A Call For Watchful Prayer | Colossians 4:2-4

November 18, 2012

We continue our sermon series on Colossians. Open your bibles to the fourth chapter of Colossians, which include the discussion of prayer.

Contextual Background:

The book of Colossians is a defence by Paul of the sufficiency of Christ. False teachers had come into the city of Colossae and were trying to deny that Christ was sufficient. They were saying, “No, you need Christ plus a certain human philosophy. You need Christ plus the Mosaic Law. You need Christ plus certain mystical relationships to angelic beings.”

Paul’s response:

Christ is Supreme and Sufficient; 1:15-20.
Continue in Christ; 2:6-7
You are complete in Christ, 2:10
You are now to walk a new life; 3:12-14

Then Paul talks about the household relationships or codes which is under the umbrella of the Lordship of Christ and in the Spirit of Christ, so that there will be solidarity, cordiality that will speak to the society about the genuine qualities that Christians have.

In Colossians 4:2 onwards, we see a major shift as he brings this letter to a close.

Colossians 4:2-18 – Paul’s final admonition and closing remarks.

Paul in this passage emphasises on spiritual discipline, personal devotion, and relationship to Paul.

Colossians 4:2-4 ²Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful. ³And 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. ⁴Pray that I may proclaim it clearly, as I should.

Exhortation for the Discipline of Prayer.

Paul now moves from the internal conflict of the Colossians to the outward focus of prayer.

Now, in talking about prayer, I realize that we are probably speaking of one of the most common chords in the life of any Christian. We’ve got a little idea of prayer.

Prayer catapults us onto the frontier of the spiritual life. Of all the Spiritual Disciplines prayer is the most central because it ushers us into perpetual communion with the Father. Discipline of prayer that brings us into the deepest and highest work of the human spirit.

“Prayer—secret, fervent, believing prayer—lies at the root of all personal godliness.”- William Carey.

Ephesians 6:18-20 ¹⁸And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people. ¹⁹Pray also for me, that whenever I speak, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel, ²⁰for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare it fearlessly, as I should.

1 Thessalonians 5:17 Pray continually

Abraham praying for Sodom and his nephew Lot.

Consider Moses, again and again intervening between the Israelites and God’s wrath, and pouring out his heart.

The Early Apostles, Gave Themselves Continually To Prayer.

Prayer is a part of the early Christian leaders. In Acts, chapter 1, in the upper room, they all continued with one accord in prayer.

Acts 2:42 They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.

Acts 6:4 …and will give our attention to prayer and the ministry of the word.

Acts 6:6 They presented these men to the apostles, who prayed and laid their hands on them.

Cornelius prayed regularly to God; Acts 10:2

Prayer is not supposed to be a one-time event. Prayer is something that needs to continue.

Romans 12:12 Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.

Philippians 4:6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.

Jesus Modelled Prayer for Us.

In The Gospel Accounts Jesus Prayed.

Jesus fasted and prayed; Mat. 4:1-11
In Jesus’s life, he would very often stop and pray. Sometimes while he will call his disciples and say, “Well it is time to retreat from one place to the other.” Even in the course of the time, Jesus will actually go out and pray by himself; Mk. 1:35; Mt. 14:13. Jesus goes to pray in the most difficult times of his earthly life, like in the garden of Gethsemane; Mt. 26:36.
Jesus at the end of his life, Jesus prayed, “Father into your hands I commit my Spirit;” Lk. 23:46.

Jesus Taught His Disciples On Prayer.

Luke 11:1-13 ¹One day Jesus was praying in a certain place. When he finished, one of his disciples said to him, “Lord, teach us to pray, just as John taught his disciples.” ²He said to them, “When you pray, say: “‘Father, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come. ³Give us each day our daily bread. ⁴Forgive us our sins, for we also forgive everyone who sins against us. And lead us not into temptation.’” ⁵Then Jesus said to them, “Suppose you have a friend, and you go to him at midnight and say, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves of bread; ⁶a friend of mine on a journey has come to me, and I have no food to offer him.’ ⁷And suppose the one inside answers, ‘Don’t bother me. The door is already locked, and my children and I are in bed. I can’t get up and give you anything.’ ⁸I tell you, even though he will not get up and give you the bread because of friendship, yet because of your shameless audacity he will surely get up and give you as much as you need. ⁹“So I say to you: Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. ¹⁰For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened. ¹¹“Which of you fathers, if your son asks for a fish, will give him a snake instead? ¹²Or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? ¹³If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!”

Luke 18:1-8 ¹Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up. ²He said: “In a certain town there was a judge who neither feared God nor cared what people thought. ³And there was a widow in that town who kept coming to him with the plea, ‘Grant me justice against my adversary.’ ⁴“For some time he refused. But finally he said to himself, ‘Even though I don’t fear God or care what people think, ⁵yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will see that she gets justice, so that she won’t eventually come and attack me!’” ⁶And the Lord said, “Listen to what the unjust judge says. ⁷And will not God bring about justice for his chosen ones, who cry out to him day and night? Will he keep putting them off? ⁸I tell you, he will see that they get justice, and quickly. However, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth?”

In other words, Jesus is saying, “Pray, be persistent.” Don’t give up.

Apostle’s Paul Emphasised on Prayer

Paul would bring the attention of the Colossians to devote themselves continually to prayer.

Colossians 4:2 Devote yourselves to prayer…

In fact, Paul begins and ends this epistle with prayer.

Colossians 1:3-11 ³We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you, ⁴because we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love you have for all God’s people— ⁵the 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 ⁶that 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. ⁷You learned it from Epaphras, our dear fellow servant, who is a faithful minister of Christ on our behalf, ⁸and who also told us of your love in the Spirit. 9For 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, 10so 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, 11being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience, 12and giving joyful thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of his holy people in the kingdom of light. 13For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, 14in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.

Paul would end the letter in prayer.

Paul finally gives an example of prayer:

Colossians 4:12 Epaphras, who is one of you and a servant of Christ Jesus, sends greetings. He is always wrestling in prayer for you, that you may stand firm in all the will of God, mature and fully assured.

Prayer Must Be Marked By Vigilance (Watchful) And Gratitude (Thankful).

Colossians 4:2 Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful.

Be Watchful:

Watch And Pray For The Purity Of Sound Doctrine.

In the first place, there are false teachers in the church.

There is possible infiltration of false teaching. The early believers who are susceptible to the influence of the false teaching and all kinds of things that are not worthy of the Lord, must be watchful, must be vigilant, must be on their guard in the spirit of prayer. Prayer is calling on God and asking him for His strength and grace to lead their lives in the right doctrine.

Watch And Pray So That You Will Not Fall Into Temptation.

Matthew 26. Jesus came into the garden, took with Him Peter, two sons of Zebedee, James and John, and they were there. Jesus was praying. He came unto the disciples and He found them asleep. And He said, ‘Peter, you couldn’t stay awake for one hour?’” The word “watch” here means stay awake. “You couldn’t stay awake one hour?

Matthew 26:40 Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.

Watch And Pray Because The End Is Near.

1 Peter 4:7 The end of all things is near. Therefore be alert and of sober mind so that you may pray.

We’ve got to watch and pray.

Gratitude.

Thankfulness is an important quality that Christians should have.

Paul in Colossians emphasises on thankfulness.

See how Paul began Colossians

Colossians 1:3 We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you,

Paul thanks God for them and prays for them.

Colossians 1:9-14 ⁹For 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,¹⁰so 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, ¹¹being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience, ¹²and giving joyful thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of his holy people in the kingdom of light. ¹³For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, ¹⁴in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.

Paul, in the very first chapter brings out prayer and thanksgiving and meet them together.

Colossians 2:6-7 ⁶So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live your lives in him, ⁷rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness.

Colossians 3:15-17 ¹⁵Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. ¹⁶Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom through psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts. ¹⁷And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

Colossians 4:2 Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful.

This is the sixth time in the book of Colossians that gratitude has been mentioned.

Be thankful for salvation; 1:12
Be thankful for your growth; 2:6
Be thankful for your fellowship with Christ, and with the body of Christ; 3:15
Be thankful that you have the privilege to serve Him; 3:17.
Be thankful in prayer; 2:4

We are to be grateful to God and the people around us.

Many times we have a sense of ingratitude and entitlement. When people think that they are entitled to all that comes to them and all the people they meet and all that God does to them, they feel God is doing his job by saving them. God is just doing his job by giving them forgiveness and salvation. They feel entitled to blessings and healing. So they have no sense of gratitude.

Paul says here, “For a Christian living, thanksgiving is an attitude that must be part of how life is lived. This is the attitude that we need to bring when we come before God in prayer. This is the attitude of how we live and interact with people.”

I have learnt that I do not deserve the good things people do to me. They exercise their rights and their will to do good to me. The least I can say is to pause and say, “Thank you.” The more I do that I realize that more I am at peace with myself and with people.

Lack of gratitude or ungratefulness is one of the seeds of discord and it invites all kinds of thoughts into family and community to cause problem. In a church, where Paul just mentioned potential effect of false teaching, it is important that as they continue in prayer, being vigilant, they also do this in the spirit of gratitude.

Transition: If they continue in prayer being watchful and thankful, Paul then needs their prayer support.

Paul’s Prayer Request:

Colossians 4:3-4 ³And 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. ⁴Pray that I may proclaim it clearly, as I should.

Paul’s Prayer Request #1: For Open Door For The Gospel.

Paul is in jail for the sake of the gospel. He is behind closed doors for the sake of the gospel. He has prayer request to those whom he can communicate to.

What is his prayer request?

Is it: Pray that I get out of here quickly, right now or tomorrow?

Is it: Pray that all my guards will die, so that I will sneak out? No.

Paul was still concerned about the gospel being preached. Prison doors had not stopped him. If he has the first prayer list to send out, it is so that doors maybe open to them to be able to proclaim the gospel.

Paul’s Prayer Request #2: To Proclaim The Mystery Of Christ.

To proclaim the mystery of Christ for which he is in prison. Mystery of Christ is responsible for sending him to jail. The message of the Gospel, as in Ephesians is that God has inaugurated a new event in human history, an event beyond salvation or a covenant community of the Jews. That in Christ Jesus, God is brining Jews and gentiles and uniting them into the community of God, into the household of God, Eph. 2:19

Paul now says, “Pray that we might be able to proclaim that. Pray that open doors will be there and when the doors are open, pray that we don’t keep our mouths shut.”

Just imagine Paul’s prayer request in the jail. The Gospel is his passion and nothing will stop him from carrying out the mission of Christ. He needs prayer support to that effect.

Paul’s Prayer Request #3: To Proclaim The Gospel With Clarity As He Should.

Colossians 4:4 Pray that I may proclaim it clearly, as I should.

In Colossians 4:4, Paul requests prayer for his ability to communicate the Gospel effectively. He seeks clarity and wisdom in sharing the message of Christ. This reflects his commitment to conveying the Good News accurately and persuasively, emphasizing the importance of clear and impactful communication in spreading the Gospel.

How often is prayer put on such top priority in my life?

If Paul sees prayer not only as a lifestyle for the Colossians to adopt or develop, but he realizes his need for prayer in this area, how much do I need prayer? How much do I need the grace and the strength of God to live life and not be contaminated with all sorts of deceptions around us even in the 21^st century.

Result of Prayer:

To Pray Is To Change.

Prayer is the central avenue God uses to transform us. If we are unwilling to change, we will abandon prayer as a noticeable characteristic of our lives. The closer we come to the heartbeat of God the more we see our need and the more we desire to be conformed to Christ. When we pray, God slowly and graciously reveals to us our evasive actions and sets us free from them.

Real Prayer Is To Love God And Desire His Will.

In real prayer, begin to think God’s thoughts after him: to desire the things he desires, to love the things he loves, to will the things he wills.

James 4:3 When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures.

In prayer progressively, we are taught to see things from his point of view. In prayer, God’s will becomes your will and your will eventually becomes God’s will.

Adoniram Judson sought to withdraw from business and company seven times a day in order to engage in the holy work of prayer. He began at dawn; then at nine, twelve, three, six, nine, and midnight he would give time to secret prayer. John Hyde of India made prayer such a dominant characteristic of his life that he was nicknamed “Praying Hyde.” For these, and all those who have braved the depths of the interior life, to breathe was to pray.

Many of us, however, are discouraged rather than challenged by such examples. Those “giants of the faith” are so far beyond anything we have experienced that we are tempted to despair. But rather than flagellating ourselves for our obvious lack, we should remember that God always meets us where we are and slowly moves us along into deeper things.

Illustration: Occasional joggers do not suddenly enter an Olympic marathon. They prepare and train themselves over a period of time, and so should we. When such a progression is followed, we can expect to pray a year from now with greater authority and spiritual success than at present.

In our efforts to pray it is easy for us to be defeated right at the outset because we have been taught that everything in the universe is already set, and so things cannot be changed. And if things cannot be changed, why pray? We may gloomily feel this way, but the Bible does not teach that. The Bible prayers prayed as if their prayers could and would make an objective difference. The apostle Paul gladly announces that we are “colaborers with God”; that is, we are working with God to determine the outcome of events (1 Cor. 3:9). It is Stoicism that demands a closed universe not the Bible.

Moses prayed boldly because he believed his prayers could change things, even God’s mind. In fact, the Bible stresses so forcefully the openness of our universe that, in an anthropomorphism hard for modern ears, it speaks of God constantly changing his mind in accord with his unchanging love (see Exod. 32:14; Jon. 3:10).

This comes as a genuine liberation to many of us, but it also sets tremendous responsibility before us. We are working with God to determine the future! Certain things will happen in history if we pray rightly. We are to change the world by prayer. What more motivation do we need to learn this loftiest human exercise?

In conclusion, prayer is an essential, transformative practice for believers. Paul’s plea for watchful, thankful, and clear prayer in Colossians exemplifies its significance. To pray is to seek God’s will, love Him, and partner in changing the world.

Life Application Points:

Prioritize prayer daily for spiritual growth and communion with God.
Embrace gratitude, cultivating a thankful heart in all aspects of life.
Pray for the spread of the Gospel and open doors for it.
Seek clarity in your prayers and communication of God’s message.

City Harvest AG Church

A Call For Watchful Prayer | Colossians 4:2-4