November 27, 2018 ● 18-4
Col. 1:9-10: For this reason also, since the day we hear of it we have not ceased to pray for you and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so that you will walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, the please Him in all respects, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God.
It is interesting how often we can read a verse of scripture, or even an entire book of the Bible that we may be familiar with and nothing really jumps out at us. And then one day God opens our eyes to a verse or two that we are familiar with and yet all of a sudden that verse or those verses suddenly take in a whole new meaning. This is how the Holy Spirit of God works, He helps us understand God’s Word.
I have studied and preached through the Book of Colossians on several occasions. In fact, one of my favorite verses of Scripture has become Col. 1.28:
We proclaim Him, admonishing every man and teaching every man with all wisdom, so that we may present every man complete in Christ.
One of my standard practices is to always pray that God will help me understand His Word as I read and study, either devotionally or for sermon preparation. I lead an 8:00 a.m. Bible study on Sunday mornings at the church, open to anyone who wants to come. This week we started on the Book of Colossians. God really impressed upon me the power of this prayer that Paul prayed for the church at Colossae in verse nine, and the results he prayed for in verse ten. These two verses have really challenged me, and I want to let them challenge you. These two verses have a powerful prayer with four purposeful results.
The powerful prayer:
Col. 1:9: For this reason also, since the day we hear of it we have not ceased to pray for you and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding,
The purposeful results:
Col. 1:10: so that you will walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, the please Him in all respects, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God.
I want to invite you, for the next forty-five days, to make this prayer your prayer for the church where you attend. I have discovered that focused prayer for forty-five days at a time yields great results. Here is how you can make these two verses personal in your prayer life:
Lord, I ask that [fill in your church name here] will be filled with the knowledge of Your will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding; so that [your church] will:
1. Walk in a manner worthy of You;
2. Be pleasing to You in all respects;
3. Bear fruit in every good work;
4. Increase in the knowledge of You.
Col. 1:9-10 equips us with a powerful prayer with purposeful results. May you see God work in great ways in your church as you pray His Word for His glory.