Committed to Pray
Colossians 1:3–12
Some of the most natural of human actions seem entirely unnatural in our first attempts at them.
What could be more natural than walking? And yet, to watch a toddler progress from crawling to taking that first independent step is to witness a seemingly endless procession of nearly-theres, almosts, and you-can-do-its.
It is fortunate that we start off life so short; any higher off the ground, and we’d never survive the tumble and bumble of finally learning to put one foot in front of another.
Of course, walking isn’t the only thing that falls into this category. Babies are born ready to nurse, and yet those first attempts at feeding are often filled with frustration.
God has gifted us with the ability to speak, and yet it takes months to progress from plaintive cries even to the jabbering that precedes real words. Our hands may one day move on to sculpt a Pieta or paint the Mona Lisa, but most of us start off hardly able to keep our crayons inside the lines (and let us not even speak of the infamous “finger painting” stage!).
Because God has made us as spiritual and not just physical beings, some spiritual disciplines also come quite naturally to us.
Nothing is more natural than for a person to cry out to God in prayer in a moment of distress. But if prayer comes to us “naturally,” that doesn’t mean our first attempts at it will not be met with slips and stumbles like those we faced when we took our first steps.
Ancient Israel’s psalms were composed not just to be sung but to teach the people how to pray. Even after a lifetime spent reciting these kinds of prayers, the men Jesus chose to be His disciples still turned to Him and asked, “Lord, teach us to pray” (Luke 11:1). We all know how to pray, and yet we all still need to learn how to pray.
Pray with thanksgiving for other believers. (3–6a)
The Apostle Paul’s opening address to the church at Colossae offers a tremendous guide for us as we seek to pray better and especially as we seek to pray better for other people.
Paul’s first instinct is to thank God for the Colossian Christians and more so because he has seen the way these believers have grown in their faith in Christ Jesus and in their love for all God’s people.
Pray for those who minister and spread the gospel. (6b–8)
Paul next lifts his eyes to the horizon, to look beyond Colossae itself and to give thanks for the way the same gospel that impacted the Colossians is impacting the rest of the world.
Along the way, Paul is careful to give thanks for Epaphras, a fellow servant and minister of Christ. Epaphras is the one who shared with Paul the great strides the Colossians were making in their own faith.
Pray for the spiritual growth of believers. (9–12)
Paul’s prayers for the Colossians begin with thanks to God for their progress in the faith, but they don’t end there. The Apostle is eager to see these believers continue in their growth and maturity.
Paul tells the Colossians that he never fails to ask God to fill them with the knowledge of His will, to fill them with the wisdom that the Holy Spirit gives and to give them the ability to lead lives that will be worthy of God and pleasing to Him.
Paul’s prayer is that this group of believers will bear fruit in good works, that they will grow in the knowledge of God and that they will find the strength of God, which will give them endurance and patience for difficult times ahead.
In the end, Paul’s prayers offer a model for our own: thanks to God for what He has already accomplished in the lives of those around us and earnest cries to God for completion of the good work He has already begun.
By Jeffery M. Leonard, Ph.D.
Associate Professor of Biblical Studies, Samford University
Share with others: