“Devote Yourselves To Prayer”

Colossians 4:2-4

Pastor Christopher English           

 I.                   Introduction
We are on sermon number eight in our study of the Letter to the Colossians on the topic of “Becoming a Missional Christian.”   So far we have discovered that a missional Christian:

• …is a devoted, passionate follower of Jesus Christ who is actively involved in helping others to become devoted, passionate followers of Jesus Christ.
• Today, we discover another defining aspect of being a missional Christian.  A missional Christian lives a life of perpetual, persevering, passionate prayer.

Our study passage this morning reveals four core elements of Biblical, Christian, effectual prayer.  We discover in Colossians 4:2-4, (1) How often we should pray, (2) the state of mind in which we should pray, (3) the attitude of our heart in which we should pray, and (4) what should be the primary content of our prayers.

II.                Exposition 

Our Bible study passage this morning begins with the divine command to “Devote yourself to prayer.”  We must explore the full meaning of this word “Devote” in order to experience the full impact of this command. 

             This word devote in the original Greek language includes all these nuances:

1. that we should be passionately devoted to constant prayer  
2. that we should be steadfastly attentive to prayer and give unremitting care to praying
3. that we should continue in prayer all the time in every place
4. that we should persevere in prayer and not become faint in zeal or faith
5. that we should show ourselves courageous in prayer
6. that we should be in a constant state of readiness to pray  

            We can also explore the full impact of this call to prayer by examining how this word “Devote” is used elsewhere in Scripture:

We can readily see in the Book of Acts that the defining characteristic and activity of the early New Testament church was a daily devotion to prayer, the Word, and fellowship. 

Ac 2:42: They were continually devoting themselves to the apostles' teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.

 It was because of this daily, intense devotion that we also read that “God added to their numbers daily!” 

We also read in Acts that those called to full time ministry should spend the majority of their time in prayer and study of the Word. 

 Ac 6:4: "But we (the apostles) will devote ourselves to prayer and to the ministry of the Word."

 
Throughout the New Testament, in books such as Romans, and the letter to the Colossians that we are studying, we are repeatedly instructed, invite, and commanded to center our daily life around abundant, fervent, prayer.

 Rom 12:10-13: “Be devoted to one another in brotherly love; give preference to one another in honor; not lagging behind in diligence, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord; rejoicing in hope, persevering in tribulation, devoted to prayer, contributing to the needs of the saints, practicing hospitality.”

 
So as you can see, this call to prayer involves far more than just saying grace over our meals, or praying for a good parking space at Wal-Mart!  This is a call to prayer that is far more intense than the call to prayer made in Judaism or Islam.  Many are impressed by the piousness of those in Islam who faithfully pray five times a day.  Yet, our God and our Holy Scriptures call us to pray far more regularly than the fixed hours of Judaism or Islam.  We are called to pray without ceasing!

 This word “devote” is an imperative, present active verb meaning that this is a divine command to live a life of perpetual, relentless, persevering prayer!  

 A missional Christian lives a Prayer-saturated, Word-saturated, and Holy-Spirit-saturated life!

Our study passage also gives us two more defining aspects of effectual, Christian prayer.  We are instructed to be “watchful” and “thankful.”   Again, to grasp the full impact of what all is involved in being watchful in prayer, we must explore this word in all its nuance.

 The formal definition of this word means: to give strict attention to, to be cautious, active, to take heed lest through a lessening in the amount or prayer, or an outright failure to pray some destructive calamity suddenly overtake you.”

And again, we can also explore the full impact of this call to watchfulness in prayer by examining how this word “watchful” is used elsewhere in Scripture:

 In reference to being watchful for Christ’s return:

Mt 24:42:  "Therefore be on the alert, for you do not know which day your Lord is coming.

 In reference to being watchful against the weakness of the flesh:

Mt 26:41:  "Keep watching and praying that you may not enter into temptation; the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak."

 In reference to being watchful against becoming compromised by worldliness :

1Th 5:6:  “…so then let us not sleep as others do, but let us be alert and sober.”

In reference to being watchful against the evil one:

1Pe 5:8:  “Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.”

 In reference to being watchful against the spiritual apathy and complacency:

Re 3:2:  “Wake up, and strengthen the things that remain, which were about to die...”

So then, to be watchful in prayer means that our prayers are empowered by faith, hope, love, The Spirit and the Word:

• We pray empowered by Christian Hope in knowing that the final word is not suffering, violence, or injustice, but the truth that Jesus Christ is Lord of all, who is right now orchestrating all things to usher in God’s kingdom through God’s praying people, and who will very soon return to earth to fully establish God’s kingdom forever!
• We pray empowered by the Holy Spirit who is stronger than our weak flesh that resorts to drowsiness, distraction, and doubt whenever we pursue a life of prayer.
• We pray empowered by the Word of God that transforms us so we are not conformed to this world, that energizes in us New Covenant righteousness in Christ, and that gives us both the content of and authority in our prayers.
• We pray empowered by Biblical Faith which is able overcome all the attacks of the evil one, and to claim every promise of God!
• We pray empowered by Agape Love which compels us out of our apathy and complacency to fervently intercede for the spiritually lost, the deeply hurting, the building up of the global Church, and the effectual proclamation of the gospel to every people group.

So far we have discovered that our Bible study passage teaches us that a missional, Biblical Christian is one who partners with God through prayer in accomplishing God’s kingdom plans on a personal and global level.  We have explored how such effectual praying involves praying in a state of watchfulness. 

Our passage includes one other mandatory component of successful prayers, we must pray with a heart attitude of thanksgiving.  The word here for “thanksgiving” is “Eucharistia,” which is where we get our word “Eucharist.” Our partaking of the Sacrament of the Eucharist is meant to be an enacted prayer of thanksgiving.

Our thankfulness in prayer is fueled by:

• We are thankful that we can pray in absolute confidence that God hears our prayers, can relate to our struggles, and has the compassion and the power to respond to our prayers!

 Heb 4:14-16:  “Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession.  For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been tempted in all things as we are, yet  without sin.  Therefore let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.”

 This passage from the book of Hebrews reveals the how and the why of what makes the prayers of a Christian, an adopted child of God, so powerful.

The power and effectiveness of our prayers

• has nothing to do with the eloquence or amount of our words
• has nothing to do with praying in some secret formula to guarantee the answer we want
• has nothing to do with having arrived at some state of super-spiritual maturity
• has nothing to do with having faith in our faith.

 The truth is all our words are feeble, God cannot be manipulated through “magic,” none of us posses any holiness apart from grace in Christ, and we all have inadequate faith!  The power and effectiveness of our prayers, like everything in the Christian life, flows from our relationship with Christ.  The almighty, sovereign, triune God does not hear our prayers because we’ve been a good Christian for a few days, or hours! 

• God hears and answers our prayers because God has chosen to forgive all our sin and make us His adopted sons and daughters!  
• God hears our prayers because God loves us unconditionally and sees us as holy in Christ.  

When we pray, the Holy Spirit, who both lives in us and within the heavenly inner community of the Trinity, takes our prayers to Jesus Christ. 

•   Jesus Christ takes our prayers, no matter how inadequate the words or feeble our faith, or how much we are struggling with sin, doubt, or sorrow, and presents our prayers as perfect before the Father! 

This is why the prayers of a child of God are so powerful and effective in partnering with God in accomplishing Gods’ kingdom plans in and through each person, the global Church, and the entire universe.

The last aspect of powerful, effectual kingdom, missional praying that we discoverer in our Bible study passage this morning is what should be the content of our prayers.  We know that successful prays must be prayed in the name of Jesus Christ according to the will of God for God’s glory and kingdom purposes. The surest way to know that we are praying according to God’s will is to pray what is directly revealed in Scripture to be God’s will.

 Indeed, one of the most powerful forms of prayer is to pray the Scripture itself.  The Bible is full of prayers that you can personalize and pray according to your circumstance. 

There are prayers in the Old Testament such as:

1 Samuel 2:1-10,

1 Kings 8:23-53,

Habakkuk 3,

and of course praying the Psalms have been a source of comfort and healing for God’s people for centuries. 

Some powerful prayers in the New Testament include:

Acts 4:24-31,

Ephesians 1:16-23,

Philippians 1:9-11, and

Colossians 1:9-12.

What is absolutely fascinating is that when you do an exhaustive study on what we are directly instructed to pray for throughout all the New Testament, the topics fall very broadly into only 4 main categories.

• Prayers for healthy, godly relationships marked by forgiveness, forbearance, & love
• Prayers for our new creation in Christ being strengthened (with a few prayers for physical healing)
• Prayers for deliverance from temptation and demonic influence
• Prayers for the gospel to be proclaimed in all the world with power and fruit

This last category is what we find the apostle Paul asking for in our study passage this morning. 

 
Of course in addition to these specific areas, the outline for prayer that we pray as a prayer itself and call the “Lord’s Prayer” or the “Our Father,” gives us more general categories in which to pray:

• God’s glory, will, and kingdom to be accomplished in all the earth
• God’s provision, forgiveness, and protection to be granted to all people

The last thoughts I want to share about prayer this morning is this.  We often restrict prayer to be mostly about asking God for things or to do things.  Yet, this category of prayer called supplication or petition, is meant to be just one component of prayer, and not even the main component. 

Prayer is God’s gift to us as a means of grace to draw closer to the triune God through Christ.  The majority of our time in prayer should be spent in adoration, conversation, and thanksgiving.  What would the relationship be like between a child and a parent, between two friends, or in a marriage is the conversation primarily consisted of asking the other to do something or to give you something?

  Likewise, prayer is mostly about entering into intimate conversation with your heavenly Father who delights to hear your voice.

 
So we have discovered in our Bible passage this morning that we are commanded and invited by our Lord Jesus Christ to live lives of God-glorifying, Christ-centered, kingdom-advancing, Word-saturated, Holy-Sprit-empowered, faith-driven, fervent, perpetual, persevering prayer!

How many want to be a congregation that begins to experience renewal, revival, missional transformation in a manner that places us in a position of partnering with God to effectively reach this city with the gospel so as to make devoted, passionate, followers of Jesus Christ?

Then we must become a praying church! 

How many want to be a congregation that experiences more of God’s saving, healing, transforming presence in our midst when we gather for worship and our own growth in grace?

 Then we must become a praying church!  

How many want to be a congregation that begins to have a reputation in Dubuque as a place where God’s saving, healing, transforming presence is in our midst in a manner that ministers to the lost and lonely, the forgotten and the neglected, the hundreds of deeply hurting people in Dubuque that desperately need to encounter God in all His love, grace, and power?

 
Then we must become a praying church!

 Now a praying church is not where just some of the people pray all the time, or all the people pray some of the time, but where everything we do is birthed through and bathed in abundant prayer!

 
So how do move toward becoming a praying church, a true house of prayer? 

 Here is our action plan to begin our journey toward becoming a house of prayer:

• The study of prayer: via sermons, prayer ministry training, and a weekly Sunday night “School of Prayer” 
• The practice of prayer: via four new weekly prayer gatherings, increasing the prayer engaged in by all our small groups, committees, and choirs, and continued support of our current weekly prayer meetings 
• The saturation of prayer: via a challenge to each of you to personally commit to increasing the time you spend in prayer alone, with friends and family, and in your area of ministry, and via raising up intercessors for the pastor and each elder

 Let us pray…