Day 11 (Monday) Colossians 1:9-14
Read the passage. Some Christians find the idea of talking about their faith difficult. One’s faith is personal, and the possible rejection of it can be distressing. However, rather than thinking about what can go wrong, a better way to think is that God enables us to speak. Paul understood this, and it is seen in the way he prays for believers.
- What are some of the requests Paul prays for in this passage?
- What would it look like to “be made strong with all the strength that comes from his glorious power”?
- It is also important to note that while we share the good news about Jesus, we do not save other people; that is what Jesus does!
Prayer
- Lord, guide every aspect of planning for Mission 25 with clarity and purpose.
- Go to Paul’s prayer in Colossians 1:9-12. Pray it for some specific individuals in our church. Pray it for the whole church.
- Paul speaks of a transfer from darkness into light. One powerful prayer for our neighbourhoods is to pray that people will be transferred from the kingdom of darkness to the kingdom of light. You can pray this over some of the households in your street or apartment block.
Go Deeper
Sam Storms, Biblical Studies: Colossians (Edmond, OK: Sam Storms, 2016), Colossians 1:11.
Paul’s prayer in Colossians 1 actually frightens some people. It is intimidating to them for one of two reasons (or both): some are afraid they won’t have the power to live worthy of the Lord and to bear fruit in every good work, while others fear that once they start out in their efforts to do so, they’ll end up quitting. They simply won’t have the endurance to persevere in what they began. So, either the sense of personal weakness and spiritual impotence, on the one hand, or the lack of steadfastness, on the other, often paralyzes people from even trying to live as they know the Lord wants them to.
Thank God for Colossians 1:11! Here Paul continues his prayer by asking God to strengthen them with power and to sustain them in their endeavors.
One of my spiritual mentors, a man named Russ McKnight (now with the Lord), was often heard to say: “Whatever God requires, he provides.” Never were words more relevant than they are here. Walking worthy of the Lord and pleasing him is a tall order. Living lives laden with spiritual fruit does not come easily to men and women who are by nature selfish, jealous, ambitious, prideful … well, you get the idea.
Paul knew this. It was his struggle, too. That’s why he prayed for the Colossians (and undoubtedly for himself as well) the way he did in v. 11. Let’s note seven things about this prayer:
- Paul does not say “strengthen yourselves,” as if the power were inherently ours. He prays, “may you be strengthened,” meaning by God.
- There is redundancy in Paul’s wording: “be strengthened with all power.” He reinforces the magnitude of what is available from God when we ask.
- Paul prays that we be strengthened with “all” power—of every kind, to the highest degree. Nothing second-rate.
- God empowers us with maximum power “according to his glorious might.” This is God’s majestic power at work.
- The goal of this empowerment is endurance (perseverance in difficult circumstances) and patience (steadfastness in the face of opposition).
- Endurance does not come from human bravery but from God himself. Paul calls him “the God of endurance” (Romans 15:5), and he grants it through Scripture (Romans 15:4).
- Paul’s prayer is in the present tense: “May you be continually strengthened.” God provides power daily for each challenge we face.
In sum, there is no addiction God’s power cannot break, no sin God’s power cannot defeat, no task to which we are called that God’s power cannot fulfill. That’s why Paul calls it “majestic power.”
As Russ said, so I’ll say it again: “Whatever God requires, he provides.”
Empowered with you!
Songs for Worship and Reflection
