Praying for one another
Text: Colossians 1:9-12
The Motivation to Pray for Others
Because of our gratitude for other Christians
The Manner of Prayer
Unceasing prayer
Footnotes:
Our heart for other Christians
1:3-8 “We give thanks to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, praying always for you, since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and the love which you have
for all the saints; because of the hope reserved for you
in heaven, of which you previously heard in the word
of truth, the gospel which has come to you, just as in
all the world also it is bearing fruit and increasing,
even as it has been doing in you also since the day you
heard it and understood the grace of God in truth;
just as you learned it from Epaphras, our beloved
fellow bond-servant, who is a faithful servant of
Christ on our behalf, and he also informed us of
your love in the Spirit.
1:9a “For this reason we also, since the day we
heard about it, have not ceased praying for you.”
The Request
“Asking that you may be filled with the knowledge
of His will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding”
To Know what God wants
To Know the significance of what God wants
(spiritual wisdom)
To Know the requirement of what God wants
(understanding)
Footnotes:
1:9b “…asking that you may be filled with the knowledge
of His will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding,…”
God’s will– what God wants done
Spiritual wisdom – Discerning what eternal spiritual
matters are at stake when deciding to follow God’s
will or follow our own
Understanding -- Grasping the reality of the need
(and benefit) for our obedience to God’s will. “
(It’s not up for negotiation)
The Reason(s)
So that you will walk in a manner worthy of the Lord
To please Him
To bear fruit
To know God more
To be strengthened by Him with perseverance
and patience
To be thankful with joy
To be rewarded
Footnotes:
1:10-12 “…so that you will walk in a manner worthy of
the Lord, to please Him in all respects, bearing fruit in
every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God;
strengthened with all power, according to His glorious
might, for the attaining of all perseverance and patience;
joyously giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified
us to share in the inheritance of the saints in light.
Praying for One Another
Because of our gratitude for one another
we pray constantly for one another
that we all would be filled with the knowledge of His will
so that we will walk in a manner worthy of the Lord.
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