Bible Studies

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The Letters
Colossians 1:1-14 – And Paul Prayed…

Key Verses: (NRSV)

• 2: “To the saints and faithful brothers and sisters in Christ in Colossae: Grace to you and peace from God our Father.” – Paul is writing this letter from his Roman imprisonment to a smaller Christian community in Asia Minor that is struggling with several heresies involving the role of knowledge and the divinity of Christ.
  
  
• 3-4: “In our prayers for you we always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, ⁴for we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love that you have for all the saints.” – Paul had never been to this church but he lent it his support through constant prayer.
  
  
• 6: “Just as it is bearing fruit and growing in the whole world, so it has been bearing fruit among yourselves from the day you heard it and truly comprehended the grace of God.” – Paul is talking about the hope that filled their lives at the time they first heard the Gospel message and believed in Christ.
  
  
• 9: “For this reason…, we have not ceased praying for you and asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of God’s will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding.” – Paul is praying for clarity from God so that the Colossians can fight free of the fog of heresy that has them in its grips.
  
  
• 10: “So that you may lead lives worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to Him, as you bear fruit in every good work and as you grow in the knowledge of God.” – To live a life that honors God and produces fruit of the Spirit, a person must continuously grow in their knowledge of God and His will for their life.
  
  
• 11: “May you be made strong…” – The ways of the world constantly beckon us from God’s path but through constant prayer and a focus on Christ, we strengthened in our resolve to follow His teachings.
  
  
• 13-14: “He has rescued us from the power of darkness and transferred us into the kingdom of His beloved Son, ¹⁴in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.” – The promise that gives life.
  

Points to Contemplate:

• Do you pray for others? Paul’s ministry from Rome consisted of three important elements that helped insure the success of the early Christian church: 1) He shared with everyone the Gospel of Christ, 2) he gave guidance, support, and clarification to issues of conflict, and 3) he prayed. Do you see the importance of prayer in your ministry? Are you constantly lifting the needs of others to God? Do you make a concerted effort to pray for others at least as much as you pray for yourself?
  
  
• What do you pray for? Is this the difficult part? Do your intercessory prayers bog down in search of specific requests and needs? Does your uncertainty get in the way of your prayer? Paul simply prayed that the people in Colossae “be filled with the knowledge of God’s will.” Can you see how powerful a prayer this is? How would your life be changed if ten people prayed daily for you in this way? Who are you going to help today in ministry from your now growing prayer list?
  
  
• Are you leading a life that is “worthy of the Lord?” If this thought were constantly in your mind, do you feel you would do a better job at the decisions you make in life? If every action you took were considered to be an offering to God, would you be living a more holy life? If every word you uttered was first filtered through your growing knowledge of God’s will for your life, would you be find yourself more effective at following His path? Should this part of Paul’s prayer become a regular component of your own prayer life?
  
  
• Have you forgotten? As you immerse your self in the details of life, have you forgotten why you became a Christian in the first place? As you build the walls to your ministry, do you constantly refer back to the foundation of your faith to insure that you are still solidly based in Christ’s love and not off wandering in the darkness of your own making? Will you always remember that He has brought you into His kingdom through the redemption and forgiveness of your sins?
  

Promises of the Gospel:

The power of Paul’s prayer reaches through the ages and comes alive today as though he wrote it specifically with us in mind. The issues and details we face in life are probably much different than the daily concerns of the Colossians; yet, Paul’s opening prayer strikes home. He teaches us the importance of reaching outwardly with our prayer life to include and support the lives and ministries of Christians throughout the world. The more we pray for each other the more we can be assured that we are growing in our knowledge of the Lord and that we will bear fruit worthy of His love.

FUMC Devotionals

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