Colossians 1:9-14
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Paul’s Prayer for the Church
Paul’s Prayer for the Church
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,
so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him: bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God;
being strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy;
giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in light.
He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son,
in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.
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, so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him: bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God; being strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy; giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in light. He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.
Intro: Prayer
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, so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him: bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God; being strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy; giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in light. He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.
Intro
Intro
Prayers are precious. Prayers are sacred things… We talk so flippantly about prayer when things are going wrong or when disaster strikes,
We seldom stop to thing about what we’re actually doing when we say we’re going to pray or when we actually take the time to pray.
The simplest definition of prayer is that prayer is a conversation with God! that’s it talking to/with God. the infinite, omniscient, creator of the cosmos… talking to him. We get to do that!!!
Do you realize what had to happen to make prayer possible?!?!?!
What our prayers reveal about ourselves:
Our understanding of who God is
Our understanding of ourselves in relationship with God
Our heart and our motives
example: Chinese/Japanese college students
What does this have to do with
is a prayer Paul prays for the church.
He starts out describing what he prayers for the church when he prays, but as he get started describing his prayer, he quickly flows into an all out prayer for the church.
What we can learn from this prayer: God is, who we are, and what the posture of our heart should be before God.
Background: What makes this prayer unique? (what are the circumstances - review from intro to Colossians)
Paul is writing/praying from prison - imprisoned in Rome
this letter is written from a place of suffering
Paul is writing to/praying for a church he doesn’t know!
These verses contain the prayer of a mature disciple, an apostle of the Church, for a young church, and in a very real sense the Church as a whole.
It’s almost as if Paul is praying for the church, if you can have one thing, if God would grant give the church anything on my be half… these are the things I believe you should have and pursue , and by God’s grace you’ll receive… so that you can live faithful fruitful lives.
What does Paul Pray for?
Paul Prays for our actions...
Knowledge of His will (v. 9)
spiritual wisdom and understanding
Walk in a Worthy Manner (v. 10)
fully pleasing to God
fully pleasing to God
Bearing fruit (v. 10)
Good works
that increase your knowledge of God
This is a cycle of growth! (Think of the process of learning to drive)
Because it’s impossible to exhaust the knowledge of God, it’s impossible for us to reach the end of this cycle. We grow in deeper and deeper knowledge of God… not just now in the present life, but throughout eternity!!!
If we know we’re never going to “finish” why would be subject ourselves to this cycle of growth.
Paul also prays for believers as they live out experience this cycle.
Paul also prays for believers as they live out experience this cycle.
Paul prays for our heart/attitude...
Being strengthened w/ all power (v. 11)
according to HIS glorious might
Endurance & Patience (v. 11)
with Joy
Thankfulness (v. 12)
This is all sounds great!… but it’s kind of a tall order… Why would we do all this? Why would we subject ourselves to this cyclical, never ending lifestyle of learning, walking, growing, learning.... Because God!
Because God has...
Qualified you (v. 12)
Delivered you (v. 13)
Transferred you (v. 13)
Redeemed you (v. 14)
Forgiven you (v. 14)
This is all a simple reminder of the power of the gospel! Jesus died to save sinners.
Closing
Marvel Movies - Whenever a new movie comes out comic sales jump. People want to know every detail about the “newest” hero. We have a real hero, one who has really saved us. He’s invited us to know him. He’s told us how. He’s shown us the way. He’s in promised to be with us to supply us with strength, endurance, and patience along the way. We’re not earning his love an acceptance, we already have that!!! so what are we waiting for?
Response.