Colossians 4:2-4 Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful. And pray for us, too, that God may open a door for our message, so that we may proclaim the mystery of Christ, for which I am in chains. Pray that I may proclaim it clearly, as I should.
As a reminder, this is Paul’s letter to the fellowship of believers in Colossae, written while he was imprisoned in Rome. I find some interesting thoughts in Paul’s concluding remarks. He strongly urges the Colossians to be watchful and thankful in prayer. I wonder if Paul remembered hearing about the time when the disciples fell asleep while Jesus was praying in the garden. I think about times at night when I fall asleep in the middle of my prayer. Be watchful implies an alertness. God fully understands when we grow weary and tired, but in such times, would a simple short prayer be better than a longer one which we cannot finish? Something to ponder.
The second word of advice, to be thankful, is something else Paul frequently reminded early Christians. Our prayers may not be answered in the way we might desire, but God is listening, and God is in control, and God will respond in ways we might not foresee nor imagine. So we pray; and we are thankful to our God who listens and always responds (e.g., yes, wait, no).
Something else is striking about Paul’s request. He could have asked the Colossians to pray for him to be released from chains, but he didn’t do that. What Paul asked the Colossians to pray was Paul’s work and ministry to continue. He also asked the believers in Ephesus to pray for this same thing—not for Paul’s betterment, but for the task to which Paul had been called—to spread the gospel of Christ.
Ephesians 6:18-20 And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people. Pray also for me, that whenever I speak, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare it fearlessly, as I should.
On days when we are weary, when our prayers seem to go no further than the walls of the room in which we are praying; perhaps it is time to assess the content of our prayers. Are we watchful and alert? Are we lifting others up to the Lord? Are we more concerned with asking for personal needs, or asking the Lord for opportunities to open conversations with others who need to hear the gospel message? And are we taking time to notice and be truly thankful for how the Lord is working in our life?
Gracious Heavenly Father,
Thank you for hearing our prayers and always responding, even in ways we do not understand. Yet you are faithful. Help us to be alert to the opportunities you present us to share the gospel with others. Guide our words to respond to those opportunities. Strengthen our prayer life.
In the name of Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior, Amen.
The devotional Thoughts about Prayer appeared first on Write From My Heart at
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email: Dotty Willmon, writefrommyheartblog@gmail.com
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