Devote Yourself to Prayer

As life gets busier and more stressful, I know how easy it is for time with the Lord to take a backseat. Everything else comes before it, even when it shouldn't. Through God's strength, would we persevere in making time for what our souls need more than anything else.

Read with me, Colossians 4.

Colossians 4

4 Masters, provide your slaves with what is right and fair, because you know that you also have a Master in heaven.

² Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful. ³ And 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. ⁴ Pray that I may proclaim it clearly, as I should. ⁵ Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity. ⁶ Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone.

⁷ Tychicus will tell you all the news about me. He is a dear brother, a faithful minister and fellow servant in the Lord. ⁸ I am sending him to you for the express purpose that you may know about our circumstances and that he may encourage your hearts. ⁹ He is coming with Onesimus, our faithful and dear brother, who is one of you. They will tell you everything that is happening here.

¹⁰ My fellow prisoner Aristarchus sends you his greetings, as does Mark, the cousin of Barnabas. (You have received instructions about him; if he comes to you, welcome him.) ¹¹ Jesus, who is called Justus, also sends greetings. These are the only Jews among my co-workers for the kingdom of God, and they have proved a comfort to me. 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. ¹³ I vouch for him that he is working hard for you and for those at Laodicea and Hierapolis. ¹⁴ Our dear friend Luke, the doctor, and Demas send greetings. ¹⁵ Give my greetings to the brothers and sisters at Laodicea, and to Nympha and the church in her house.

¹⁶ After this letter has been read to you, see that it is also read in the church of the Laodiceans and that you in turn read the letter from Laodicea.

¹⁷ Tell Archippus: “See to it that you complete the ministry you have received in the Lord.”

¹⁸ I, Paul, write this greeting in my own hand. Remember my chains. Grace be with you.

We've finally reached the end of Colossians, and I want you to know how proud I am of us for reaching this point. A job well done! A pat on the back! I hope you have enjoyed your time with God, that His word has cut deep into your heart and spoken deep into your soul.

When we apply the previous tips on bible reading, we notice the topic of prayer is mentioned various times in this passage:

1. Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful. (v 1)
2. And 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. (v 2)
3. Pray that I may proclaim it clearly, as I should. (v 3)
4. 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. (v 12)

Tip #5: Look at a different translation of the Bible

A helpful tip for you when you're stuck on a verse is to look at a different translation of the Bible.

Devote yourself to prayer.

Take the first verse as an example. The NIV translation tells us to 'Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful,' but what are we supposed to be watchful and thankful of? The ESV translation of this verse is 'Continue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful in it with thanksgiving.'

One of the benefits of using ESV is that it is a literal translation of the original language. It is known for its 'word-for-word' accuracy, which is helpful for people who don't know how to read Greek and Hebrew. Through the ESV translation, we see that prayer is something we ought to persist in. It is a priority for the believer and not an optional extra. The verse also tells us how we should pray, watching to see how God answers our prayers, and being thankful.

It's interesting because as I reflect on my life, prayer is often the first thing to fall away when I am busy and stressed. I will continue attending church and bible study, serving in different ministries and 'doing' everything I should do while having a declining prayer life. It's easy for me to make excuses for why I shouldn't pray, why I can't pray, and why other things take precedence over prayer. It is humbling to remember that prayer is the most important thing I can devote my time and effort to.

Pray that God may open a door for our message.

So we know that prayer is a priority for the believer, but what should we pray for? Should we pray for our grades? What about our wealth and our health? I don't think there's anything wrong with praying about these topics (I mean, if you pray about everything, you'll eventually come across these topics), but we can learn from what Paul asks for in prayer.

Paul is in prison as he writes this letter. Out of all the different things he can ask for, I think it's crazy that he asks the church in Colossae to pray that God would open a door for their message. Paul isn't asking them to pray for his wellbeing, his release from prison or to stop his suffering. He asks them to pray for more opportunities to share the gospel so that more people would know why he is suffering for his faith and what he believes in. What would I pray for if I was in his situation? What would be important to me? I'm not so sure that I would have the same mindset as Paul.

Wrestle in prayer.

Here the ESV translation is again coming in clutch, 'Epaphras, who is one of you, a servant of Christ Jesus, greets you, always struggling on your behalf in his prayers, that you may stand mature and fully assured in all the will of God.' (v 12)

I think a misconception I had about praying was that it came naturally to people. I would observe people around me faithfully pray for long periods and be amazed at how vibrant their prayer life was. But as I seek to grow in my prayer, I now realise how much willpower and effort it takes to build up this discipline. You're fighting against your sin (your self-sufficiency, your desire to solve problems for yourself or to lean on others) and choosing to come to God first. There is an internal grapple as you put aside all these things to be present with God in prayer. The people who cultivated the discipline of prayer didn't get there overnight. They took continual steps toward God to depend on Him.

Your testimony.

Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity. Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone. (v 5-6)

While prayer demonstrates the vibrancy of your walk with God, your conduct is also a testimony of what you believe. Paul reminds us that how we live affects how people perceive the message we have to share. He addresses the power of our words and how we can use them to show love and grace to each other. Are you living out the gospel message each day? Is your speech a reflection of the gospel message you seek to share? Let's be people who live out the message we seek to share.