A Prayer Worth Praying

If you will, to Colossians, Colossians chapter one, we're going to be focused on verses 9 through 14.

! This is a tremendous prayer that we see recorded in Scripture that Paul has written.

Have you ever come across Scriptures at times when you're reading through the Bible that just grab your attention?

They just kind of stand off the page to you and for some reason just kind of captivate you.

Maybe it's a moment in time, maybe a place you are in your life.

Maybe it's something you've been praying and seeking for direction or guidance.

And there's a Scripture that God uses just to speak to you through that passage.

Well, for some time I've been really interested in the prayers of Scripture and especially in the New Testament.

And not to discount the prayers of Jesus or John, but Paul, the prayers of Paul really get my attention.

And Paul has a tremendous pastoral heart that we see throughout his letters.

And often we see Scriptures that he has written where he is praying not for himself as much as for those that are in the churches where he has started.

And he has moved on to plant another church somewhere.

But he continues to pray for the spiritual growth of those that he's left behind.

But he's left in the hands of someone else to pastor.

However, in this passage in Colossians, the believers here are someone Paul has actually never even met.

He did not start the church here in Colossae.

He has actually only heard about the believers here.

He's heard of their faith in the Lord.

He's heard of their love for Christ and for one another.

And he's only heard of their hope in Christ.

But he still has that pastoral hunger and heart for them and their continued spiritual growth and walking with the Lord.

And so he records this letter to them.

And he records this prayer that he says he continues to pray without ending.

He has not stopped praying for them.

If you ever wonder how to pray for your loved ones,

you ever wonder how to pray for a spouse or a child, a grandchild,

or maybe even yourself, sometimes you don't even know how to pray for yourself in your spiritual journey

and your walk with the Lord.

And you wonder, I don't even know how to pray other than God be with me, God help me.

So many times our prayer lives are, God do this for me, or God help me with this, or God do that.

But this is an amazing passage here where we look right into the heart of Paul

and that pastoral heart of his where he gives us a glimpse there to show us how we can pray for ourselves,

maybe a spouse, maybe a child or a grandchild or other loved ones in our lives.

So let's look together at the scriptures here at Colossians chapter 1 verses 9 through 14.

Colossians 1:9–14

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 and 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.

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.

You know, as I said, have you ever wondered just how to pray for a loved one?

Pray for a child.

Pray for a grandchild.

Or pray for your church family.

Pray for your pastors.

This is a tremendous passage of scripture here, a prayer of Paul of where to begin

and to where to incorporate or adopt this prayer into your own prayer life

to pray for your loved ones.

So let's begin to dissect this a little bit.

One of the weaknesses of being an associate pastor and only getting to pinch hit occasionally

is I don't have enough time to really dive into this and dissect it to the full extent.

I need multiple weeks to really deal with this.

So we're going to only be able to hit some of the highlights of this,

but I'm going to do my best.

And I would encourage you to go home and read this and study this

and really learn more than what we'll be able to do today.

Because again, this is an amazing passage and it will take your prayer life to a new level

when you're praying for others.

But let's look again at verse 9.

That you would be filled with the knowledge of his will

in all spiritual wisdom and understanding.

If that's all you prayed for your loved ones,

that is powerful.

That is powerful.

Do you just sit there and soak that in for a moment?

Pray.

Maybe you add the name of who you're praying for right now.

Your spouse, your children, your grandchildren.

I wish you'd pray it for me.

That Jeff would be filled with the knowledge of God's will

in all spiritual wisdom and understanding.

This isn't just a head knowledge.

It's not about reading the Bible and just accumulating facts.

It's not about being able to just quote scripture

and knowing all the ins and outs of when a letter was written

or when it was dated and the history behind the letter.

It's not about all of that.

The word filled means to be completely controlled by something.

To be saturated.

Paul wants them to be so full of the knowledge of God's will

that it shapes how they think.

He wants them to be so saturated with understanding of God's will

that it changes the way they speak and how they live.

Too many Christians today settle for knowing about God

and not knowing God.

We know facts about God, but we don't know God.

Do you realize when you sit down,

and I might get to preaching here in a second,

but Brian's got me trapped in here where he's got me caged in,

so I may not get to walk as much as I like.

When you sit down with the word of God,

you're not just reading it to gain factual information.

Do you realize you're sitting down with God?

You're sitting down, spending time,

fellowshipping with God to know him,

to fellowship with him, interacting with him,

allowing him to speak to you,

not just gaining factual information and knowledge,

but we are to sit down with him

and let the word saturate us,

let it fill us, let it impact us,

and that just doesn't happen by us reading it quickly.

It's great to have a reading plan,

but don't just have a reading plan

so that you can read it quickly and check it off

and move on about your day.

Read through the scriptures slowly.

Set aside time that you can slowly move through the scriptures

and let that speak to you.

Hebrews says the word of God is living and active

and sharper than any double-edged sword.

Allow the word of God to come alive in you.

Allow it to saturate your inner being

and speak to you.

Don't just read it and say,

okay, it's checked off and move about your day.

Let it saturate you and change the way you think.

Change the way you speak.

Change the way you live.

And you know what?

Spiritual wisdom isn't going to be something

that just falls in your lap.

Spiritual wisdom isn't going to be something

that just pops in your head one day.

You know, obviously it begins with the Holy Spirit

opening our eyes

and the Holy Spirit giving us that spiritual wisdom.

But you know what?

It really begins with us wanting spiritual wisdom.

It begins by you wanting that.

Do you want spiritual wisdom?

If you do,

then that means we set aside time

to spend with God

and we seek God.

The scriptures tell us continuously,

seek wisdom.

Pursue it like a man would seek treasure.

I'll never forget my New Testament professor in seminary.

He asked us,

do you hunger for God

the way a hungry man hungers for food?

Let me challenge you.

Go three days without eating food at all

and tell me how hungry you are for food.

And then ask yourself,

are you that hungry for God?

Are we that hungry for God today in our lives?

If we are,

we're going to set time aside

to seek God,

to pursue God,

to spend time in His Word

and to slowly process it

and let it saturate us

and impact the way we think,

the way we speak,

the way we live.

It's going to impact our relationships

that we spend

and it's going to change the way we live.

It's going to change our priorities

in life.

And having this type of knowledge

and understanding

leads to a worthy walk

with the Lord.

He then transitions into chapter,

or verse 10,

but I want to go back

and read verse 9

to show you

how He transitions

into verse 10.

Look with me,

if you will,

verse 9 and 10.

So,

asking that you may be filled

with the knowledge of His will

in all spiritual wisdom

and understanding.

Now,

catch this

in starting with verse 10.

So,

as to,

so when you have

that type of spiritual wisdom

and understanding,

so as to walk

in a manner

worthy of the Lord,

fully pleasing to Him.

When it says,

so as to walk

in a manner

worthy,

pleasing to Him,

it's talking about

the way you live.

When you have

that type of knowledge

and spiritual wisdom

and understanding,

then you will live

in such a way

that will bring,

bring honor and glory

to the Lord.

It will be a life

that reflects

the character of God

within you.

You can't sit down

and spend time

with God

in His Word

and let the Word

of God

saturate your being

without it changing

who you are

and molding

and shaping you

in more and more

like the life

of Jesus Christ.

And it means

our conduct,

our priorities,

our thinking,

everything is changed.

Romans 12, 1 and 2

says,

present your bodies

as a living sacrifice,

holy and acceptable

to God

which is your

spiritual worship.

Do not be conformed

to this world

but be transformed

by the renewal

of your mind.

You know,

when we're seeking

the Lord,

when we're pursuing God,

when we're

in the Word of God,

we won't be conformed

to this world

but we will be

transformed

by the renewing

of our mind

through the Word

of God.

And it'll change

our choices,

it'll change

our priorities,

it'll change

our relationships,

it'll change us.

We will be set apart

and different

from the world

and when you live

your life in the world,

people will be able

to look at you

and see a difference.

Some people are going

to think you're weird

and crazy,

that's okay

because they're going

to know

that you're weird

and crazy

and different

and you're changed

because of Jesus Christ.

And Paul gives us

a couple examples here

that reflect

a Christian life

that is being lived

in a worthy manner

that pleases the Lord.

He says,

bearing fruit

in every good work.

You know,

fruit is a common metaphor

for the visible results

of an inward

spiritual life.

You know,

the imagery here

is obviously

an agricultural metaphor.

When a plant

is healthy

and well nourished,

it's obviously

going to produce fruit.

Likewise,

you know,

a believer

who is rooted

in Christ

and filled

with the Spirit

will naturally

produce good works

that reflects

the character

of Christ

within our lives.

You know,

Jesus stated

in John 15, 5,

I am the vine

and you are the branches.

If a man remains

in me

and I in him,

he will bear

much fruit.

If we are spending

time with God,

if we are remaining

in him,

allowing his word

to remain in us,

we will bear fruit.

This isn't just

the fruit of the Spirit

because the fruit

of the Holy Spirit

will produce

the fruit of the Spirit

within us,

but then our lives

will produce fruit

for the kingdom

of God.

There's many

different ways

that scriptures

define fruit

and that's one

of those things

we don't have time

to talk about today,

but it says

in every good work

we will produce fruit

in every good work.

This phrase means

fruitfulness

should not be limited

just to one area

of our life,

not just here at church

and then we go out

and live a different way,

completely different,

but it touches

every part of our lives,

whether you're at work,

whether you're at school,

whether you're

in your recreational time

or your community,

wherever,

whatever you're doing,

that you will produce fruit

for the kingdom of God

in every component

and every aspect

of your life.

You can't compartmentalize

your life

and only have

certain aspects of it

that are being lived out

for the Lord

and then you live

a different way

in a different time.

Every component

of your life

will produce fruit

for the kingdom of God

in all that you do.

And then verse 11,

being strengthened

with all power

according to

His glorious might,

for all endurance

and patience

with joy.

You know,

this is one of the most

practical parts

of the prayer here

because most of us,

really every one of us,

all believers,

we're going to face

seasons of hardship,

we're going to face

seasons of discouragement

and fatigue,

loneliness,

temptation,

seasons of busyness

when we're running

on empty

and we feel like

giving up

and quitting.

We just don't know

if we can keep going.

And Paul doesn't pray

for the believers

at Colossae

that they would have

all those difficulties

removed.

What does he pray for?

He prays for them

to have endurance

to continue.

He also prays

for them

to have patience.

Now,

patience here,

we often think

of patience

as putting up

with other people.

That may or may not

be what he means here.

Patience

probably

is more like

patience

to wait upon

God

to unfold

His plan

and His will

and accomplish

what He's doing

in your life.

Because sometimes

we have to wait

for God

to answer prayers.

We have to wait

for God

to accomplish

what He's doing

through us.

We have to be patient

and trust

that God's will

is best.

But have endurance

to run the race

and finish the race.

Now,

I know this next one

is speaking to me.

Maybe you too,

amen?

with what?

It sounds like

a joyful group

here today.

With

joy.

With joy.

You know,

all of us,

every one of us

can grit our teeth

and bear it.

I'm waiting for Jesus

to come back

and I'm gonna like it.

But He's saying

do it with joy.

The kind of joy

that Paul and Silas

had when they were

whipped and beaten

and thrown in jail

and they sang praises

to God,

thank you that we

were worthy.

Thank you that we

were worthy

to suffer.

Now,

is that natural?

That isn't about

circumstances.

Our lives are not

gonna always be

hunky-dory,

good and wonderful.

We're gonna go

through hard times.

We're gonna go

through suffering.

We're gonna go

through difficulties.

You know why?

Sometimes God puts us

through those things.

Sometimes God puts us

through them to get rid

of sin in our life.

Sometimes He's

building character.

Sometimes He's

preparing us

for future work.

But He's saying

do it with joy.

That joy

can only come

through the power

of the Holy Spirit

living within us.

What's one of the

fruits of the Spirit?

Love,

peace,

joy.

as we walk

with the Lord,

as we spend time

in the Word,

as we get our eyes

off this world

and keep our eyes

on the Lord.

Every time I go

through periods

in my life

when I'm discouraged,

I'm depressed,

or I'm struggling,

I notice that I've

neglected my time

with the Lord.

Every time.

Without exception.

But when we're

getting up

or staying up late,

whenever your time

is to spend time

with the Lord,

turn the TV off.

Quit watching

Clemson trying

to lose football games

and South Carolina

giving up

massive leads

of football games.

Quit watching

that kind of stuff.

And spend time

with the Lord.

Spend time

with God.

Saturate your mind.

Saturate your heart.

Saturate your life

with Jesus Christ

and stay focused

on Him

and His will

for your lives.

What God

wants to do

with you.

What is it

that God

wants to do

in you?

What is God's

plan for your life?

If you're still

sitting here today

breathing,

God's got a plan

for you.

God's got a will

for your life

and we can do it

with joy

because Jesus said

I've come to give you

life and to give you

life more abundantly.

He doesn't want us

to grit our teeth

and just bear it.

He wants us

to get through

this life

with joy

and peace.

You may go

through hard times.

You may go

through some

suffering

and not every

moment is going

to be filled

with happiness

but when the Holy

Spirit lives

within us

we can have joy

and I'm going

to show you

why that's true.

Let's look at

verse 12

to 14.

Giving thanks

to the Father

who has qualified

you to share

in the inheritance

of the saints

in light.

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 sin.

Amen?

Amen?

Paul ends

with thanksgiving

not because

it was easy

not because

life was easy

but because

salvation

is certain.

Folks

we've won.

we've won.

Our destination

is certain.

We know

where we're

going to spend

eternity

if you've

given your

heart and life

to Jesus Christ.

So no matter

what you endure

no matter

what you go

through in this

life

no matter

what suffering

and hardship

and endurance

we face

we know

that we will

spend eternity

with Jesus Christ

and that should

fill our hearts

with joy

and peace

and happiness

endurance

and stamina

to get through

whatever we're

going to get

through every

day.

He says here

God has

qualified us

he's delivered

us

he's transferred

us

he's redeemed

us

and he's

forgiven us

through Jesus

God didn't

just improve

our lives

he adopted

us

into his

family

is that not

good news

God

transferred us

from being

an enemy

of God

living in

darkness

destined

for hell

nothing we

could do

about it

we couldn't

earn it

we couldn't

buy it

we couldn't

deserve it

we could

do nothing

about it

but Christ

qualified us

and the

father adopted

us through

Jesus Christ

into his

family

if you've

ever felt

unworthy

if you've

ever felt

unwanted

if you've

ever felt

like you

don't

belong

then remember

it is

God

who chose

you

it's God

who qualified

you

you didn't

earn salvation

you received

it

and gratitude

becomes the

natural response

of a

redeemed

heart

so what

do we

learn from

this

sermon

here

in

Colossians

what do

we learn

that we

can apply

in our

own

prayer

lives

we learn

that we

can pray

for spiritual

wisdom

of complete

knowledge

and understanding

of God's

will

we can pray

that for

ourselves

we can pray

it for our

loved ones

and others

we can pray

for God

to give us

complete wisdom

and understanding

we can pray

that God

enables us

to live a life

that's pleasing

to him

that we would

bear fruit

in every good

work

we can pray

for strength

to endure

with joy

and then we

can pray

with thanksgiving

for salvation

can you see

how that would

change

you begin

praying that

over your

loved ones

you begin

praying that

over your

own life

how that

can have

a radical

impact

upon your

spiritual

life

you know

I know

that

it's a

reminder

to me

to use

this

praying

over

my family

I have

some family

members

that I'm

not certain

are saved

I have

others

that are

not living

the way

I'd like

for them

to live

and then

others

that I

just pray

that for

that they

would continue

to grow

and mature

and develop

because none

of us

are where

we need

to be

and we

will never

get there

until

Christ

calls us

home

even Paul

said

that he

still was

growing

he still

was developing

and he

would never

get

to the

level

that God

wanted him

to be

as long

as we

contend

with this

flesh

and blood

so we

can

continue

to pray

for that

for all

of us

that we

continue

to grow

in him

I'm going

to ask

Brian to

come lead

us in a

closing

invitation

and you

respond

today

how the

Lord

is

leading

you

do