INTRODUCTION

1. Prayer in the life and ministry of the Apostle Paul

a) Prayer was ever present

b) It was vibrant and full of life

c) It was a vital practice

2. Paul’s prayers

a) For individuals

b) For churches

c) According to what he saw as their needs

 

THE PRAYER FOR THE COLOSSIAN CHURCH

9 For this reason we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you,

and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding;

10 that you may walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing Him, being fruitful in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God;

11 strengthened with all might, according to His glorious power, for all patience and longsuffering with joy;

12 giving thanks to the Father who has qualified us to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in the light. Colossians 1:9-12

1. This was the full prayer for the Colossian believers

2. We will look at this Prayer in more careful detail

 

EXAMINING THE PRAYER FOR THE COLOSSIANS IN DEPTH

For this reason we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you,

and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding; Colossians 1:9

1. Reason for prayer

a) What Paul had heard from Epaphras

b) That the Colossians had

i) Found Faith in the Lord Jesus

ii) They were bearing the Fruit of Love

c) This was the starting point

2. Praying without ceasing

a) Constantly

b) Faithfully

c) Diligently

d) Humbly

e) Earnestly

3. The Petition for the Colossians

a) That they may be filled with the knowledge of God’s will

i) There must be greater knowledge

ii) There must be knowledge of God’s Will

iii) This is not an easy prayer to offer

iv) To be filled with deep knowledge is a challenging thing to pray for

b) In all wisdom

i) This speaks of more than the acquiring of knowledge

ii) Wisdom is not easy to come by

iii) It takes patience and perseverance to pursue wisdom

c) Spirirtual understanding

i) There is basic human understanding

ii) Then there is “spiritual understanding”

iii) This comes from maturity of faith and life

 

A COMPARISON

15 Therefore I also, after I heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints,

16 do not cease to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers:

17 that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory,

may give to you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him,

18 the eyes of your understanding being enlightened;

that you may know what is the hope of His calling,

what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints,

19 and what is the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe,

according to the working of His mighty power. Ephesians 1:15-19

1. Great similarity

a) Faith and love evident

b) Ceaseless praying

c) With thanksgiving

2. Prayer for wisdom and revelation

a) This work is traced to the Spirit of God

b) He alone can give true wisdom and revelation

3. Eyes of understanding

a) This is a reference to understanding at the level of the heart

b) This is a needed prayer indeed

4. Enlightenment

a) This is the result of the work of the Spirit of God

b) This is what is needed to understand the Will of God

 

OUR CHALLENGE

1. To learn how to be more prayerful

2. To learn how to pray for others

3. To learn how to discern God’s will