July 25, 2019 - - Colossians 1:6b-12 - -Who is on yours?

since the day you heard it and understood the grace of God in truth, 7 just as you learned it from Epaphras our beloved fellow servant. He is a faithful minister of Christ on your behalf 8 and has made known to us your love in the Spirit.

9 And so, from the day we heard, we have not ceased to pray for you, asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, 10 so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him: bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God; 11 being strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy; 12 giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in light.

Colossians 1:6b-12 English Standard Version

What a meaty passage this is! So much is in here. Did you catch the focus here: Paul and his fellow leaders love the people of the church that meets at Colossae so much that they are constantly praying for these folks. Yesterday I read a great illustration of why this is so important:

J.O. Fraser was a missionary in Southwest China, ministering to tribal people living in that very

mountainous region. After some years on the field, he noticed a strange thing. The churches

which were miles away from the city in which he was living seemed to do better than the church

in his own town. He would visit the distant churches occasionally and discovered that they were

healthy, active, dedicated, and growing, much more so than the church in which he ministered

regularly. Why was that so? Finally the Lord showed him. He found out that he prayed far more

diligently for people who were miles away than for those with whom he fellowshipped regularly.

Leroy Eims The Lost Art of Disciple Making page 69

Dear readers, be assured that some of you who are receiving this devotion are regularly and faithfully in my prayers. It is one of the best ways I know how to pray for you. Others of you receiving these devotions are, by your own admission, not Christians—doesn’t matter, you are in my prayers and whatever God has placed on my heart concerning you I keep in prayer. And the others of you receiving this are sporadically in my prayers and God is challenging my heart to learn how to be more persistent in prayer. He alone brings the blessings. He alone is the source of every good gift—as James 1 reminds us.

As you consider the text from Colossians and what I have written, I have some questions for you! Who is the focus of your prayers? Certainly there are emergency prayers and crisis times when someone gets lots of your prayer attention—but who is long-term part of your prayers? As you read this and consider this, who is God nudging you to once again keep in prayer?

God our Father, thank You for the work of Your Spirit Who guards believers so that we are kept faithful in Jesus and directed in faithful living for Jesus. Thank You, God of Mercy and love, for the gift of prayer. Thank You that if we are praying right beside our loved one, or clear across the continent or the world, our prayers truly express love for that person. Thank You, Prayer-Hearing-Master, that You have chosen to work through the prayers of Your people. Thank You for the deep and clear reminder that we do not work in our own strength, but all our work is done in the strength of Your Spirit, based on Jesus’ finished work on our behalf. Forgive us for the times we have neglected to pray. Forgive us for the times we do not persist in showing love because we are failing to persist in prayer for our loved ones. Thank You, Spirit of All Comfort, that You never get weary of bringing compunction to our thoughts so that we confess our sins to God. Thank You God, that as often as we confess our sins, You are faithful and forgive us. God, please! Renew in us a zeal to be faithful. Hear the prayer words and the voiceless, in articulate pleading of our heart, the deep groans and longings we pour out to You—we ask this to honour Your Son, our Savior, Jesus. Amen.