09.15.2013 Colossians 4 - When and How to Pray
15th September 2013
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We have a God who loves us and sent His son for us to bring us back into relationship with Him. We are Your children and You love us. Help us to know how deep that love is for us – help us to understand Your great love. As we look at Colossians 4, transform, challenge, comfort and encourage us.
Colossians 4:2-6 2 Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful. 3 And pray for us, too, that God may open a door for our message, so that we may proclaim the mystery of Christ, for which I am in chains. 4 Pray that I may proclaim it clearly, as I should. 5 Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity. 6 Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone.
Paul has talked about the supremacy of Christ – the person of Christ and who He is. This is because there were false teachings and there were those in the church who were tempted to blend in with the culture. He is teaching the doctrine of Christ – and how our identity in Christ and our relationships with one another and the outside world can be transformed. Especially in the area of prayer.
2 Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful
Paul wants them to develop a lifestyle of prayer. This is more than just a daily time of prayer – while that is important, it should be as much of our lives as breathing. It is natural – something we do without thinking about it. In reality, it is hard to envision prayer that way.
Pray without ceasing – it is not sitting in a closet, but rather, prayer should be just like breathing – remaining in continual conversation with God. Some call it practicing the presence of God. This includes, and necessitates times of prayer. But this is not a scheduling issue. God is the one who initiates in prayer – not us. He is calling us to conversation and communion with Him. We think we need to develop this great prayer life – but rather, we are to respond what He is calling us to do. This takes some of the pressure off.
It is not about making a schedule and praying like the saints of old for 6-10 hours per day.
It is like smartphones. I recently got one – and I don’t use it for much – and I am content and happy. Our kids – have had these phones since they existed – and they are always buzzing and beeping and don’t even notice it. If I get a notification – I am like – what is that! What is beeping! It is a notification! I better check it!
God is notifying us to pray – and what do we do? Just click it off.
Keep alert in it – we need to pay attention to it – be alert to His notifications. We need to be alert and aware of when God is initiating a conversation with us.
God is initiating through failures, concerns, anxieties, fears, hopes, and dreams. We don’t see those things as God’s initiation for conversation. We experience these things – and we need to pay attention to them – and when they happen, turn them into conversation with God. That is what Paul is getting at - trying to get them to the point where they are able to do that.
All of the things that take place in our daily lives are initiations for prayer.
Even the smallest stuff – see it as gifts from God. In the same way – take the opportunities to listen for those opportunities.
It is an issue of something happens – and we turn to God and begin the conversation on this situation at work or at home or with the kids or with the spouse or something going on on the road.
Sometimes you will notice something about a person – and you get this concern – this inside… - that is God inviting you to engage him over whatever it is. It may even be something you hear on the news.
How often – let’s take this Syria thing – how often do you pray? Make it part of a conversation with God. I think that is what Paul is trying to get at.
How does it become second-nature? Anything – sports or a skill or writing – I am a terrible writer – I have been my whole life. And as I write – my wife edits – and it is a horrible scene at the Marette house – she is ruthless! But she tells me, you have gotten a lot better!
Sports! How do people get better? Practice and discipline. You don’t just go out and hit a golf ball 350 yards the first time. – unless you are in a hurricane.
It is small daily choices that develop a healthy lifestyle.
Here are a couple practical points – when it comes to developing a habit of prayer –
First – make use of traditional prayer times. Meals. For me – when we are at my kids – they will pray for the meal – they learned from the best – short and quick! I don’t think you want to pray for 35 minutes and the food getting cold – but be attentive and thoughtful, realizing that you are really communicating with God.
Bedtime. When you put your kids to bed – you would teach them to pray. But Scripture reminds us to pray at night.
At the beginning of the day – commit it to the Lord.
Simply – sincerely – with thought – commit the day to the Lord. When you go on a trip.
Set aside time for prayer whenever you can.
Peter was praying because it was the hour for prayer.
In the Muslim world, they still do that – they have set aside times for prayer.
Set a period of time – start short if you must – if you are able to pray for an hour, that is fantastic. If you can find ten minutes – that is fantastic.
Third – I have mentioned this before – Evening and morning and afternoon will I pray, and cry aloud…
Three times per day – turn your attention to God.
At work – getting out of the car – before starting work – at lunch – at break.
4) when you are asked to pray – when you hear a concern – do it at that moment. You can ask to pray with the person right then!
5) When you are prompted by God. – If you experience anxiety or fear – turn to God.
What do you pray for? If you are going to be praying for all this time – what do you pray for?
Making requests – on behalf of others and our own requests. That is part of prayer – and when it becomes the only part of your prayer life – that is when we get in trouble. James 5 – pray for the sick. That is not all we pray for. Lord’s prayer: Give us this day our daily bread – yes, pray for your needs. But that is just another part of your prayer life.
The Bible is filled with songs – the Book of Psalms. Jesus prayed. We can learn to pray from Jesus – looking at what He prayed for and what He told His disciples to pray for. All of the epistles have prayers of Paul. Pay attention to those things. You can even pray those prayers! Some people write their prayers out. That is what the Psalmist did. It is okay to pray their prayers. It is okay to take their prayers and make it your own.
Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done – Pray for His kingdom and His will to be done. Pray to forgive – reconciliation in relationships.
Paul –3 And pray for us, too, that God may open a door for our message, so that we may proclaim the mystery of Christ, for which I am in chains. 4 Pray that I may proclaim it clearly, as I should.
Pray that God would open doors! (to share the message of Christ with others). In Just Sow it – we need to take the opportunity to share – and sometimes those opportunities don’t open up because we aren’t praying for the opportunity to share.
Colossians 1: 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…
In ALL wisdom and understanding! Pray that your life is faithful and worthy and that your witness and testimony is sure! Pray to be transformed – bearing fruit in our identity with Christ.
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[f] to share in the inheritance of his holy people in the kingdom of light.
There is so much to pray for!
I don’t know that we understand this as Americans – Be devoted to prayer. He is talking to them as a church. Church – together – be devoted to prayer. That is a hard one. It is hard to pray with others consistently. He is speaking of public church community prayer. May this be a bigger part of our lives.
Paul connects this spiritual transformation to their witness:
5 Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity. 6 Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone.
This transition of Paul’s heart is evident – it is in the realm of the Spirit that this takes place. The spiritual realm – entering the heavenly realms – bringing our prayers and praise to God – is to how we conduct our lives in this world.
When we think of our witness – Paul begins with conduct and character – your way of life – and that provides opportunity for your speech. Making the most of the opportunity is to let your speech proclaim Christ. When we speak, we are to be gracious, seasoned – attractive – compelling in the way we communicate – not manipulative or overbearing or rude or self-serving or arrogant.
So that you may know how to answer everyone – this communication of the gospel – Paul has this – the ability to DIALOGUE – to know how to respond to people as they begin to question and wonder what it is to be a Christian – what it looks like, how it comes about.
Bow your head and close your eyes – you know your week – ask God to provide open doors this week – to be alert to any that come by.