PRAYING TO KNOW GOD S WILL (Colossians 1:9-14) INTRODUCTION All Christians agree that prayer is important. You can find many good statements about the importance of prayer. E. M. Bounds in his classic Power Through Prayer writes: What the Church needs to-day is not more machinery or better, not new organizations or more and novel methods, but men whom the Holy Spirit can use -- men of prayer, men mighty in prayer. The Holy Spirit does not flow through methods, but through men. He does not come on machinery, but on men. He does not anoint plans, but men -- men of prayer. A.J. Gordon said this about prayer, "You can do more than pray after you have prayed; but you can never do more than pray until you have prayed." S.D. Gordon says this about prayer and our battle to do God s will, "Prayer strikes the winning blow; service is simply picking up the pieces." Paul E. Billheimer shares this insight, "Satan does not care how many people read about prayer if only he can keep them from praying. Prayer changes things. This is the title of one of S.D, Gordon s book on prayer. Prayer does CHANGE things, because God answers prayer. There are many, many prayers in the Bible where people prayed, God answered, and things changed. Moses prayed for the people when they were being attacked by fiery serpents because of their disobedience. God provided healing by them looking at a snake on a pole. (Numbers 21) Joshua prayed in the battle with the Ammonites that the sun would stand still. And it did! (Jos 10:12,13). Daniel prayed in the lion s den that God would deliver him. He did! God answers prayer. Prayer changes things! How is your prayer life? One of the areas that always need improvement in my life is my prayer life. I love to read and study and Bible. It is no problem to spend time every day reading the Bible. But spending much time in prayer is a real challenge to me. Sure, I give a few thoughts in my mind to God about my needs for the day and the needs of others and call that my prayer time. But is that really praying? What about you? Do you spend much time each day praying? January 28, 2018 Corntassel CP Church Page 1
Mark 1:35 KJV And in the morning, rising up a great while before day, he went out, and departed into a solitary place, and there prayed. Jesus seems to have spent time each day, early in the morning, praying. We need to learn to pray like Jesus. Also, we need to learn to pray like PAUL. He is a good model for what we are to pray for. In most of his letters he mentions his prayers for the church. In our reading in Colossians this morning we have one of his classic prayers. Let s look at this prayer to see what Paul prayed for in this prayer and see if this is what God would have us to pray for one another. THAT THEY MAY KNOW THE WILL OF GOD Note that Paul makes only one request in this prayer. In verse 9 he prays that God would fill them with the knowledge of his will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding. Paul could have prayed for their health. He could have prayed for their prosperity. He could have prayed that God would bless them. These are all good, but he did not pray for any of these things in this prayer. What he prayed for is that they would be filled with the knowledge of God s will. Paul felt that the most important thing this group of Christians needed was to be filled with the knowledge of God s will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding. The most important knowledge we need is the knowledge of God s WILL. Without the knowledge of God s will we are like a ship without a rudder going each day. We are like a leaf floating down the stream of life just being carried about by the currents of our times. We are like those who are imprisoned by the darkness of their natural mind in their understanding about the things of God. What aspects of God s will was Paul praying for here? If we compare his prayer for the Ephesian church, I believe it will help us to pinpoint the thought. In Ephesians 1 Paul talked about the mystery of God s will. Ephesians 1:9-10 NKJV (9) having made known to us the mystery of His will, according to His good pleasure which He purposed in Himself, that in the dispensation of the fullness of the times He might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven and which are on earth in Him. The mystery of His will in this context is God s ultimate plan of redemption and specifically His plan to gather together in one all things in January 28, 2018 Corntassel CP Church Page 2
Christ The purpose of God in creation and in redemption is that His Son would be exalted above all things. This is the type of knowledge we are to pray about. We need for God to fill up with the knowledge of His great plan of salvation and most of all how He accomplishes this plan through His Son. We should see God s will for our life in light of His plan to bring all things under the LORDSHIP of His Son the Lord Jesus Christ. When Paul added in this Colossian prayer in all wisdom and spiritual understanding he was alluding to the fact that it takes the Holy Spirit to grant this type of wisdom and understanding in their hearts. At another place Paul says that the natural man does not receive the wisdom of God. It is only those who have been regenerated by the Holy Spirit. I Corinthians 2:12-14 This is what we are to pray for one another that God would fill us with the knowledge of His will, i.e. with the knowledge of His gracious plans of redemption by exalting Jesus Christ above all things and will one day He will be head of all things in heaven and in earth. This is the type of knowledge of God s will that will change things in our lives. We need this prayer every day. We are not to stop praying for this as Paul says he never stopped praying this for the Colossians. THAT THEY MAY WALK WORTHY OF THE LORD Paul had a practical purpose in praying for the Lord to fill them with the knowledge of His Will. His purpose was to help them live a life worthy of the One who called them to their salvation. He continues in verse 10a: Verse 10a (NIV): that you may walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing Him The reason Paul wanted the Colossian believers to be filled with the knowledge of God s will was so they could walk or live daily in a manner worthy of the Lord. The goal of knowing and doing the will of God is to walk worthy of the Lord, i.e.to please the Lord. Walking with the Lord was one of Paul s favorite ways of portraying our daily behavior. He uses the analogy more than thirty times. Walking typically involves both direction and progress. We talk about walking to the to the mailbox or walking in a mall. When we walk, we are in pursuit of a worthy goal with a steady and humble gait. For Paul, this was an ideal January 28, 2018 Corntassel CP Church Page 3
image of the Christian life, a person on a steady lifelong journey towards pleasing the Lord. To walk worthy of the Lord is to live a life that is PLEASING to Him. What does a life pleasing the Lord look like? Paul gives us four ways in which the Lord is pleased by our walk. Let s look at them. BEING FRUITFUL IN EVERY GOOD WORK The first way is to be fruitful in every good work. Verse 10 If we are growing in our understanding of God s will for us, this will lead to bearing FRUIT for the Lord. We will understand that this is what God created us for. Ephesians 2:10 NKJV For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them. As the Holy Spirit opens the eyes of our hearts to understand more fully the will of God, we will see more clearly the good works God has prepared for us. We will bear fruit. What is this fruit? In Ephesians Paul says that it is the fruit of goodness, righteousness, and truth (Eph. 4). In Galatians Paul lists some of the fruits of the Spirit love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. These are the fruit we are to bear, not in our own power but through Jesus Christ. He promises: John 15:5 NKJV "I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing. If Jesus is abiding in us and we in him, He will bear fruit through us. We need to pray for one another that God would fill us with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding that we may bear fruit which pleases Him. INCREASING IN THE KNOWLEDGE OF GOD The next thing Paul mentions that pleases the Lord is that we will be increasing in the knowledge of God. It pleases the Lord that we increase in our knowledge of Him. This is his primary purpose for redeeming us, is that we may January 28, 2018 Corntassel CP Church Page 4
know Him in truth and grow in our knowledge of Him. Our bearing fruit for Him will lead to our INCREASING in the knowledge of God. Listen to the apostle Peter: 2 Peter 1:5-8 NKJV But also for this very reason, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue, to virtue knowledge, (6) to knowledge self-control, to self-control perseverance, to perseverance godliness, (7) to godliness brotherly kindness, and to brotherly kindness love. (8) For if these things are yours and abound, you will be neither barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. So we need to pray that God would fill with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding that we may increase in the knowledge of God. BEING STRENGTHENED FOR THE LONG HAUL Paul goes on to say that it pleases the Lord that we be strengthened for the LONG haul in trusting Him. He says in verse 11: strengthened with all might, according to His glorious power, for all patience and longsuffering with joy; As we have been learning from the book of Hebrews we are to persevere in our faith. We are not to turn away from God. We are not to look back at the old life and think that it was better than having to stand strong for the Lord, especially in days of trial. We are to endure with patience and longsuffering for we have a great High Priest who intercedes for us, who represents us to God, whose sacrifice of Himself purges us from all our sins. Therefore persevere in your faith! We need to pray for one another that God would fill us with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding that we may be strengthened to persevere in the faith. GIVING THANKS TO GOD FOR HIS GRACIOUS WORK IN OUR LIVES Finally it pleases the Lord for us to always give THANKS to God for His gracious work in our lives, especially for delivering us from the power of darkness and conveying us into the kingdom of the Son of His love. There is so much I would love to comment on in verses 12-14, but for the lack of time I ll just read them again. January 28, 2018 Corntassel CP Church Page 5
(Col 1:12-14 NKJV) giving thanks to the Father who has qualified us to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in the light. {13} He has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love, {14} in whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness If we are filled with the knowledge of God s will about salvation and redemption in Christ and are growing in that knowledge, then we will be more and more grateful for the grace of God in our lives, and this pleases the Lord. CONCLUSION Let me conclude by asking, What is it in this passage that is useful or profitable to you? Can you use this teaching about praying for one another to be filled with the knowledge of God s will for this church and your life? Can you use this prayer as a model for your praying? Can you use the instruction about what pleases the Lord? Can you seek to bear more fruit to God? Can you increase in your experiential knowledge of God? Can you be strengthened for the long haul in your walk with God by relying on His power? Can you be more thankful for what God has done in your life? Whatever the Lord is speaking to you about in the ways to use this portion of Scripture in your life, listen to Him, and press on to do it. Then you will please the Lord. Amen? Amen! January 28, 2018 Corntassel CP Church Page 6