Colossians 4:2
“Continue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful in it with thanksgiving.”
As Paul is ending his letter to the church in Colossae he makes this statement: “Continue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful in it with thanksgiving.” Simple statement yet powerful in its application, and there are three things we can learn from this scripture:
- Be Steadfast in your Prayer – Too many of us just want to pray once in a while or we pray for a couple of minutes. Paul is charging us, be steadfast, to be diligent in prayer , not just a quick prayer. Let's ask ourselves this question: What does my prayer life look like? Am I intentional about prayer? Do I believe it has the power to change things? If you think it’s a waste of time, it will show up in our prayerlessness . If you think it moves the heart and arm of God to impact and change circumstances then that will show up in your prayers too.
- Be Watchful – This is interesting, Paul is saying that not only should we be watchful, but more importantly we need to be watchful in prayer. For me, that means, what am I seeing and sensing in the Spirit when I am in a place of prayer. What is God showing me? I am choosing to not look at my circumstances but rather look to Him, the author and finisher of my faith. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. Col 3:2. This makes a huge difference to our prayer life.
- Be Thankful – Being thankful helps us to take our eyes off our problems and to focus on the goodness of God. It postures us to stay in a place of hope and faith. Being thankful focuses us on what God has done and not on what He hasn’t or isn’t doing. This generates a culture and atmosphere of faith and hope in which our prayers will be cultivated and answered.
So as I reflect on this scripture, I realize that the Apostle Paul is packing so much insight and application into a single passage, and so much that will change the way we hope to pray.
