How did you learn to pray? That may sound like an odd question, but think about it for a minute: how did you learn to pray? Did you read through the Bible, looking for examples, praying like the disciples, “Lord, teach me to pray?” My guess is that you probably learned by following the example of those around you. That’s not bad. But the quality of your prayer could be hindered if you only followed the example of those around you, especially if they were weak in prayer.
This is why it’s helpful to keep looking for other examples. Books like the Valley of Vision or Cloud of Witnesses can be helpful in this regard. Hopefully these "Praying with..." posts are too! But, even better, is to go back to the Bible itself. Here we have examples of believers praying prayers that are inspired by God. That seems like something we should pay attention to! Paul is especially helpful as he’s left us so many good prayers in his letters for us to consider as models for our own praying. Consider, for example, his prayer for the Colossians:
“We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you, since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love that you have for all the saints, because of the hope laid up for you in heaven. Of this you have heard before in the word of the truth, the gospel, which has come to you, as indeed in the whole world it is bearing fruit and growing—as it also does among you, since the day you heard it and understood the grace of God in truth, just as you learned it from Epaphras our beloved fellow servant. He is a faithful minister of Christ on your behalf and has made known to us your love in the Spirit” (Col 1:3–8).
Given the cultural emphasis this week, this prayer seems especially important as it highlights a persistent gospel gratitude in Paul and his prayers. Almost every word of his opening verse is important: “We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you” (1:3). Almost every word in that verse is important for us as an example to follow. We’re reminded of the confidence we have in prayer—we’re praying to our Father because of the saving work of Christ. Then, we have the implication that Paul is praying often for other believers. We’ll return that later. Finally, we see that Paul is “always” thanking God in his prayers.
This is what I want to focus on in this post: Paul is thankful in his prayers. This entire section is permeated with this theme of thankfulness. The other verses tell us what Paul is thankful for. But first, think about what it meant for him to be thankful and how we should imitate him.
In the context of the letter, Paul’s thankfulness for the Colossians has the effect of taking the wind out of those agitating them with false teaching. Remember there were some who were trying to convince them that Jesus was great—he was the Savior. But they needed more. If they wanted full, spiritual life, they needed to add things to Jesus. And notice what Paul is saying here: I’m thankful to God that you already have all that you need because you already have Christ. Moreover, says, “We always thank God . . . when we pray for you” (1:3). For Paul, thanksgiving isn’t just the kind of prayer you give before you eat or when something good happens to you. He offers thanks to God every time he prays for the Colossian Christians.
We often default to asking for things. And this is surely an essential component of prayer! We have needs and believe God can meet those needs through answered prayer. Living in 2024, I love that I can type out a few words in a text of email and immediately have dozen (or more) people praying for me. Or when I’m on the receiving end, seeing a message from a missionary friend with some urgent request. How kind of God give us this technology when in just a couple hundred years ago, it would take months for a letter to travel by ship! But is that the only way we pray? Is our prayer life driven by need only? If it is, then it falls short of both the apostolic example we have in Paul as well as Christ himself. Spend some time browsing through the Gospels and read Jesus’ prayers. Look at places like Luke 10 and John 11 and you will Jesus not just asking his Father for things but thanking him as well.
Again, Paul says that whenever he prays for these Christians, he expresses his thankfulness to God. The challenge for us is two-fold. First, to be praying regularly for God’s people. Remember that Paul had never been to Colossae. The church was planted by Epaphras, who was likely converted and discipled by Paul (Col 1:7). Yet, Paul has heard about them. He knows that they are truly saved and growing. So, he prays for them. I’m reminded of Paul’s instruction to pray “with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints” (Eph 6:18). This is how Paul prayed. But that’s also a big prayer list! At the very least, start with the believers closest to you—those who sit next to you every Sunday as we gather for worship. Even if you don’t know their specific needs, you can take whatever you’ve read in your devotional time and turn it into a prayer for them.
But secondly, Paul’s example challenges us to be thankful. He not only prays for their continue growth, but gives thanks God for them as evidence that the he is at work in the world, expanding his kingdom through the preaching of the gospel. The takeaway: don’t just ask God for something; thank him for what he has already given—especially when it's rooted in the gospel! So, keeping with the same idea of praying for the other members in our church, open the directory and start scrolling. What evidence of God’s grace do you see in those around you? How are they growing, how are they serving, how are they impacting their neighbors, coworkers, or other members at church? Paul gives us some examples from the Colossians:
we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love that you have for all the saints, because of the hope laid up for you in heaven. Of this you have heard before in the word of the truth, the gospel, which has come to you, as indeed in the whole world it is bearing fruit and growing—as it also does among you, since the day you heard it and understood the grace of God in truth, just as you learned it from Epaphras our beloved fellow servant. He is a faithful minister of Christ on your behalf and has made known to us your love in the Spirit” (Col 1:3–8).
These Colossians believers are marked by faith, hope, and love from their faith in the gospel, which is powerfully at work in their lives as well as others around the world. He also singles out the example of Epaphras who faithfully serves them. Consider these kinds of things in the members at PBF and thank God for them! Make it a regular practice to pray with gratitude for the many ways God is growing and using his people to impact the world. Start with how you have been blessed by the church living and ministering faithfully!
A spirit of pervasive gratitude not only creates a spirit of humility and dependence in us, it helps grow our confidence in God and in prayer, and gives God the glory he deserves for his gracious work in our lives.
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