Devoted To Prayer

-

Scripture:

Col. 4:2 ¶ Devote yourselves to prayer, keeping alert in it with thanksgiving.
Col. 4:3 At the same time pray for us as well that God will open to us a door for the word, that we may declare the mystery of Christ, for which I am in prison,
Col. 4:4 so that I may reveal it clearly, as I should.

Observation:

In these final words of instructions to the church in Colossae we discover what is really important for a Christ follower.  They are to be devoted to a life of prayer but not a prayer life that dulls the senses, but instead a prayer life that makes one alert.  Prayer is to be filled with thanksgiving and prayer for others, and while praying for others we must pray for doors to be opened to spreading the word and that the message may be clearly understood.

Application:

Do we really understand what prayer is all about?  So often our prayer lists are filled with concerns for those who are sick.  It's not wrong to pray for those who are sick but if that becomes the extent of our prayer lives we are missing out on the big the picture!  Prayer is supposed to be about us as people -- we are to be a people of prayer.  Our churches are to be houses of prayer.  Prayer is about spending intimate time in the presence of Jesus and it is through this intimacy in prayer that we are transformed.  That's why Paul thought it was so important for the people in Colossae.  They needed to be a people of prayer! 

We need to be a people of prayer so that we can experience the transforming power of the Holy Spirit working in our lives.  This transformation will help us to be alert to what is happening around us.  This includes being attentive to the possibility of temptations which may come at us at breakneck speed, or it may help us to see the open doors of opportunity to spread the mystery of Christ.  Being engaged as a faithful follower of Christ requires us to be alert!

At the same time we are to have a spirit, or an attitude of thanksgiving.  This means that we should come before the Lord with our praises and words of thanks.  How often do we do that?  I'm afraid not very often -- we jump right into the bunion prayer requests!!!  What would happen if we turned our prayers around and spent most of our time in thanksgiving before him?  I believe that would be transformational!  It's meant to be transformational -- because God is to be praised and worshipped and thanked in our prayers.

Finally it seems that many people tell me that they have never led anyone to the Lord, nor would they know how.  The secret is right here in what Paul has to say.  Paul says to make this a matter of prayer.  I'm guessing that one reason we don't make it a matter of prayer is that we are afraid that God might answer the prayer and then we'd have to speak up!  But if we would make sharing Christ a matter of prayer we would be surprised by the open doors and then the right words that God would give us to speak.  Usually it takes very little speaking for the Holy Spirit does the speaking and the prodding in the heart of the individual. 

As Christ followers we are to be devoted to prayer.  We must make prayer a priority in our lives for without it we will die spiritually.  If the word of God is our spiritual food, then prayer is our very breath.  We might be able to go without food for a short period of time, but if we do not pray, we will be suffocated by the things of this world.  This wasn't meant to be a harsh command, but rather being devoted to prayer is the solution for life.

Prayer:

Lord, please help me to be a woman of prayer, devoted to you.  Amen.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Take Off Your Ornaments

-
Scripture: Ex. 33:4 ¶ When the people heard these harsh words, they mourned, and no one put on ornaments. Ex. 33:5 For the LORD had said to Moses, “Say to the Israelites, ‘You are a stiff-necked people; if for a single moment I should go up among you, I would consume you. So now take off your ornaments, and I will decide what to do to you.’” Ex. 33:6 Therefore the Israelites stripped themselves of their ornaments, from Mount Horeb onward. Observation: The people had sinned before God by making and worshiping the golden calf!  They had taken their golden jewelry — the earrings and other items they had gotten from the Egyptians and used them to create an idol.  Now, in an act of humility and repentance they were to take off all of their jewelry and ornaments.  It was a time of mourning over their sin and it included intentional action on the part of the Israelites.  Application: We don’t do all that well with humility and repentance!  It seems that we live in a ti...
Read more

Does God Value Boys More than Girls?

-
Scripture: Lev. 12:1 ¶ The LORD spoke to Moses, saying: Lev. 12:2 Speak to the people of Israel, saying: ¶ If a woman conceives and bears a male child, she shall be ceremonially unclean seven days; as at the time of her menstruation, she shall be unclean. Lev. 12:3 On the eighth day the flesh of his foreskin shall be circumcised. Lev. 12:4 Her time of blood purification shall be thirty-three days; she shall not touch any holy thing, or come into the sanctuary, until the days of her purification are completed. Lev. 12:5 If she bears a female child, she shall be unclean two weeks, as in her menstruation; her time of blood purification shall be sixty-six days. Lev. 12:6 ¶ When the days of her purification are completed, whether for a son or for a daughter, she shall bring to the priest at the entrance of the tent of meeting a lamb in its first year for a burnt offering, and a pigeon or a turtledove for a sin offering. Lev. 12:7 He shall offer it before the LORD, and make atonement on her ...
Read more

On Grief and A Flute Player

-
Scripture: Matt. 9:23 When Jesus came to the leader’s house and saw the flute players and the crowd making a commotion, Matt. 9:24 he said, “Go away; for the girl is not dead but sleeping.” And they laughed at him. Matt. 9:25 But when the crowd had been put outside, he went in and took her by the hand, and the girl got up. Matt. 9:26 And the report of this spread throughout that district. Observation: This is a simple story which we have heard or read numerous times. Jesus heals the little girl and the people rejoice. But at the moment in which he arrives at the home he encounters the professional mourners. These are the flute players, the ones who have come to make a great noise about the child’s death. It is the flute player that testifies to the fact that she is truly dead. Also, flutes were generally employed when it came to the death of a child. The whole community would therefore understand that it is a child who has died in this home. The flute player is doing the job they have ...
Read more