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Introduction
By way of introduction, open your Bibles to .
In this passage, Paul is giving his final charge to the congregation, telling them to prepare for spiritual warfare by putting on the full armor of God.
Read with me in verse 18.
Introduction
With all prayer and petition pray at all times in the Spirit, and with this in view, be on the alert with all perseverance and petition for all the saints,
19and pray on my behalf, that utterance may be given to me in the opening of my mouth, to make known with boldness the mystery of the gospel,
20for which I am an ambassador in chains; that in proclaiming it I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak.
18With all prayer and petition pray at all times in the Spirit, and with this in view, be on the alert with all perseverance and petition for all the saints,
which I am an ambassador in chains; that in proclaiming it I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak.
18With all prayer and petition pray at all times in the Spirit, and with this in view, be on the alert with all perseverance and petition for all the saints,
19and pray on my behalf, that utterance may be given to me in the opening of my mouth, to make known with boldness the mystery of the gospel,
20for which I am an ambassador in chains; that in proclaiming it I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak.
This verse is the capstone of the prior discourse on the armor of God.
“At all times” we’re called to pray in the Spirit.
Not just one time.
Not just some times.
But “at all time.”
In order to be an effective Christian soldier, our prayer lives must be consistent and persistent.
Now look at the rest of verse 18: “with all perseverance and petition for all the saints...”
Not just one saint.
Not just some saints.
But “all the saints.”
In order to be an effective Christian soldier, our prayer lives must be consistent and persistent and others-centered.
But if we’re honest, our prayer lives don’t often match up to that standard, do they?
Far too often, our prayer lives tend to be inconsistent, lack persistence, and self-centered.
This is a problem that all of us face, and it’s because prayer is contradictory to our sinful nature.
Prayer is a foreign concept to our prideful hearts.
A subset of that pride in our hearts is self-reliance.
Self-reliance keeps us from prayer because it tells us that we can do life all by ourselves.
Who needs God when you’re self-made?
Even believers can struggle with this heart issue when they lose sight of how wicked they were before God saved them.
That
In addition to self-reliance, self-absorption is another heart issue that keeps us from prayer.
Self-absorption says that nobody matters except me, myself, and I. Who can even think about serving others when you haven’t been served yourself?
Believers too have to fight this heart issue when they lose sight of how selfish they were and are in comparison to how selfless Christ was and is.
In light of that, how exactly do we obey and pray in a manner that’s consistent, persistent, and most importantly, others-centered, when our tendency is to be the opposite way?
Well, the apostle Paul was well-aware of these sinful tendencies that come natural to our hearts.
His prescription for our affliction in prayer was a simple one, but a profound one.
In , Paul provides two keys to praying faithfully for the family of God: thanksgiving and interceding.
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WHAT
WHAT
Read in with me, from verse 3 to verse 14.
...
3We give thanks to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, praying always for you,
4since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and the love which you have for all the saints;
5because of the hope laid up for you in heaven, of which you previously heard in the word of truth, the gospel
6which has come to you, just as in all the world also it is constantly bearing fruit and increasing, even as it has been doing in you also since the day you heard of it and understood the grace of God in truth;
7just as you learned it from Epaphras, our beloved fellow bond-servant, who is a faithful servant of Christ on our behalf,
8and he also informed us of your love in the Spirit.
9For this reason also, since the day we heard 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,
10so that you will walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, to please Him in all respects, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God;
11strengthened with all power, according to His glorious might, for the attaining of all steadfastness and patience; joyously
12giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified us to share in the inheritance of the saints in Light.
13For He rescued us from the domain of darkness, and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son,
14in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.
Let’s set the stage together before we dive in.
WHO / WHEN / WHERE
We know the apostle Paul wrote this letter to the Colossian church while on house arrest in Rome, sometime between 60-62 AD.
We also know that Timothy, his protege, was right there with him as an assistant.
WHEN
WHERE
WHY
Also, Paul had never met this group of believers before.
Last time, we looked at how Paul overcame that hurdle in his greeting from verses 1-2.
So, after connecting with them based on their commonality in the family of God in the introduction, Paul then wanted to let the Colossians know that they’ve actually been on his mind for quite some time.
In fact, ever since the day he heard that their church existed.
And, his response to hearing about them leaves us a wonderful example to follow today.
We know that every effective Christian soldier has a prayer life that is consistent, persistent, & others-centered.
All of us want a prayer life like that.
But how do we get there?
What do we pray for?
How do we pray for it?
Here in , Paul provides two keys to praying for the family of God faithfully: thanksgiving and interceding.
HOW
HOW
Thanksgiving / Εὐχαριστοῦμεν ()
The first key to faithfully praying for God’s family is thanksgiving… thanksgiving.
What is thanksgiving?
Our first thought is probably about the holiday, isn’t it?
Well, I think Paul and the Colossians were around a long time before the Pilgrims first ate turkey with the Indian tribes, so that’s out of the question.
So what is thanksgiving?
Thanksgiving is literally what it says - the act of giving thanks.
INTERPRETATION
The first key to faithfully praying for God’s family is thanksgiving… thanksgiving.
What is thanksgiving?
Our first thought is probably about the holiday, isn’t it?
Well, I think Paul and the Colossians were around a long time before the Pilgrims first ate turkey with the Indian tribes, so that’s out of the question.
So what is thanksgiving?
Thanksgiving is literally what it says - the act of giving thanks.
Look at verse 3 with me.
This word meaning “give thanks” can be understood as the act of giving, returning, or expressing thankfulness to someone or something.
In this context, Paul is using this word to describe what he expresses to God in prayer because of all God has done in the Colossians.
:41Rom.
1:81 Thess.
5:18
Rom.
1:81 Thess.
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1 Thess.
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EXPLANATION
With this statement, Paul is informing the Colossians of his love and care for them.
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