‘We Have Not Stopped Praying for You.’ (2)
[Colossians 1:9-14]
In today's passage, Colossians 1:9a, the Apostle Paul states that he does not cease to pray and make requests for the faithful saints of the Colossian church. According to the Modern Korean Bible, the verse reads: "Since we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you. We continually ask God to fill you with the knowledge of his will." Based on this passage, I would like to reflect on five points under the title "Continually Praying for You," using insights from The Outline Bible commentary and drawing lessons from Paul's prayer for the faithful saints in the Colossian church.
First, the Apostle Paul prayed without ceasing to God, asking Him to fill the faithful saints of the Colossian church with knowledge of His will.
In Colossians 1:9a (Modern Korean Bible), it reads: "Since we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you. We continually ask God to fill you with the knowledge of his will." What do you think God's will is? God's good will (Rom. 12:2) is to save those whom He chose before the foundation of the world (Eph. 1:4). In accomplishing this redemptive purpose, God works all things together for good (Rom. 8:28). In the fulfillment of this grand purpose, God desires to use believers who trust in Jesus Christ. Therefore, we need to humbly and obediently engage in the work of presenting ourselves as living sacrifices (14:8), living lives that testify to the Gospel of Jesus Christ (Phil. 1:27), and proclaiming the Gospel with our mouths (Acts 8:35). Just as God's will has already been accomplished in heaven, it will surely be fulfilled on earth as well. Our responsibility is to pray according to God's will and live accordingly (Mt. 6:10; 1 Jn. 3:17; 5:14, Modern Korean Bible). Jesus came down from heaven not to fulfill His own will but the will of the One who sent Him. God's will, as revealed through Jesus, is for everyone to believe in Jesus Christ, the Son of God, and receive eternal life, being raised by Jesus on the last day (Jn. 6:38-40). To fulfill this will, Jesus prayed in Gethsemane the night before His crucifixion, saying, "Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done" (Lk. 22:42, Modern Korean Bible). Those who seek God's will live and die according to God's will, which is found in the Scriptures.
In today's passage, Colossians 1:9, the Apostle Paul, in a letter to the faithful saints of the Colossian church, expresses the following: "For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you and asking God to fill you with the knowledge of his will.” In examining this passage, it's crucial to understand why the Apostle Paul continued to pray without ceasing for the faithful saints of the Colossian church. In other words, we need to consider the reasons behind Paul's unceasing prayer for them. Paul explicitly states that he has been praying without ceasing for the Colossian saints since the day he heard about them (or since the day he received the news). To discern the reasons, we can refer to Colossians 1:4-5, where Paul mentions the news he received: "For we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love you have for all God’s people— the faith and love that spring from the hope stored up for you in heaven." The news Paul received was about the faith of the Colossian saints in Christ Jesus and their love for all the saints. In contemporary language, Paul heard that the Colossians believed well in Christ Jesus and loved all the saints. He received this news through Epaphras, a faithful worker in Greece (Col. 1:7). In verse 8, Paul acknowledges Epaphras as the one who reported the news that the Colossians were living in love by the Holy Spirit. Upon hearing this news, Paul continued to pray without ceasing for the faithful saints in the Colossian church (v. 9). The essence of his prayer is expressed in the latter part of verse 9: "asking God to fill you with the knowledge of his will." In the latter part of verse 10, Paul further states that he prays for them to grow in the knowledge of God. Two interesting points come to mind here:
- In Colossians 1:1, the Apostle Paul begins the letter to the Colossians by stating, "Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother." This phrase, "by the will of God," is not unique to Colossians but is a recurring theme in about four of his letters: 1 Corinthians 1:1 ("called to be an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God"), 2 Corinthians 1:1 ("by the will of God"), Ephesians 1:1 ("by the will of God"), and 2 Timothy 1:1 ("by the will of God").
In other words, Paul, at the beginning of these five letters, emphasizes that he became an apostle, called by God's will. The person who first conveyed this fact to Paul was Ananias, who met Paul after his encounter with the resurrected and ascended Jesus on the road to Damascus (Acts 22:1-12). Ananias praised Paul for being chosen by the God of their ancestors, knowing His will, seeing the Righteous One (Christ), and hearing a voice from His mouth. Ananias assured Paul that he would be a witness of what he had seen and heard (vv. 14-15).
- Paul, as the only one who offered this prayer to God without ceasing, wasn't the sole participant in this endeavor. Epaphras, a faithful co-worker of Christ and a fellow servant of God alongside Paul, who was loved by Paul and a member of the Colossian church (Col. 1:7), was also fervently engaged in such prayers.
Colossians 4:12 states, "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." When the Apostle Paul prayed unceasingly to God for the faithful saints of the Colossian church to be filled with the knowledge of God's will (1:9), his intention went beyond a mere desire for them to possess intellectual understanding of God's will. Instead, he fervently prayed that they not only acquire spiritual wisdom but also the practical discernment to apply these principles in their daily lives. In verse 9, where Paul expressed his desire for them to be filled with "all spiritual wisdom and understanding," the term "wisdom" refers to the ability to accumulate and organize principles found in the Scriptures. It encompasses a deep understanding and insight into the truths of the Bible. On the other hand, "understanding" or "insight" involves the practical application of these principles in their everyday living (MarArthur). In other words, the Apostle Paul prayed to God for the faithful saints of the Colossian church to be filled with "all spiritual wisdom and understanding" (v. 9). His prayer was that God would enrich these believers with comprehensive spiritual wisdom and practical discernment, making them children who understand and live according to God's will.
If we are a Christian living a life of faith, there is likely no one who has not pondered what God's will is. For us Christians, living a life of faith, the will of God is extremely important. However, the problem is that although our hearts desire to understand and live according to God's will, our weak flesh often seeks to pursue "my will" and live according to our own desires. When our "my will" and "God's will" clash, what should we do? For example, if God's will is to love our neighbor as ourselves, but our own will is to hate our neighbor rather than love them, what should we do? We should pray to God, just as Jesus prayed on the night before He was crucified on the cross: "... yet not as I will, but as You will" (Mt. 26:39, Modern Korean Bible). Therefore, we pray that, like Jesus, who obeyed the Father's will even unto death on the cross (Phil. 2:8), we may also obey the Lord's will unto death. Let us all continually (without ceasing) pray to God to fill us and you with all spiritual wisdom and understanding so that we may know God's will. May God grant us all more "wisdom" so that, as we open the Scriptures and meditate on God's word day and night, we may have the ability to understand the biblical principles. Furthermore, may God grant us all more "understanding" so that we may have the grace to apply the biblical principles we have come to understand through the Scriptures to our daily lives. Therefore, we pray that we all, filled with the knowledge of God's will, will not only end there but also become those who live according to God's will.