A POWERFUL PRAYER

A powerful prayer


This is a high energy passage that I will be going over with you for your encouragement. From the very day the leaders heard about the Colossians or had direct dealings with these Christians they did not cease to pray for them.

The very first truth that they prayed for was that they would be filled with the knowledge of His will but with all wisdom and spiritual understanding. Only God can impart these gifts to us so this does take much intercession before God because it is not going to be granted the average person if they just stay natural.

They prayed that they might walk worthy to the Lord and please Him and one of the ways we do this is to be fruitful in every good work but we have to be reading the Bible on a regular basis because increasing in the knowledge of God is usually when the Holy Spirit speaks to us in our minds and hearts. By the way we can also pray this prayer for ourselves because most people reading this article would lack in a couple of areas.

They desired to be strengthened with all the power of the Lord but the leaders of the church wanted it done by His glorious power but with patience and longsuffering with joyfulness. Since the prayer warriors were very specific we should catch every word of their intercession because this is where we should desire to be in our walk with God.

They gave thanks to God the Father but for a very specific reason which I will talk about later in the article. There was a reminder that they were delivered from the power of darkness and translated into the kingdom of His dear Son. When we got saved through Jesus Christ His Light extinguished the darkness in our life. We received redemption through His blood and our sins were forgiven.

Let me just quote the original text of Colossians 1:9-14. I certainly urge you to read this and perhaps make reference to it for this particular study in the Bible.

(9) "For this cause we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and to desire that ye might be filled with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding; (10) That ye may walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing, being fruitful in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of God; (11) Strengthened with all might, according to His glorious power, unto all patience and longsuffering with joyfulness; (12) Giving thanks unto the Father, which hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light: (13) Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of His dear Son: (14) In whom we have redemption through His blood, even the forgiveness of sins." Colossians 1:9-14.

Paul was reassuring the Colossians who he did not even know through prayer but in a very specific way with detailed theology but very simple. Once again the Apostle was given several reports on how this church was doing so he was very familiar with these Christians. Paul had heard they were good but prayed that they even might be better but not in their flesh. The Apostle made it very clear that this must be done in the Person of Jesus Christ.

One of the first things the Apostle Paul said was that we are not ceasing to pray for you. There were multiple leaders of the faith praying around the clock for them. This should give us a clue that we are to pray for others around the clock in the middle of our busy or non busy days. The original Apostles did this so we should follow their good example.

I don't mean to be taken wrong but we can also pray for ourselves especially if we are struggling with something that is bigger than us and is causing us to stumble. This is us as Christians confessing that we fall short of God and desire to be in good standing with Him. If someone comes to our mind it is just practical to pray for them. Why waste a thought?

Paul prayed that they would be filled with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding. If we have an empty perception of a biblical truth then this has no significance in our life. If we can not apply the Godly precept to our daily living then for all practical purposes this truth does not mean anything to us as believers in Jesus Christ. Our knowledge of the will of God must always be practical because we must not only know the biblical truth but apply it to our lives. Our knowledge is only a blessing when it is in the wisdom of God but it has to be taken to the next level for our particular circumstances.

This does take prayer because it is one thing to know a biblical truth but it is an extended truth when the Holy Spirit shows us how to apply this to our lives. We really should be filled with the knowledge of God for His will but just like verse ten says we should desire more knowledge of God because the more we know the more we realize how much we do not know. 

Obviously proper biblical knowledge without living right will not be any use to us as Christians. This is why Paul says that they may walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing. We have to agree with God in the way we live in our faith so we can be pleasing to God but also to people in a righteous way.

Paul also desired them to be fruitful in every good work. Our words must match our works and we will struggle with this issue for the rest of our life whether it be Jesus Christ coming for His church or our passing on to glory through death to be with the Jesus Christ forever. As you probably know I hold the position that this is not easy but difficult.

One of the points Paul may have been trying to make is the more fruitful we are in good works the greater ability we will have in increasing in the knowledge of God. Just like life is always in motion God desires us in spiritual movement to strive forward in our spiritual walk with Jesus Christ. If we stay stagnant were not giving the Holy Spirit a lot of room to work in our heart.

Paul wanted them strengthened with all might, according to His glorious power. If we have spiritual life we need spiritual strength. For this to happen we need to be empowered by the grace of God for our good works and strengthened by the Holy Spirit for our labor to God but also a guard against evil. I hope you are seeing this is a two way relationship with a Christian and God.

This is one passage that gives us several examples that we as believers in Jesus Christ must corporate with God because if we do not we will go in the opposite direction away from God. This is why I say (1) this is not easy and (2) we are always in a process of getting right with God. We already got saved through Jesus Christ but these principles take diligence. If you think Christians can be passive you need to understand the only believers in Jesus Christ that walk right with God are those that count the cost and obey God through faith in Jesus Christ.

By the way we are strengthened in Jesus Christ through the power of the Holy Spirit, not ourselves. If we are strengthened in ourselves it becomes --- look at me. Our lives must revolve around the Person of Jesus Christ. In our journey through earth this grace is for our innocence and our trials but on a divine level it is for His glorious power. Obviously we should pray that we are victorious in Jesus Christ.

Let me make this very simple. If we have the grace of God by experience in our hearts this is the power of God. We all have weaknesses but if we want to communicate strength it has to be in His power for His glory.

Paul gets more specific regarding this subject of strength in all patience and long - suffering but with the joy of the Lord. We need to be strengthened because we do have troubles in life but on our part we need patience and long - suffering. Not having patience is like quitting and long - suffering is having the same spirit of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Our trials are actually a gift from God and we are to be grateful to God. The bottom line is we are to bear with our trial as long as God desires us to be long - suffering. The trouble and time is the business of God but the patience and long - suffering is our decision. I know most Christians do not think this way but the mere fact that we are accounted worthy to suffer for His name is supposed to be joy. Do you really think we could do this in our own strength?

In verse twelve Paul urges us to give thanks to God the Father. Keep in mind Paul is praying for the Colossians but we draw wisdom from this intercession for our lives. Grace and thanksgiving go hand in hand. Paul reminds them that they were delivered from the power of darkness. This means we were saved from the bondage of sin. We were translated into the kingdom of Jesus Christ. This is light and purity. This means we were in the possession of the devil at one point in our life. Now that we are saved through Jesus Christ we are in the possession of the Son of God.

Paul talks about the inheritance of the saints or Christians in verse twelve. God gives grace and glory but more specifically His glory is the inheritance of the saints in light. This is an inheritance that belongs to us but let us never forget that it is a gift from God.

This is obviously not darkness but the Light of God. The grace of God meets us and makes us eligible for this heavenly inheritance. We are partakers because we were designed for heaven and are being prepared for our eternal home. Are we still upset with our trials with this biblical truth? If we are a child of God we need to be educated in our hardships because we are His sons. It does cost us when we are struggling with problems but God says He will give us payment in our inheritance through His Son Jesus Christ.

The Apostle Paul talks about Jesus Christ being our Redeemer. Paul writes about the Son of God as distinctly as God and being our Mediator. In verse fourteen this verse says, "In whom we have redemption through His blood, even the forgiveness of sins." Colossians 1:14. If you have not accepted Jesus Christ as your personal Savior and Lord by repenting of all your sins I would stronger urge you to do this and invite the Son of God into your life. We that have accepted Jesus Christ into our life have redemption through His blood and our sins are forgiven. Nobody else can do this for you so of course I am hoping and praying that you just made this all important eternal prayer but the choice is your decision. I can not imagine Jesus Christ not being in my heart and life.

God Bless you,
Bob D.