“Never stop praying” (1 Thessalonians 5:17 NLT)
”So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive his mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it most.” (Hebrews 4:16 NLT)
“Therefore I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them.” (Mark 11:24 NKJV)
Keep reading…
…“Every time we pray for you our hearts overflow with thanksgiving to Father God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. For we have heard of your devoted lives of faith in Christ Jesus and your tender love toward all his holy believers. Your faith and love rise within you as you access all the treasures of your inheritance stored up in the heavenly realm. For the revelation of the true gospel is as real today as the day you first heard of our glorious hope, now that you have believed in the truth of the gospel.
This is the wonderful message that is being spread everywhere, powerfully changing hearts throughout the earth, just like it has changed you! Every believer of this good news bears the fruit of eternal life as they experience the reality of God’s grace.
Our beloved coworker, Epaphras, was there from the beginning to thoroughly teach you the astonishing revelation of the gospel, and he serves you faithfully as Christ’s representative. He’s informed us of the many wonderful ways love is being demonstrated through your lives by the empowerment of the Holy Spirit.
Since we first heard about you, we’ve kept you always in our prayers that you would receive the perfect knowledge of God’s pleasure over your lives, making you reservoirs of every kind of wisdom and spiritual understanding. We pray that you would walk in the ways of true righteousness, pleasing God in every good thing you do. Then you’ll become fruit-bearing branches, yielding to his life, and maturing in the rich experience of knowing God in his fullness! And we pray that you would be energized with all his explosive power from the realm of his magnificent glory, filling you with great hope.
Your hearts can soar with joyful gratitude when you think of how God made you worthy to receive the glorious inheritance freely given to us by living in the light. He has rescued us completely from the tyrannical rule of darkness and has translated us into the kingdom realm of his beloved Son. For in the Son all our sins are canceled and we have the release of redemption through his very blood.” (Colossians 1:3-14 TPT)
Let’s continue with Step 1…
…Step 1: Probe the prayer under the light of the Holy Spirit.
Today we are probing verse 9 where we find the first of 3 areas in which Paul prays for the Colossians…
…“Since we first heard about you, we’ve kept you always in our prayers that you would receive the perfect knowledge of God’s pleasure over your lives, making you reservoirs of every kind of wisdom and spiritual understanding.”
Once again I am impressed with Paul’s approach to praying for others. Notice that he continued to avoid focusing on laundry lists of problems. He focused on the solutions which would automatically take care of whatever problems were present. I think it is also worth noticing his high level of commitment in praying for those brought to his attention. From the first time that he became aware of the needs of the Colossians until the moment that he wrote them this letter he prayed for them continually.
Have you ever noticed how much attitudes and actions pertaining to prayers change over time? I remember just how full of expectation I was the first time I prayed for my wife’s healing when she was diagnosed with Myastenia Gravis. I knew nothing about the disease itself, but I was well versed in the answer to her need. I knew that Jesus bore her sickness on the cross. I knew that by Christ’s stripes she was healed. I knew that the Lord sent his Word and healed her. I knew that the second benefit listed by David that belonged to her was the healing of all of her diseases. I knew that when I laid hands on her she would be healed. I knew that if she was anointed with oil she would recover. I knew that her heavenly Father desired that she prosper and be in health even as her soul prospered. And on and on I could go. However, something took place that made it tougher and tougher for me to pray with the same level of expectancy.
Time passed and I did not see the results that I was looking for. I began to see the sickness more clearly than the solution. I was tempted to lower my expectations, water down the promises found in the Word, create doctrines and theologies that better fit the current situation, and accept this as being the deire and design (will) of God. I had to repent more than once for my willingness to allow the enemy to hinder my good fight of faith and for allowing my flesh to push me into becoming weary in well doing.
It took a 7 year battle before clear signs of Melody’s healing could be seen. During that time I had to continually remind myself that God’s Word does not change with the passing of time. His promises that are “Yes and Amen” do not become “Maybe and Hope so” just because things aren’t moving at the pace that I desire. After over 20 years of living in health (doctors call it remission, I call it God’s desire and design for healing), somehow the enemy was able to reattack. This time Melody was once and for all completely healed and set free from all future attacks (I would have preferred that the grave not be a part of this healing, but she is free none the less). Through this the Lord has deepened my convictions and helped me to stand firm on his Word. His desire and design for us does not change just because we do not see the results that we are looking for. Sometimes I need to live in the realm of “Mystery” until that which I don’t understand is revealed.
When Melody left me for Jesus I didn’t understand. I know that God hides things for me, not from me. I also know that he desires to reveal mysteries to me. Therefore, when she moved to her heavenly home, I began a “treasure hunt” with my Daddy (my heavenly Abba Father) and after about a year he revealed to me that Melody had come to the point in which she felt that she was ready to go. He didn’t end her life (he does not participate in assisted suicide or murder). He didn’t take her (those he takes do not experience physical death). It wasn’t her predetermined time to die (God doesn’t stamp an expiration date on his children’s feet). She had finished her course (she was ready to go, and her Daddy welcomed her home with open arms). Back to Paul’s prayer.
In this prayer Paul is giving us a clue as to what it takes for prayers to become fervent and effective. We must begin praying immediately and never let up until the answer becomes obvious. Pray continually from day one until day 1000 (and beyond) if that is what it takes. Go to the Word. Discern God’s desire and design (will) for whatever the need may be. Then pray the solution with faith and expectation (no need to focus on the problem which only makes the problem seem to get bigger and the solution shrink). Plant prayer seeds. Water those seeds. Then allow God to bring the increase in his time and way. And remember, we walk (live) by faith (based on the Word) not by sight (experience or current understanding).
After laying this foundation Paul made his first request. He prayed over these believers, “that you would receive the perfect knowledge of God’s pleasure over your lives.” Other translations use the words “God’s will.” I have found that God’s “will” has two dimensions – his desire for me and his design for me to experience that desire. For an example of this look at what the Apostle Peter wrote in 2 Peter 3:9 (BSB)…
… “The Lord is not slow in keeping His promise as some understand slowness, but is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish but everyone to come to repentance.”
The Lord’s desire is “not wanting anyone to perish.” The design for the fulfillment of this desire begins with “repentance” (changing my mind to think in alignment with God’s desire and design). The design that God has to keep me from perishing can be seen even clearer in what the Apostle Paul wrote in Romans 6:23 (NLT)…
…”For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord.”
Paul’s word “death” in this verse is what was described by Peter as “perish.” God’s desire is that I not receive the wages of sin which is death. His design for me to experience freedom from death is to give me the “free gift” of “eternal life.” This is his life (Zoe) which he freely gave me through Jesus the Anointed One as my “Lord.”
Paul prayed for the believers at Colossi that they would know God’s desire for them and discover his design for experiencing that desire. Knowing God’s desire and design (will) would make these believers “reservoirs of every kind of wisdom and spiritual understanding.” A reservoir is an intentionally created body of water made by constructing a dam or wall across a river to control the water’s flow for specific purposes. It can store water for irrigation or drinking. It can be used for producing electricity. It can be to control the risk of flooding. Whatever the specific purpose, the point is that it is intentionally created to bring about positive results.
Paul was saying that God will purposely reveal to me his desire for every area of my life and with that reveal his design for the fulfillment of that desire making me a reservoir (a holding tank or depository) of “every kind of wisdom and spiritual understanding.” WOW!
Spiritual understanding is divine information. Wisdom is a divine understanding of what to do with that information. I have the mind of Christ which fills me with spiritual insight and the ability to walk it out in my life. Only the Holy Spirit can reveal this to us to the degree that our Father desires that we receive.
Thank you Father for what we are beginning to see from…
…Eric’s Life Lesson # 486: Praying With Paul – Colossians 1:3-14: Part 3