The goal of Paul in the book of Colossians is the spiritual maturity of his readers. "Christ in you, the hope of glory" (Colossians 1:27) is the primary means of accomplishing this goal. The secret to the Christian life is Jesus Christ living His life in us, to us, and through us.
In Colossians 4:2, Paul introduces prayer which is one of the three essentials believers have to advance our spiritual maturity. This phrase "devote yourselves" occurs six times in the New Testament with regard to prayer.
Prayer is one of the few things in this word, in addition to the Holy Spirit and the word of God that bridges the gap to enable the believer to connect the physical world to the metaphysical world.
Philip Yancey writes, "For me, prayer is not so much me setting out a shopping list of requests for God to consider as it is a way of 'keeping company with God."
It is God's will that we pray to Him, therefore, Paul encourages us to devote ourselves to prayer. "Devote" or "proskartepeite" in the Greek, literally means "to join." Prayer is simply joining God as we go through life on earth. It is not meditation or passive reflection; it is talking to God. It is just like talking with our best friend. It is the communing of the human soul with the one who created that soul.
God loves it when we ask Him for things. In fact, in Proverbs 15:8 we read, "The prayer of the upright is His delight." In Isaiah 65:24 we read, "It will also come to pass that before they call, I will answer; and while they are still speaking, I will hear." But, if prayer is merely asking of God things, we have missed the essence of prayer.
Prayer is the primary way for the believer in Jesus Christ to communicate his emotions and desires with God and to fellowship with God. Prayer is essential for every aspect of our lives.
Prayer should be something that we are deeply committed to, not an every now and then exercise that captures our attention, but a life-giving necessity for our truest selves.
Tomorrow, we will continue in this discussion of the essential nature of prayer and its role in our spiritual maturation, but let me lead you with this idea: Prayer is for the prodigals, the imperfect. And when we are honest with God as we listen and talk with Him, we will advance in our spiritual maturity. The problem is what does spiritual maturity look like? Spiritual maturity is being comfortable with the uncomfortable.
In Colossians 4:2, Paul introduces prayer which is one of the three essentials believers have to advance our spiritual maturity. This phrase "devote yourselves" occurs six times in the New Testament with regard to prayer.
Prayer is one of the few things in this word, in addition to the Holy Spirit and the word of God that bridges the gap to enable the believer to connect the physical world to the metaphysical world.
Philip Yancey writes, "For me, prayer is not so much me setting out a shopping list of requests for God to consider as it is a way of 'keeping company with God."
It is God's will that we pray to Him, therefore, Paul encourages us to devote ourselves to prayer. "Devote" or "proskartepeite" in the Greek, literally means "to join." Prayer is simply joining God as we go through life on earth. It is not meditation or passive reflection; it is talking to God. It is just like talking with our best friend. It is the communing of the human soul with the one who created that soul.
God loves it when we ask Him for things. In fact, in Proverbs 15:8 we read, "The prayer of the upright is His delight." In Isaiah 65:24 we read, "It will also come to pass that before they call, I will answer; and while they are still speaking, I will hear." But, if prayer is merely asking of God things, we have missed the essence of prayer.
Prayer is the primary way for the believer in Jesus Christ to communicate his emotions and desires with God and to fellowship with God. Prayer is essential for every aspect of our lives.
Prayer should be something that we are deeply committed to, not an every now and then exercise that captures our attention, but a life-giving necessity for our truest selves.
Tomorrow, we will continue in this discussion of the essential nature of prayer and its role in our spiritual maturation, but let me lead you with this idea: Prayer is for the prodigals, the imperfect. And when we are honest with God as we listen and talk with Him, we will advance in our spiritual maturity. The problem is what does spiritual maturity look like? Spiritual maturity is being comfortable with the uncomfortable.
