February 7, 2024
Author: Pastor Mark Bauer
February 07, 2024
“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.”
Colossians 1:9-12
Here we read of Paul praying for the believers there, the Colossians, and as he's praying for the church he's asking that the church would be filled with the knowledge of God. I found it interesting that he then adds to this prayer that he's making in verse 10. He says, “So that they would walk in a manner worthy of the Lord fully pleasing to him.”
It appears that as Paul is praying for growth and spiritual knowledge for the church, he's also praying that the church will not only know the will of God, but that they would also do the will of God; that they would walk or that they would live a life that would be pleasing to God. It seems that he's praying for more than that, that they would not only just have a head knowledge, which is clearly important, but that that knowledge would manifest itself in practical impacts in the way they live their lives. As he prays for them and as he's writing to them, he goes on in verse 11 and 12 to pray for four specific ways for the church to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, being fully pleasing to him. They're listed in verses 11 and 12. We read that one of the ways in which he prays, he asks that they would bear fruit in every good work. Secondly, that they would increase or that they would grow in the knowledge of God. Thirdly, that they would be strengthened in the Lord to have endurance and patience with joy. Fourthly that they would give thanks to the Father. To prepare our hearts for prayer we will briefly consider these four specific things that Paul is praying for the church in this letter to the Colossians.
1. First he prays for fruit in every good work. We know that we are called to good work. Ephesians 2:10 says, “For we are his workmanship created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.” We know that God has prepared good works for each of us to walk in. But what are these good works? I found it helpful to look at the London Baptist Confession of Faith and it has there a definition of good works and it says this, “Good works are only such as God hath commanded in his holy word.” Good works are those things that God has commanded. What they're not, they're not such things that are without warrant that are devised by men, out of either blind zeal or upon pretense of good intentions. So good works are things that God's Word has defined. As we seek to do good works, we should seek to be obedient to God's commandments. In some cases that may be a good work which is preaching the Word of God. It could be for others teaching in a Sunday school class or in a small group. I think for all of us, we're all called to share our faith in Christ and to serve in the church and to do so faithfully and willingly as unto the Lord. To show love for one another, to bear one another's burdens, to do good to all, especially those who are of the household of faith. And as we faithfully labor in whatever calling that God has called us to be in, and that whether it's at work as employers or employees, whether it's at home as a husband or as a wife or as a parent, we are all called to good works. Then Paul is praying that as we do these good works, there would be fruit in these good works, fruit that comes from God. For we know that one man may plant, another may water, but it's only God that gives the increase. And while we do have the responsibility to do good works and do that work which is before us that God has given us to do, we must look to God to bless. For it is God who causes the fruit to grow and it is God alone that gives the increase. So we should be praying for fruit. And as we pray for fruit and as we are doing good works, we should also be recognizing that we should be hopeful that the world would see our good works and that would cause the world to glorify God. So I think in this first petition Paul is saying something we can include in our prayers; to pray for fruit in every good work; for God to bless the good works of the church to the end that God’s name would be glorified; that God's kingdom would be advanced and that souls would be saved.
2. Secondly in these verses we see Paul praying for them to grow in the knowledge of God, to live a life of obedience to God so as to be pleasing to him. We need to know him and we will need spiritual growth to know him better to grow in wisdom and understanding, to know more of God, to know who he is, to know his person, his work and then also to know what does God require of us? What are his commandments? Therefore we should be praying, praying is a second thing for spiritual growth for the church and for ourselves that we might increase in the knowledge of God.
3. Thirdly, in these verses we see an emphasis to pray for believers, for the church to be strengthened. It says, “To live with great endurance and patience.” For we know that trials come and we will face difficulties in our lives and we need grace and we need to pray for God to give us His grace. His grace alone that is sufficient for us to be able to endure and to be able to have patience to persevere; to be able to press on and not to give up as we seek to live our lives as we journey through this world; as we strive to move forward toward that goal of the prize of the upward call which is in Christ Jesus; to be more and more like Christ, to know Christ more, to know more of his power, to know more of his resurrection, but also to have the grace to be able to share in his sufferings. So we pray. As a third matter then we should pray to have this included in our prayers for strength, for God to give us strength, for it's only in his strength that we can endure and have patience as we encounter trials in our lives.
4. We also see here that we are to give thanks to the Father. As a Christian we should never lose sight of this. We should always remember what God has done for us: that He has blessed us with every blessing, every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places; that God has saved us, that he has redeemed us, he has forgiven us of our sins, that he has restored that relationship that was severed. He's brought us into his family. We've been adopted, we can call him our father and we now have a hope, hope of an inheritance, a hope of eternal life, and a hope of spending eternity with our God. So this should bring thanksgiving to our lips. And for this, we should give God the praise for his great mercy to us. So this should be a fourth thing that should be included in our prayers.
As we pray may these four things that we find here in Paul's letter as he's praying for the Colossians, help shape our prayers for ourselves and for the church. Let us pray for God's people to bear fruit in every good work, to increase in the knowledge of God, to be strengthened and to have endurance and patience, and then to give thanks to the Father for all that he has done for us.
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