Bible Study Notes - A Faithful Community - Part II

A Faithful Community – Colossians 1:1-15 Part II

Intercessory Prayer: The Lifeline of a Church

Paul opens this short yet most significant letter with a prayer of thanksgiving for the saints.  As a means of ensuring the Colossians that they definitively possess the salvation promised to them in Christ, Paul emphasizes hope throughout the prayer.  This theme models the spiritual discipline of intercessory prayer in which we lift the concerns of our fellow believers to God.  Actually, this continual remembrance of fellow saints enables them to live with integrity.  Prayer is one of the most effective means of receiving the power of Almighty God.  It resembles stopping at the gas station when your car is running on empty.  Most probably, it is impossible for a believer to live consistently in accord with Christ’s example without daily prayer. 

Although this passage records an eloquent prayer, it contains several major theological and practical matters for daily Christian living.  Beyond their newfound faith, love for the saints and hope “stored up for you in heaven,” Paul revels in the “the word of truth, the gospel that has come to [the Colossians.]”  He implies that they have heard the orthodox message concerning the life, ministry, teachings, death, and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ.  In the sixth verse, he mentions that the gospel is “bearing fruit and growing” all over the then known world.  As a consequence, it is most necessary that the saints parallel their lives with their witness.  More specifically, Paul means the whole Roman Empire by “the whole world.”  His reference reflects the rapid-fire spread of the gospel.  Lest the message become tainted with hypocrisy, syncretism and indifference, the apostle prays that the Church at Colosse will accept the moral requirements and ethical duties of a Christian.

In the ninth verse, Paul defines more straightforwardly his themes of persistent intercessory prayer, living a Christ-like life, and receiving the empowerment of the Holy Spirit to do so.  Paul does not stop asking God to reveal to them His will; give them spiritual wisdom and yield practical understanding.  These three objectives of prayer suffice for us just as they did for the Colossians.  We need those spiritual attributes as we strive to honor the Lord in each sphere of life.  Then, he details the purpose of “a life worthy of the Lord [that] may please Him in every way.”  Such generates fruit for the kingdom, good works that glorify the Lord and grows in the knowledge of God.  A genuinely yielded and obedient life offered to the honor Christ will bring more people into the kingdom of God than any grandiloquent sermon.  St. Francis of Assisi posits that we should preach the gospel, using words if we have to do so.  A faithful disciple does the work of Christ to please Him.  He or she does not worry about whether anyone is looking.  Through good deeds, he or she shares the love of Christ which touches the heart of unbelievers and compels their belief in due time.  It stands to reason that committed believers develop personally and grow spiritually.  They obtain a greater revelation of their uniqueness and calling as Christians and they receive deeper spiritual insights as they make Christ their “Ultimate Concern.” 

Intercessory prayer strengthens believers with the power of the Holy Spirit.  Literally, it translates into divine dynamite which in turns blows up the hindrances to a faithful life.  This power emerges from God’s “glorious might.”  Furthermore, this divine grace equips believers with endurance, patience, joy and thanksgiving.  All of these traits combine to allow the average believer to live to the honor and glory of Christ with integrity.

The Practical Approaches and Goals of Intercessory Prayer

Gathering for intercessory prayer in a church equates with athletic teams attending practice sessions.  Regardless of their talent and abilities, sport teams must drill themselves, memorize their plays, rehearse defenses and perfect offenses with the goal of refining their skills.  They do so with the intent of ensuring that they win each game.  Superlative athletes and teams insist that the daily discipline of showing up for practice is the secret to their successes and winning streaks.  From Tiger Woods to Venus Williams to Serena Williams to the multiple championships Chicago Bulls and many others, the dogged determination and unwavering discipline of practice explains their stellar achievements and sweet triumphs.  In the same way, the Church ought to gather for intercessory prayer so that they might experience unfathomable power and grace of Almighty God.  I believe that each member of a Church can know confidently his or her purpose in life, discern the spiritual gifts with which he or she has been divinely empowered, discover the daily grace of God to utilize these gifts and actualize his or her potential to the honor and glory of our Lord.  However, such monumental feats will not occur in a Church that does not prioritize prayer.  Very unfortunately, prayer meeting and Bible study are the least attended services in any Church.  Not surprisingly, the Church maintains a losing streak as it relates to defeating sin, sickness, fear and myriad adversities that befall disciples.  The failure to gather to cultivate the practice of intercessory simply and most reliably clarifies the Church’s impotence in response to its many challenges.

Whereas the Apostle Paul offers this powerful prayer for the Church at Colosse, he embeds some very practical approaches and goals for intercessory prayer in this first chapter.  Since he first learned of the faith and formation of the Colossian Church, Paul begins praying fervently for these new believers.  Thereby, he reminds us of the importance of interceding for new converts.  We pray that the Word of God takes root on fertile soil of the heart.  Further, we pray that the worries of life and the temptations of their lives before Christ will not prevent their growth as believers; simply we ask the Holy Spirit to strengthen them so that they will not regress and backslide.  Then, Paul prays that God fills the Colossians with knowledge of “His will through all spiritual wisdom and understanding.”  This petition defines more concretely Paul’s goals for the spiritual development of these new disciples, specifically, and for recent converts, generally.  They should begin to seek earnestly the will of God in all matters.  This spiritual quest in turn yields spiritual wisdom and understanding instead of the previous secular, humanistic and worldly outlook that they had.  They begin to divest themselves of self-seeking priorities; instead, they genuinely desire to know the will of God.  Moreover, they cease self-reliance and grow towards a genuine reliance upon Almighty God.  In the words of Proverbs, they stop depending upon their own understanding; rather they faithfully acknowledge the Lord Jesus Christ in all matters, knowing that He will direct their paths.  Yet, Paul posits that the daily practice of the spiritual discipline of prayer is central to the long-term maturity of new believers.