Paul & Timothy’s Prayer for the Colossians

Background

Writing from prison in Rome, Paul had probably never visited Colossae but felt the need to write to them in order to combat false teachings which had infiltrated the Colossian church. Ideas were coming into the church from paganism, Judaism, and Greek philosophy. The heresy that was to follow this influence was later called ‘Gnosticism’, the idea that you can receive special personal spiritual knowledge that is more valuable than biblical teaching. The Gnostics also denied Christ as God and Saviour.

Even in today’s short extract, we can see Paul combating some of these ideas from the outset of his letter. But let’s look at some of the lessons we can learn for ourselves from this prayer of Paul and Timothy for the Colossian church.

Colossians 1:

³ We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you, ⁴ because we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love you have for all God’s people…

… ⁹ For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we continually ask God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all the wisdom and understanding that the Spirit gives, ¹⁰ so that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God, ¹¹ being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience, ¹² and giving joyful thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of his holy people in the kingdom of light. ¹³ For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, ¹⁴ in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.

 

 

Characteristics of the prayer

1.    Thanksgiving

³ We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you,

There was a lot to pray for, much to deal with in the church, but Paul and Timothy always gave thanks. Remember Paul’s instruction to the Philippian church,

Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 4:6-7)

Here Paul models this discipline as he prays for the Colossian church.

2.    Persistency

Just as Jesus taught his disciples that they should always pray and never give up, Paul writes that he and Timothy continually pray for the church (verse 9). So they always thank God and they pray continually.

Again, we see Paul modelling what he teaches elsewhere:

 Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18)

3.    Unity

I like the fact that Paul says ‘we’ when talking about praying for the Colossian church. We get a glimpse of what it was like to travel and be around Paul in ministry. Prayer together must have been an integral part. May this also be true for us as we seek to serve God in our own personal lives. Let us pray continually, with thanksgiving, and also let us pray together with others.

 

Content of the prayer

What did Paul and Timothy pray for the Colossian church? And can this help us in our prayers for other Christians today?

1.    Spiritual Insight

Verse 9:

We continually ask God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all the wisdom and understanding that the Spirit gives

Remember that the Colossian church was being bombarded with ideas from outside. Is it any different today? Do we not need to pray for the same spiritual understanding from God as we read the scriptures and pray? I want the wisdom and understanding that the Spirit gives, not that of the world! Please pray that for me!

2.    To live lives that please God

Verse 10:

So that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and please him in every way

Linking back to verse 9 which was about having wisdom from the Spirit, we see that this is the way to please God. If we please people and live according to their wisdom, we are not serving or pleasing God. Look at Galatians 1:10:

Am I now trying to win the approval of human beings, or of God? Or am I trying to please people? If I were still trying to please people, I would not be a servant of Christ.

Shouldn’t pleasing God be our greatest goal in life? Then we must seek his wisdom. And when we pray for other Christians let’s pray that they receive and live out the wisdom that comes from the Spirit.

E.g. Man’s wisdom – move town to take the higher paid job. Seeking the Spirit’s wisdom – ask God first, is there a church in that new town that I feel called to be a part of? Does God have a purpose for me in my current workplace? What ‘true riches’ are found in either scenario? Only God knows the answer to these questions, so we must seek his wisdom on the matter.

Pray that your Christian brothers and sisters will too receive wisdom from God in their everyday lives.

3.    To bear fruit

bearing fruit in every good work (verse 10)

The Gnostics were out for inner personal spiritual knowledge, but it may not have had any bearing on everyday life. In fact, it often led to extreme self-denial and unhealthy abstinence (asceticism).  When the Spirit imparts wisdom into the Christian’s life it is always so that they will bear fruit.

4.    To grow in the knowledge of God

growing in the knowledge of God (verse 10)

Like Paul, we can pray that we and others will progress in the Christian life. The more we know God, the more we see his love for us, and the more we love him, and the more we want to know him more, and so on. It is out of this knowledge of his love that we want to serve him and others.

5.    To know his power first-hand

being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might (verse 11)

That’s some power! Not power according to what you can believe in, or power relative to our human understanding, but ALL power according to his glorious might! Do you have any idea how powerful God is in all his glory, and in all his might? That’s the audacity of Paul’s prayer – that the church would be strengthened to the level of no less that that much power!

Remember, the same power that raised Christ from the dead lives in us. We just need to have our eyes opened to the fact (Ephesians 1:18-21).

6.    For endurance and patience

so that you may have great endurance and patience (verse 11)

While we know his power, there is also a need for patience and endurance. This may seem like a contradiction because, if we experience his power in our problems, surely we can blow every enemy out of the water by the power in the name of Jesus. But this is the same power that raised Jesus from the dead. And Jesus had to go through the suffering and crucifixion before he could experience the power of the resurrection. You cannot experience a resurrection in circumstances where there is no death! Sometimes we have to endure the cross and count ourselves honoured to suffer for his name.

7.    That they might be filled with praise

and giving joyful thanks to the Father, (verse 12)

While living in the balance between God’s power and patience, we can experience the power to endure, the power to keep going, the power to love others even in our suffering, even loving those who cause us to suffer. And at the same time we can pray that we are able to give joyful thanks.

I like the word, joyful, here because it would be easy to give begrudging thanks, or even sarcastic thanks! Ever done that before to a person who thinks they’ve done you a favour? A child who ‘helped’ but slowed you down, or a well-meaning friend who gave unsolicited advice or help that was not really what you needed at the time? We are to give joyful thanks. Just as the Lord loves a cheerful giver, because the giving is from the heart rather than from a sense of duty, it is good to give joyful thanks, even in our suffering. May God help us to be thankful in all circumstances. The next lines in Paul’s letter help us to focus on what we might give thanks for:

…giving joyful thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of his holy people in the kingdom of light. ¹³ For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, ¹⁴ in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.

1. We have an inheritance. An inheritance of his holy people in the kingdom of light
2. He has rescued us from darkness
3. He has brought us into his kingdom
4. We have redemption – the forgiveness of sins

 

Whatever is happening in our own lives (remember Paul writes these words from prison, not from the sun deck of a beautiful house), we can always thank God that all our suffering is temporary and that we have a glorious inheritance that outshines the sun!

 

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Home Group Activities

1. Read Colossians 1:1-14 together and ask the group to list or call out the things Paul prays for, for his readers.

From my notes:

1. Spiritual insight
2. To live lives that please God
3. To bear fruit
4. To grow in the knowledge of God
5. To know his power first-hand
6. For endurance and patience
7. That they might be filled with praise

 

2. Which of these would you most like to grow in? Talk about each of the 7 or just some of them and think together about why it would be good to grow in this area.

 

3. Pray for one another and for the church, that we might grow in these areas and see the fruit that Paul was believing for when he prayed this prayer for the Colossian church.

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