Colossians 1:9
The Bible exhorts us in many passages to pray without ceasing
as believers. Even in this letter, the Apostle Paul urges the saints at Colossae
to continue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful in it with thanksgiving
(4:2). And with this exhortation, comes a number of incentives and motivations—including
being told to do so with confidence, the assurance of being heard and answered,
finding grace and mercy in time of need etc. However, prayer still remains as
one of the greatest struggles for most Christians. And if this is true, then praying
for other believers is even a greater struggle. Yet for the Apostle Paul, this was
his priority—whether in prison or in the mission field. In this verse, he will
teach us on how frequently we ought to pray for fellow believers and what to
pray for even if we don’t know them personally.
“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,” (ESV). Observe two
lessons from this prayer: -
1)
The PERSISTENCE of the Prayer.
Although the Apostle had probably never personally met some
or many of the saints and faithful brothers and sisters in Christ at Colossae (as
suggested by 2:1), he assures them that, “we have not ceased to pray for
you.” The NIV translators render it as “we have not stopped
praying for you.” In other words, he is telling them that together with
his companions like Timothy and others (see 1:1 and 4:7ff), they have devoted
themselves to persistently interceding on their behalf. As Carson explains, “this
does not mean that Paul's praying was an incessant mystical experience, or that
his claim is a rather exaggerated and extravagant use of language. Rather, however
much Paul maintained a spirit of prayer as he pursued his normal rounds of activities,
he maintained set times for prayer (as Rom. 1:9-10 suggests).”[1]
With such an assurance, we are able to appreciate that the Apostle was a man of
prayer. He constantly prayed for these Gentile believers, including the ones he
had never met (see also Romans 1:9-10 & 1 Thessalonians 1:2-3). Such an incessant
or persistent prayer is a prayer made in and out of season—in difficult times
and better times; in chains or in freedom. Further, in order to appreciate the
persistence of this prayer, we need to ask ourselves an important question: for
how long has the Apostle and his companions been praying for these brothers and
sisters? To which he responds, “from the day we heard.” That is,
from the day we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love that you
have for all the saints (see verse 4). It is such a great privilege and
encouragement to know that a dear brother, sister, family or church has been
praying for you for so long. It is needless to say that many times believers
experience the rising and falling tides of the Christian walk. The many challenges
facing a believer take him or her through a rollercoaster sort of experience in
his walk with the Lord. There is not a believer I know of who has never plodded
down the paths of discouragement in life, and there is not a believer I know of
who has never heavily relied on the prayers of other saints.
Practically speaking, why should we pray persistently
for other believers?
Persistently praying for other believers is a practical way
of expressing our love for them. It is a demonstration that fellow believers
are always in your thoughts; that we are concerned about their welfare—both spiritually
and physically. It is a remedy for self-centredness. It helps us to die to self
and live for Christ—loving Him and His people. We are generally disposed towards
asking God for things that only meet our own needs and those of our families and
local churches.
2)
The PETITION of the Prayer.
Having seen how frequently the Apostle prays for this
congregation, we now turn to what exactly he is praying for. He writes, “asking
that you may be filled with the knowledge of his [God’s] will.” It is
important to note that the Apostle isn’t simply praying that they may know God’s
will. He is actually praying that they may be filled with it. These
are two different things. You may know God’s will but lack the power to
accomplish it. But to be filled with the knowledge means to be granted the
power to do it. Therefore, the Apostle is asking for better and higher things
on behalf of the Colossians. The language of being “filled with”
occurs in many places including Ephesians 5:18 where being filled with the Spirit
is contrasted to being drunk with wine. It is a language of being under the “control
or influence” of something. Thus, to be “filled
with the knowledge of God’s will” can be rendered to mean to be absolutely
and completely dominated and controlled by God’s will. It means to be totally under
the influence of God’s will. The result is that your actions, attitudes, and
affections are in harmony with God’s will. This is what the Apostle and his
companions persistently intercede for on behalf of the saints at Colossae from
the time of their conversion. It is the same prayer, the Apostle writes, that Epaphras
has been struggling to present before God on behalf of these saints (4:12). That
this filling is sufficient is expressed by the phrase “in all
spiritual wisdom and understanding.” The Apostle prays that these
saints may not lack better and higher experiences from God. The word spiritual
emphasises the fact that the Holy Spirit is the source of the wisdom and
understanding being interceded for as opposed to human and earthly wisdom. In this
case, the NIV rendering is more helpful when it says, “all the wisdom and
understanding that the Spirit gives.” (see also Ephesians 1:15-17 & Isaiah
11:2).
Practically speaking, why the wisdom &
understanding from the Spirit and not from men?
n
The Apostle contends that human wisdom, as practical
as it may appear, has no value in stopping the indulgence of the flesh (2:20-23).
We don’t deal with sin by submitting to regulations such as, “do not handle, do
not taste, do not touch” but by submitting to the leading of the Spirit—being under
the influence and control of the Spirit (see Galatians 5:16). Sin is not a
physical problem that can be dealt with using physical means. It is a spiritual
problem that must be dealt with spiritually. The wisdom believers require in dealing
with the sinful nature comes from the Spirit.
