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10 September 2023

10:30am

How can we pray for each other?

How can you find happiness? To many, the answer is obvious. Whether it is a conversation between friends over a coffee, a self-help book, a podcast or radio show or online, a common theme emerges: happiness is found by knowing oneself and then doing what makes you happy. Self-awareness and self-gratification are the keys to happiness. However, what the Bible teaches about how life is best lived differs profoundly from this prevailing wisdom. A Christian's primary aim is to know God better. Why? So that they can live their lives to please Him. We will see that in the passage that we’ve just heard read, and we will break it down into three main headings:

1. Paul prays for Christians (Colossians 1.9a)
2. ...to know God's will (Colossians 1.9b)
3. ...so they can please Him (Colossians 1.10-12)

1. Paul prays for Christians (Colossians 1.9a)

Look with me at Colossians 1.9:

And so, from the day we heard, we have not ceased to pray for you...

Last week, we looked at the opening verses of this letter, which was authored by Paul (with Timothy) to address a church located in Colosse, a town in what is now known as Turkey. Although the letter is short, it packs a punch and is filled with warmth and passion. I love the story of how the Colossian church started. Paul had never visited Colosse and so had not personally met most of those he was writing to – which is why he says, since the day we heard (about you). The church was established by a man named Epaphras (mentioned in Colossians 1.7). Paul had met him in Ephesus. After becoming a Christian, Epaphras returned to his hometown of Colosse and shared the gospel of Jesus Christ with his fellow citizens, and so the church was started.

Imagine hearing, in the years to come, about individuals who first encountered the good news of Jesus through our church in this city, and who then returned to other parts of the UK or their home countries to establish new churches! Paul's had received news that the Colossian Christians had responded to the gospel of hope with with faith and love, and so he begins with a prayer. We looked at the first half where he thanks God for their faith last week. Paul not only thanks God for them, he also adds them to his list of Christians who he prays for. And his prayer is a great model for when we pray for other Christians too. So, what are some of the lessons we can learn about how he prayed?

a) Paul prayed for them continuously.

Colossians 1.9 again:

And so, from the day we heard, we have not ceased to pray for you...

This does not mean that he spent every moment praying for them. It just means that he started praying for them when he first found out they had become Christians and he has not given up. And a way to keep on pray for others as Paul did here is by planning times for prayer, on your own, but also with others –in your small group, or with friends. At this start of this new academic year, when life gets busy again, why not put the dates of our church prayer meetings in your diary and decide to make them a priority? It’s also a reminder that there some things that we should keep praying for, over and over again. Specific needs and crises may arise and we will of course pray about this, but there are some things that are an ongoing concern. Web browsers allows us to see our most frequently visited websites. What if we applied that to our prayer lives? What do we most frequently pray for others, and how does it compare to Paul's prayer here for the Colossian Christians?

b) Paul prayed for those he had never met.

This aspect of his prayer is quite challenging. Do we pray for Christians whom we have never personally met? Praying for those we do know can feel challenging enough, as we may not always know what they need. However, Paul did not allow unfamiliarity to stop him prayers. He prayed things for them that Christians always need prayer for, and we can do the same when we pray for Christians we have not met. Perhaps you haven’t yet met the mission partner your small groups has been allocated to prayer for, or you may hear of Christians across the world facing persecution and wonder where to start in praying for them. Well, as we look more closely at what Paul prayed for, we can follow his example and pray that one another and even those we have not yet met. Which leads us to our second heading. Paul prays for Christians:

2. ...to know God's will (Colossians 1.9b)

Look again at Colossians 1.9:

...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.

This verse sums up what Paul asks for. He wants them to know God's will. Although this may appear straightforward, what exactly does it mean? Often we use "to know God's will" when thinking about making big decisions in life. What job should I do? Who should I marry? Where should I live? We can so easily reduce 'Gods' will' to being all about what God thinks I should do. His plan for my life. But it is much more than that. Paul prays for the Colossian Christians to know God Himself—to understand His character and His purposes. This is not merely about God telling us what to do; it is about us coming to truly know who God is, what He is like, and what He desires.

The language here (knowledge, wisdom, and understanding) will appear repeatedly in this letter. We will see that some were offering the Christians a specialized knowledge, wisdom, and understanding beyond the foundational trusts about of Jesus they received when they first became Christians. Paul cannot be stronger in insisting that there is no knowledge, wisdom, or understanding that goes beyond what is found in Jesus and the gospel message. Their faith should be firmly rooted in the hope held out in the gospel. They need to - as we see in Colossians 1.23:

...continue in the faith, stable and steadfast, not shifting from the hope of the gospel that you heard.

Look ahead with me to two of the key passages where we see this repeating theme. The first is Colossians 2.1-3:

For I want you to know how great a struggle I have for you and for those at Laodicea and for all who have not seen me face to face, that their hearts may be encouraged, being knit together in love, to reach all the riches of full assurance of understanding and the knowledge of God's mystery, which is Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.

Paul does want them to have complete, comprehensive understanding and wisdom, but he emphasizes that these are found only in Jesus Christ and the gospel message. The gospel is so wonderful and varied and different parts of the Bible help us to see it in fresh ways. This side of heaven we will never know all there is to know. But there is no secret or advanced message for super-Christians.

Some years ago, a good friend of mine became a Christian and began attending our church regularly. After about a year, she decided to change churches. Her new congregation claimed that she needed to move beyond the basics of the faith to delve into more advanced teachings. She said to me before leaving, "I'm tired of hearing the same gospel message week after week. There must be more to it than this." I'm not saying we couldn't have been better at presenting the gospel in a fresh way, but it is crucial to recognize that there is nothing beyond the gospel. Sadly, after a short while, she stopped attending church altogether and drifted away from Jesus. This is precisely the concern that Paul had in mind. In Colossians 2.6-8, he continues:

Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him, rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving.

This brings us back to Colossians 1.9:

...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.

Paul's primary prayer for Christians is that they be filled with the knowledge of God's will. They must understand God's character, His desires, and His purposes, which are revealed in Jesus Christ and the gospel message. Which is why Paul goes to speak mainly about Jesus, as we shall see next week. Here however he speaks of the gospel or Christian message. How does the gospel give us that knowledge? Look with me at the incredible reminder of the gospel message in Colossians 1.13-14:

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.

That is a wonderful summary of the Christian message. But what does that show us? It shows us the world as it really is. It reveals to us that as humans we are deeply damaged: we're not basically good but basically bad. We are sinners in need of forgiveness from God – who we have sinned against by rejecting him as the rightful ruler of our life. It reveals to us that we are in real danger: we are in the dominion of darkness and cannot rescue ourselves from what that darkness speaks of: death. It reveals to us that God has acted to rescue rebels through Jesus Christ, who was God, who came to the earth as man to die in our place – to redeem or buy us back from what we deserve – death. It shows us God's character; his love, his righteousness, his justice, his mercy. It shows us that Jesus is the King. If we, like the Colossians, accept God's rescue plan for us then we are forever citizens of Jesus's new Kingdom.

Paul prays that Christians would know God's will and they can know that through Jesus and the gospel message. We have a record of that in the Bible and we need to keep reading it, and praying for help to know God's will. However, knowing God's will is not limited to intellectual knowledge; it must translate into action. This leads us to the final part of Paul's prayer - how this knowledge enables Christians to please God.

3. Paul prays for Christians...to know God's will...so they can please Him (Colossians 1.10-12)

Paul prays unceasingly that the Colossian Christians would be filled with the knowledge of God's will. But why? Look at Colossians 1.10-11:

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. May you be 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.

Paul desires that they lead lives that bring glory to God - a life that would make God proud of them. However, this is impossible unless they grasp God's will. When my wife and I had just started dating, and I decided to invite her over for what I hoped would be a romantic dinner at my place. I was excited, but also a bit nervous. With limited finances, I splurged on two beautiful steaks, carefully cooked them, and served them with chips and salad. I was rather impressed with my culinary skills. However, the evening was a disaster. Why? Firstly, my housemate crashed the dinner, and I also made a bad choice in what film to watch afterward. But the worst mistake? I had not bothered to ask her what she liked to eat. As it turned out, she was vegetarian... To please someone, you must first understand what they like. Similarly, knowing God's will is crucial for pleasing Him. We must learn what pleases Him and what displeases Him. We have been married 20 years this month. I now have a much better idea of what makes a good meal. And so it is with God: we learn that there are things he dislikes, hates even. So we avoid them. We learn what he loves, and we offer it to him. And Colossians 1.10-12 show us four aspects of walking in a manner that is worthy of the Lord:

a) Bearing fruit in every good work (Colossians 1.10a):

One way to please God is by leading fruitful lives marked by good works. But we need to understand that following Jesus is not about being "good enough" to earn God's acceptance. Before we were rescued by God, we were living in rebellion against Him and could not please Him. Our rescue by God is His act of grace, and our good works are our response to that rescue. We learn that God hates injustice. We see that in the just way he acted when he forgave us our sin: to be just the sin had to be paid for. So we challenge and seek to correct injustice (in the lives of those around us, in our country and even in our world) because we know that pleases him. We see that God is a merciful, gracious God (we see that in the way that he took the punishment for the sin we deserved on himself) so we too will seek to act and live gracious, merciful lives – because we know that pleases him. We see that God's purpose is to rescue people from the dominion of darkness and bring them into the Kingdom of his son – so we seek to tell those who have never heard that good news about it – because we know that pleases him.

b) Increasing in the knowledge of God (Colossians 1.10b)

This might initially appear odd. Paul prays for believers to know God's will so that they can please Him, and then he prays for them to please Him by growing in the knowledge of God. Is this not a bit circular? The point is this: our greatest obstacle to knowing God is not that we lack information. The greatest barrier to getting to know God better is that naturally we do not want to know him and we refuse to listen to what he has to say. But for those who are Christians the greater they get to know the God who has rescued them, the more they long to obey him, and the more they obey him and relate to him as they should, the more they get to know him. And that pleases him! Are there areas in our lives where we are knowingly defying God's will? Such disobedience hinders our growth in the knowledge of God. To please Him, we should repent of our sins and seek forgiveness. This opens the door to further growth in understanding and pleases Him.

c) Being given power to endure patiently (Colossians 1.11)

This aspect of the prayer might initially sound appealing. Paul prays for believers to be strengthened with God's power. Who would not want more power? But the purpose of this power is not to enable believers to perform spectacular or miraculous acts. Instead, it is given to help them endure with patience. Life can be challenging, and being a Christian can intensify these challenges. We face temptations, ridicule, discomfort, and even physical hardships or death. To endure, we must fix our gaze on the hope of heaven while relying on God's power. What is currently testing your endurance? What is tempting you to give up? Know that you please God when you rely on His power to patiently endure.

d) Being thankful to the Father (Colossians 1.12)

Finally, we please God by living a life characterized by joyful thanksgiving. This demonstrates that we grasp how massive it is that we have been rescued from the dominion of darkness and our citizenship in Jesus's Kingdom. It reveals our gratitude for being qualified to take a place in the inheritance of the saints in the Kingdom of light, all of which God has accomplished for us. This does not imply that we should thank God for our hardships or suffering, but rather, despite these difficulties, we are helped to maintain an eternal perspective. We please God when we remain thankful and joyful, regardless of life's trials.

Life can be tough, and being a Christian sometimes makes it even tougher. Nevertheless, the day will come when we stand before Jesus (whether through death or His return) and there will be no doubt that it was all worth it. Our present trials will fade into insignificance not because they are trivial (they aren’t) but because the inheritance, the rescue, the redemption and the forgiveness of sins mean they will finally be over and we will finally be home with your loving heavenly father. So we have seen that Paul prayed for Christians constantly, including those he had never met. Do we follow his example in our prayers? He prayed for these Christians to understand God's will. Do we also pray for this knowledge? Are we searching for something beyond the gospel? Paul prayed like this so that they could please God. Are we bearing fruit in every good work? Are we growing in our knowledge of God? Are we relying on His power to endure? Are we thankful for all He has done?

Heavenly Father,Help us to take hold of the truth that true happiness and fulfillment come not from self-awareness and self-gratification, but from knowing you and living our lives to please you. Strengthen our prayer life that like the Apostle Paul we would pray unceasingly for other believers even those we have never met.And please fill us with the knowledge of your will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding. Help us to grasp not only what you desire for us but also who you are and what you represent. May this knowledge transform us from the inside out, aligning our hearts with your divine purpose.Grant us the strength to walk in a manner worthy of you, fully pleasing to you. Help us bear fruit in every good work, increasing in our knowledge of you, relying on your power to endure with patience, and maintaining a heart of thanksgiving even in the face of life's challenges.Lord, we acknowledge that without you, we are lost. We thank you for the rescue, redemption, and forgiveness you have offered through your Son, Jesus Christ. May we always cherish the incredible gift of salvation and live our lives as grateful recipients of your grace. In Jesus' name, we pray. Amen.