The Bond of Prayer

PASSAGE FOR THE DAY:
Colossians 4 (click the link)


KEY VERSES:
Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful. 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. Pray that I may proclaim it clearly, as I should… 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. I vouch for him that he is working hard for you and for those at Laodicea and Hierapolis. (Colossians 4:2-4, 12-13, NIV)


REFLECTIONS:
Paul began his letter to the Colossians by telling them that he always thanked God for them and that he continuously prayed for their spiritual growth (1:3-14). Now, as he draws his letter to a close, he asks them to return the favor by praying for him.

Paul is the great apostle who has already been halfway around the northern Mediterranean, has preached the gospel and planted numerous churches, has been beaten and stoned and imprisoned for the gospel, has been the hero and the villain at various points in a dozen major cities. The Colossians, on the other hand, are relatively new believers in Christ. They are taking their early steps in the faith. They have many problems to face, many challenges to rise to, many dangers to avoid. How can Paul possibly ask the Colossians for help?

The truth is, no matter how senior or respected anyone is in the ministry of the gospel, they still need the prayers of the most apparently junior, humble, and insignificant believer. (Of course, in God's eyes, no Christian is more or less senior or junior, significant or insignificant, than any other.)

To ask the Colossians church to pray for him is to bind them to him with ties of mutual obligation. They have never seen him face to face; but once you have prayed for someone, and once you realize they are praying for you as well, a bond grows up, which creates a relationship of love and trust ahead of any personal contact. (Dorene gave evidence of this in her devotional last week.)

………

Paul's request for prayer indicates the way in which he continued to view his ministry, even though he remained in prison. As he thanked God in 1:3-8 that the word had done its work in Colossae, so he asks them to pray that the same will be true as he continues on with his ministry of speaking and writing. Paul can talk all he likes, but unless God opens the door for the word to go through—the door into peoples' innermost beings that leads not just to salvation but to transformation—he will simply be making a useless noise. 

Paul was under no illusions. He had learned that you can never take for granted that a door for the gospel would be opened. The door doesn't open automatically. What opens the door, again and again, is prayer.

………

Epaphras has been mentioned by Paul in this letter in 1:7-8 and in 4:12-13. Based on these two references, it seems that his home is in Colossae, but that he originally heard the gospel from Paul while on a visit to Ephesus. After becoming a believer and (we assume) receiving some training from Paul, he apparently became the evangelist responsible for announcing the gospel message to his own people. (How cool is that?) After some time in his hometown, it seems that he traveled back to Ephesus to be with Paul and has now, for a time, chosen to stay with the apostle. 

No matter the distance between Ephesus and Colossae, Epaphras has been hard at work on behalf of his fellow Colossian believers. How might he have been "working hard" on their behalf? By "always wrestling in prayer" for them and asking that God would strengthen them to grow to full maturity in Christ. Those devoted to prayer will most assuredly testify that it is hard work, and that it oftentimes feels like a wrestling match. Those familiar with a fruitful ministry or ministry filled with growing and mature believers, will also testify to the necessity of faithful prayer warriors.

………

Paul urges the Colossians to devote themselves to prayer, being ever watchful and thankful. Paul was a man completely devoted to a lifestyle of prayer. Similar to Jesus, he always set an example for others. The following passages are just a few of the many references in Paul's letters regarding the important place of prayer in his own ministry or the life of his fellow believers.

• God, whom I serve in my spirit in preaching the gospel of his Son, is my witness how constantly I remember you in my prayers at all times. (Romans 1:9-10)
• Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. (Romans 12:12)
• I urge you, brothers and sisters, by our Lord Jesus Christ and by the love of the Spirit, to join me in my struggle by praying to God for me. (Romans 15:30)
• For this reason, ever since I heard about your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all God’s people, I have not stopped giving thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers. (Ephesians 1:15ff)
• And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people. (Ephesians 6:18)
• I thank my God every time I remember you. In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy. (Philippians 1:3ff)
• Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. (Philippians 4:6)
• For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you… (Colossians 1:9ff)
• We always thank God for all of you and continually mention you in our prayers. (1 Thessalonians 1:2)
• Night and day we pray most earnestly that we may see you again and supply what is lacking in your faith. (1 Thessalonians 3:10)
• Pray continually. (1 Thessalonians 5:17)
• With this in mind, we constantly pray for you, that our God may make you worthy of his calling, and that by his power he may bring to fruition your every desire for goodness and your every deed prompted by faith. (2 Thessalonians 1:11)
• I urge, then, first of all, that petitions, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for all people… (1Timothy 2:1ff)
• I thank God, whom I serve, as my ancestors did, with a clear conscience, as night and day I constantly remember you in my prayers. (2 Timothy 1:3)

POINT OF ACTION:
As you may have gathered from the "detached" tone of this devotional, the topic of devotion to prayer is one of theory more than practice for me. I regret to say, that I oftentimes struggle to remain faithfully committed to prayer. Not many years ago, I could truthfully say without any pretense that I was devoted to prayer. After being inspired by the writings of E. M. Bounds, J. Hudson Taylor, George Mueller, and others, I began praying for literally hours a day for dozens of people and a whole variety of ministries. However, I eventually became more dedicated to Bible study as I went through seminary. After graduation, I had a lot more free time due to being employed part-time and still unmarried. After a while, I began making the most of this free time by committing myself to "traditional" methods of prayer and by experimenting in various methods of contemplative prayer. This was an exciting period of growth in my own life and in the ministries with which I was involved. However, I must confess that over the last few years I have been rather sporadic in my devotion to prayer. I have yet to consistently master the art of splitting my time between spiritual disciplines (such as prayer) and my time with family and friends. In offering this public confession, I ask that you lovingly hold my feet to the fire by periodically asking me to the convicting question How's your prayer life these days?

According to Romans 12:4-5, we are all members of one body and, as such, we all "belong to each other." There is a very real "interrelatedness" in the body of Christ. Because of this, as I read over this chapter I began to feel the burning conviction of the Spirit. He lovingly spoke the truth to my heart, saying that I have failed to consistently fulfill my God-ordained responsibility of praying for my fellow believers of PRF. When I've felt this conviction before, my tendency has been to try to manufacture a fresh new devotion to prayer. It never was long, however, before I got busy or distracted or lazy. So, this time I'm gonna try something new. I'm asking that God would create within me a new desire for prayer and that he would provide the strength and stick-to-it-ive-ness to begin faithfully devoting myself to praying for our church. 

It's in my nature to need a plan. So, one of the first things I plan to do today is to ask for the Spirit's insight and wisdom, and then to cooperate with him to begin the process of developing a prayer plan and prayer list regarding our church.

Whether you need a plan, or not, I urge you to invite the Spirit to create within you a new passion for prayer and to begin devoting yourself to prayer with a spirit of watchfulness and thankfulness.


WHO AM I?
I am Tres Sansom and it's at about this time of summer that I begin to eagerly look forward to my annual summer vacation in Maine. I'm not sure if my favorite part is spending time with the world's greatest in-laws or listening to Sky Streety weep with jealousy. T minus 23 days and counting...