November 24, 2014
Today’s reading from Encounter with God

A Prayer to Grow Into

Please see the links to our EXTRA Bible Study notes at the bottom of the page.

Opening Prayer

Wondrous One, I greet this new day with anticipation. May I have eyes to see the wonder of what You are accomplishing in my life.

Read Colossians 1:1-14

[1] Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother, [2] To God’s holy people in Colossae, the faithful brothers and sisters in Christ: Grace and peace to you from God our Father. [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- [5] the faith and love that spring from the hope stored up for you in heaven and about which you have already heard in the true message of the gospel [6] that has come to you. In the same way, the gospel is bearing fruit and growing throughout the whole world-just as it has been doing among you since the day you heard it and truly understood God’s grace. [7] You learned it from Epaphras, our dear fellow servant, who is a faithful minister of Christ on our behalf, [8] and who also told us of your love in the Spirit. [9] For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for 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.

Scripture taken from the THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION, NIV Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

Reflect

Reflect on the wonderful truth that in Christ we have redemption, the forgiveness of our sins (14). These gifts came because of the cross, where Christ not only canceled our debt but disarmed our enemy (2:14,15).

It has been said that the prayers of the Bible are like the big clothes that parents buy for their children to grow into. Paul’s prayer for the Colossians is a big prayer. We can use it as a model as we pray for others as well as for ourselves.

Paul starts by thanking God for the Colossian believers themselves. Although he had never visited them, he had heard about their growth in the five most important Gospel qualities: their faith in Jesus Christ, their love for the saints, their sustained hope of heaven, their understanding of God’s grace and their acceptance of his truth (5,6). There are a handful of qualities to pray for today! And the growth which he sees in this small church in the Lycus valley reminds him of God’s work on a far larger canvas–the growth of the Gospel all around the world (6). It’s the same today, for we are part of the fastest-growing family on the planet.

He then prays for the believers in terms we too should adopt. First, prayer for the knowledge of God’s will (9)–the capacity to understand God’s good purposes for us and for the church. There couldn’t be a more important prayer request. Second, that they should live a life in line with those purposes and worthy of the family name (10). Next, for power to endure (11), experiencing God’s glorious strength to sustain their commitment to his work. And finally, for an attitude of thanksgiving for Jesus and all that he has done for us in rescue, deliverance and new life in God’s Kingdom (13). Here is an expansive prayer that by God’s grace we can grow into, for the well-being of our churches and personal lives.

Apply

Think of several family members or Christian friends. Which of Paul’s prayer requests for the Colossians can you turn into specific prayers for them? Pray these prayers for the next several days.

Closing prayer

Lord, I thank You for those who have prayed for me over the years. Equip me to be a faithful intercessor for others.

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