“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)
Read again…
…“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)
More of Step 1…
…Step 1: Probe the prayer under the light of the Holy Spirit.
Today we are probing verse 10 which gives us the second of the 3 areas in which Paul prays for the Colossians…
… “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!”
Notice how this verse is rendered in the Amplified Bible…
… “so that you will walk in a manner worthy of the Lord [displaying admirable character, moral courage, and personal integrity], to [fully] please Him in all things, bearing fruit in every good work and steadily growing in the knowledge of God [with deeper faith, clearer insight and fervent love for His precepts];”
To “walk in the ways of true righteousness” is to “walk in a manner worthy of the Lord.” The word “walk” in the Bible refers to our lifestyle. It is the way that we live when no one is looking. In most areas of life we begin with a period of time in which we need to focus deeply on what we are trying to do. For example, a baby needs to learn how to walk and how to talk. At first these things need a very high level of assistance. Over time, with good help and training, the need for help decreases until eventually independence day arrives. Time for the first solo steps or the first word. Next thing you know the toddler (no longer a baby) is running all over the place and won’t shut up. This is the picture that comes to my mind as I read this verse.
I see mature believers unhindered in their spiritual lives. Their lives are becoming so full of “admirable character, moral courage, and personal integrity” that it is natural and normal for them to live in “the ways of true righteousness.” I sense the Holy Spirit prompting me to remind us (I say “us” because this is a reminder to me also) that this level of living in righteousness is not something that will ever be achieved through human effort. It is not a lifestyle that I work to accomplish so that I become righteous. This prayer is fulfilled as I recognize the reality of who I am in Christ and submit to the Holy Spirit to bring out of me that which I already possess in my Spirit. It is a part of what Paul describes as “working out my salvation.”
I don’t act righteous in order to become righteous. Because I have already been made righteous (it is a gift just like salvation, healing, and all other benefits of the Kingdom of Heaven / inheritance in Christ) I am able to live righteously.
Think about this…
…Do you want to know that you are “pleasing God in every good thing you do?” Then “walk in the ways of true righteousness.”
…Do you want to grow “in the knowledge of God [with deeper faith, clearer insight and fervent love for His precepts]?” Then “walk in a manner worthy of the Lord [displaying admirable character, moral courage, and personal integrity].”
…Do you want “the rich experience of knowing God in his fullness?” Then “walk in the ways of true righteousness.”
And remember, this is not through your effort. It is through the power of the Holy Spirit working through you as you are “yielding to his life.” Because…
…“He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.” (2 Corinthians 5:21 NKJV)
Holy Spirit – please fill in any gaps and teach us the depths of what Paul is praying. We are relying on you to take us deeper than…
…Eric’s Life Lesson # 487: Praying With Paul – Colossians 1:3-14: Part 4