lord’s Prayer – Matthew 6:9-13
Paul’s letters contain several prayers that he prayed for the believers in the different churches he ministered to. At one time when I was younger, I had an ambitious goal of memorizing all of his prayers. Didn’t make it, but I did memorize this one from Colossians 1. Wrote it on this card years ago. Have prayed this prayer over my family & over the church staffs I’ve worked with over the years. Let’s read it together:
EXPLANATION – Colossian 1:9-14 (NIV84)
Start new series in Colossians – “Our Life in Christ” – next 5 weeks leading up to our revival w/ Don Wilton – Aug. 18-21.
- In a world that is constantly trying to get us to focus on yourself & believe that whatever belief system you choose is just as valid as any other, we will be focusing on the superiority of Christ over all human philosophies & traditions.
- In a world that is constantly trying to convince us that living for ourselves focused on worldly passions is the best way to live, we will be focusing on how to live our lives focused on heavenly things rather than earthly things.
- In a world that is constantly telling us that we can live any way we want to live, we will be focusing on how to live & walk in Christ.
Paul wrote this letter to the Colossian believers to help them stand strong against false teachers. And right at the beginning, he prays this awesome prayer for them.
Components of this awesome prayer:
PERSISTENCE – v. 9 – “…we have not stopped praying for you…” – It’s an awesome thing to persist in prayer. Luke 18:1 – “…Jesus told His disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray & not give up.” (NIV)
- Dave Lang
The diary of George Mueller, Christian social reformer from the Victorian era, chronicles his devotion in prayer:
- “In November 1844, I began to pray for the conversion of five individuals. I prayed every day without a single intermission, whether sick or in health, on the land, on the sea, and whatever the pressure of my engagements might be. Eighteen months elapsed before the first of the five was converted. I thanked God and prayed on for the others. Five years elapsed, and then the second was converted. I thanked God for the second and prayed on for the other three. Day by day, I continued to pray for them, and six years passed before the third was converted. I thanked God for the three and went on praying for the other two. These two remained unconverted.”
- Thirty-six years later he wrote that the other two, sons of one of Mueller's friends, were still not converted. He wrote, “But I hope in God, I pray on, and look for the answer. They are not converted yet, but they will be.”
- In 1897, fifty-two years after he began to pray, these two men were finally converted, after he died. Mueller understood what Jesus meant when he told his disciples "that they should always pray and not give up."
Keep on praying, Church! Persist in prayer! Don’t give up!
PLEASING GOD – v. 10 – “…please Him in every way…” – It’s an awesome thing to please God w/ our lives & to see others do that, too. And Paul’s prayer was that the Colossian believers would please God in EVERY way.
That should be our goal, too! So how are you doing in that? Are you pleasing God in every way?
- In your marriage? Parenting? Honoring your parents?
- In your thought life? Your social life?
- In the things you let your eyes see? Movies you watch? Websites you visit?
- In your sexual purity?
- In the way you spend your money? Your time?
- In your conversations? Gossip? Profanity?
- In your commitment to the Church – are you serving? Are you tithing? Are you supporting your pastor & staff?
- In your witnessing? Discipleship?
Confess those areas in your life where you are not pleasing God. Repent. Talk to someone who can help you & hold you accountable.
POWER – v. 11 – It’s an awesome thing to experience God’s power in your life. And His power is available to EVERY Christ-follower. Stop selling yourself short! Understand & realize that at the exact moment that you gave your life to Christ, the Holy Spirit came in & took up residence in your heart, giving you all the power you need to live for Christ. Back to previous point: How can you please God in every way? NOT in your own power, but in the power of the Holy Spirit in you!
“being strengthened w/ all power” – to be enabled w/ the dunamis – supernatural power – dynamite! – That kind of power impacts you & all those around you. That power comes from HIS glorious might, not from any might or power you may think you have.
- HIS glorious might is inexhaustible – There’s no end to it. You & I get worn out from all our strivings, but the Spirit’s power never runs out.
- HIS glorious might is unending – It is eternal b/c HE is eternal.
- HIS glorious might is intentional – He gave it to you so that you could use it to serve Him for your whole life. He gave it to you so you could have great endurance & patience.
PARTICIPATION – v. 12 – It’s an awesome thing to participate in all that we’ve been given b/c of our relationship w/ Christ. I love the way Paul words this: We have been “qualified to share in the inheritance of the saints.”
Many times, after someone passes away, family members gather to receive their portion of the inheritance. Those portions are normally spelled out in the deceased person’s will. Sometimes it’s a painful process as family members begin to argue & fight over what they think they will receive or what they think they deserve from the estate.
There’s no arguing or fighting over our spiritual inheritance b/c there’s no question about what we will receive. And there’s no question about what we deserve b/c we, in fact, deserve nothing. We’ve been “qualified” – been made adequate, competent, & acceptable – only by the GRACE of God. HE has qualified us. HE has accepted us. HE has included us in HIS inheritance.
PROTECTION – v. 13-14 – It’s an awesome thing to be protected from eternal destruction through Christ & Christ alone. For those of us who are Christ-followers:
- We’ve been rescued
- We’ve been redeemed
- We’ve been released
- And b/c of that, we can rejoice!
CONCLUSION – Who can you begin praying this prayer over?
- Who is in your life right now that needs to be “filled w/ the knowledge of [God’s] will”?
- … “live a life worthy of the Lord & please Him in every way”?
- … “please Him in every way”?
- … “bearing fruit…& growing in the knowledge of the Lord”?
- … “be strengthened w/ all power” & “have great endurance & patience”?
- … “rescued from the dominion of darkness & brought into the K’dom of [Jesus]”?
DON’T STOP! DON’T GIVE UP! KEEP ON PRAYING!
