The Apostle’s Prayer

9 For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you. We continually ask God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all the wisdom and understanding that the Spirit gives,10 so that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God,11 being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience,12 and giving joyful thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of his holy people in the kingdom of light.13 For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves,14 in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. (Colossians 1:9-14)

Introduction:

    1. The reason that we call for the Ephesian and the Colossian as the twin epistles is the similar character of the contents when Paul wrote these at the same prison in Rome. And also the reason is that the Ephesian focuses on the church but the Colossian to Christ , the head of the church. So the fullness of Holy Spirit means the abundance of the Word of God because of these reasons according to the frame of two epistles. The contents of the Apostle’s prayer come soon out of the greeting of the Apostle that the Colossians demand to strengthen the Christian life more than the Ephesians.
    2. What are his prayer titles?

First, make them to be fulfilled with knowing God’s will.

  1. At the epistle of Ephesus we can find that he asked that God open their eyes to know God and the spiritual blessing, but here, we find the fact that they can know the will of God in their wisdom and their enlightenment.  I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better.(Eph1:17-19) It is very more concretely than the Ephesian. Actually to know God is to know the will of God. The priority of our ministry is to know God and the will of God in every areas. In the areas of material, time, thought, talents and relationship, we have to learn the will of God.
  2. Actually in our school life we have to focus on the target, to know God’ will in our thought, in our ultimate goal and in our ministry. In other words it means to know the Scripture, the Word of God. Where is the will f God? Do yu know the will of God? Ecclesiastics says “ God make us unknown the will of God. Why? Obviously the Scripture emphasized that points. So we cannot follow the miracle trends or, mysticism, and the covet. So we accept the process to know the will of God. Through the process we can assure the will of God in our detailed areas.

So we have to learn the teaching of James , “ if it is will of God I will do it or, not do it.

In this semester you should be to know the will of God through the limited process.

Second, make them to grow up in knowing God.

1)And the Apostle asked God that they shall be grown up until the length of Christ that is, to imitate the image of Christ. Do you have the eternal life? You have to reveal the image of Christ in order to enjoy the experimental tastes. The image is righteousness, mercy and faithfulness. This is the transformed state of God’s image. Our purpose is to live in enjoying the eternal life.

2)When we study our subjects in this semester, we can enjoy the eternal life deeply. It is our goal, When we read it, write it, memorize it, examine it and obey it we have known the wonderful world of the eternal life. That is true growth in Christ. We have to long the grace in your heart.

Third, make them to thank to the Father God.

  1. The Christian live in the long process. In the life we should reveal the fruit that cannot help but also thanksgiving and praising. We should give thanks to God consistently. The Bible study of 2:7 series depended on the Colossian 2:7 “So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live your lives in him,7 rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness.”. Whenever we received the teaching we have to keep the thanking life. This means the life of fullness of Holy Spirit, the life of abundance of the Word of God and the life that have the burning fire. So Paul prayed that for the Ephesians.

This is higher than the miracle, the prosperity. This influences to every area sufficiently, eternally.

2)Even I am very weak in our ministry I exhorted something to our graduated students. Among them I emphasized the life of thanksgiving. Actually the thanksgiving means the reality of te faith in Christ. If we have true faith we shall know that I thank God. It proves the life that we believe the Lordship.

Conclusion:

    1. The prayer of Paul is the life of our life, the power and the purpose. We have to devote ourselves to this one. We should concentrate to know God, the will of God and the life of thanksgiving in every life.
    2. Let’s cast ourselves to the target gradually.

Let’s pray.