Praying with Paul
And so, from the day we heard, we have not ceased to pray for you, asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him: bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God; being strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy. (Colossians 1:9–11, ESV)
Listening to others pray is always instructive. Our prayer life is an outward reflection of our real theology. The way we pray, the frequency of our prayers, and their content and tone all reveal what we really think of God, what we want from Him, and how much we believe that we need Him.
In our passage this morning, we get to eavesdrop on the apostle Paul at prayer. What a privilege! His prayers, at least the ones recorded for us in Scripture, have the added advantage of being inspired by the Holy Spirit. As such, they show us not just Paul’s priorities in prayer, but also God’s.
Essentially, as Paul bends his knees on behalf of these Christians, he asks the Lord to give them three gifts.
To Know God
First, he asks God to fill them with the knowledge of His will. He wants them to be so full of God's will that they have no room for their own. Or perhaps better, he wants their will to become one with God’s, so that there's no longer a battle of wills going on in their hearts, that is, no spiritual tug-of-war between God and them.
Knowing God's will and applying it are two very different things. So Paul also asks for spiritual wisdom and understanding. Wisdom is the ability to apply what we know in our heads to the need of the moment. This is not a matter of a mindless cookie-cutter ‘if-that-happens-then-do-this approach’ to decision making. No, Biblical Christianity requires finesse, poise, balance, and a measured response. For that we need wisdom and understanding. Do you lack these things? Take heart, for God does not, and He is willing to share what He has with you. You only need to ask.
To Live Well
Second, Paul's goal for such wisdom extends far beyond mere head knowledge. He wants the lives of these people to be transformed. He wants them to be fruitful Christians who live for the Christ who died for them. He wants them to be fully pleasing to God. This, therefore, suggests that a Christian can be more pleasing or less pleasing to his Heavenly Father on a given day.
(Do remember, however, that our justification, our legal standing before God never rises or falls. We are NEVER less justified. Either we are justified, or we are not. In the Christian life, justification knows no degrees. And what is more, our justification has nothing to do with our works. It rests only and absolutely on what Christ has done. Praise God that we are justified by faith alone.)
Having said that however, it does not mean God is no longer aware of the sins of His children. But it does mean that the sins of His children are precisely that: THE SINS OF HIS CHILDREN. Your daily failure to please God fully or my constant ability to “disappoint” will never tempt Him to reverse His adoption of us. But without in any way denigrating our status as justified Christians, we must embrace the Biblical teaching that our sins can and do grieve Him. If that were not the case, Paul could never say what he did to the Ephesians (justified in Christ as they were), “Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear. And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption” (Eph. 4:29–30). What areas in your day-to-day existence stand in the way of your life being fully pleasing to God? Are you perhaps committing some sins of commission? Are you doing things that you ought not to do? Or are you perhaps committing some sin of omission, leaving undone the things that you ought to have done? Pray to God your Heavenly Father, rend your heart and not your garments, and ask Him to forgive you; He will. Plead with Him to help you; He will do that as well!
Paul also wants us to be fruitful not just in some good works, but in every good work, the works that we find easy to do and the ones that, if we're honest, are a bit of a struggle.
We cannot live for God if we do not know Him. So Paul wants us to grow in the experiential knowledge of God. He wants the character of God and His attributes to weigh heavily upon us, not just as ideas, but as constituent parts of the God with whom we have an intense, personal relationship.
To Power Up
Third, such a life can be a bit of a challenge. It is hard to keep going. Some days, we feel that we want to give up. At other times, the reserves of our strength evaporate. If this resonates with you, don’t lose heart. There is power available in God to meet this very need, and thanks be to Him that He does not leave us to muster our own strength. The omnipotent Lord of the universe is willing to empower us. We are to be strengthened with His might, not our own. How, you might ask? We derive that strength for ourselves and others simply by getting down on our knees and praying.
Is your strength flagging this morning, dear Christian? Do you feel yourself languishing in the slough of despond? Get up and go to God. He has given you the key to the pantry and armory of heaven and bids you take all that you need. Let it not be said of any at Christ Covenant Church that we have not because we ask not!