Colossians Chapter 1 Verses 9-11

Col. 1:9 “For this cause we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and to desire that ye might be filled with the knowledge of his will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding; 10 That ye might walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing, being fruitful in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of God; 11 Strengthened with all might, according to his glorious power, unto all patience and longsuffering with joyfulness;”

“For this cause we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you…” Paul tells the members of the church at Colosse that for the cause of their love in Christ and the brethren and for the cause of their faithfulness to Christ, that he did not cease to pray for them since the day he heard of their faith, love and hope. Now this is not to say that he was praying for them 24 hours a day and 7 days a week. Rather, it means that Paul prayed for them on a regular basis and did not cease praying for them after a few times. We should have the same attitude in prayer that Paul had towards the brethren at Colosse. We should pray for one another without ceasing on a regular basis and not cease praying for them after a few times.

“And to desire that ye might be filled with the knowledge of his will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding…” Paul is very specific in detailing what he was praying for on their behalf. I believe we make a mistake when we make much of our prayer life in generalities. We should be like Paul and be specific as to the things we pray for. When children ask their parents for something, they are most of the time very specific as to what they ask. We should remember that we are children of God and that he is our heavenly Father. As children, we should be specific in the things we ask for.

Often in our prayers we ask for God to bless someone’s health, or deliver them from sickness or disease, or poverty or from some specific troubling circumstance in their lives. These things are important, but that is not what Paul begins to ask on behalf of the brethren at Colosse. He begins his prayer on their behalf by asking for three specific things be granted to the brethren and sisters at Colosse:

    1. He asks that God would fill them with knowledge of his will.
    2. He asks that God would grant them wisdom.
    3. He asks that God would give them spiritual understanding.

These are the three things in the book of proverbs that are spoken of as being great treasures or riches. In our worship and service to God we need knowledge, understanding and wisdom. Moreover, we cannot have understanding and wisdom without knowledge. Knowledge is the foundation for our understanding and for the acquisition of wisdom. Paul told Timothy: 1 Tim. 4:13 “Till I come, give attendance to reading, to exhortation, to doctrine.” Likewise, we should give attendance to reading so that we may acquire knowledge of God’s word. Paul desired that those at Colosse would be “filled” with the knowledge of God’s will. Likewise, we should pray for one another that we may be “filled” with the knowledge of God’s will. As we are blessed today with ready access to God’s word, we should avail ourselves and make a habit of reading in God’s word daily.

It is not enough that we only have knowledge of God’s word; we also need understanding of God’s word. Understanding comes through study. Paul told Timothy: 2 Tim. 2:15 “Study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.” Since we have all been created in Christ Jesus unto good works, we are all workmen. A workman needs to know the tools of his trade and how to apply those tools to the task at hand. Likewise, we need to be able to properly apply the scriptures to the task of worshipping God and serving his people and to being the best disciple that we can be. This comes through the knowledge we have gained and by prayer and the study of God’s word.

In addition, we need more than knowledge and spiritual understanding, but also need wisdom. Wisdom is the application of God’s word to the problems and circumstances of our lives. For wisdom, we begin by asking God for it: James 1:5 “If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him. 6 But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed. 7 For let not that man think that he shall receive any thing of the Lord.” Thus, we are to ask God for wisdom knowing that He gives to us liberally and upbraids us not. As we ask, we are to ask in faith and not waver. Next, with the knowledge and understanding that we have gained through reading God’s word and studying God’s word, we are to meditate on God’s word: 1 Tim. 4:15 “Meditate upon these things; give thyself wholly to them; that thy profiting may appear to all.” To meditate means to resolve in the mind. When we are faced with a problem or circumstance of life, we are to resolve in our minds how to apply the knowledge and understanding we have gained to apply to the solution of the problem or circumstance in our life.

“That ye might walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing, being fruitful in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of God…” Next, Paul says that he is praying for three more things for the disciples at Colosse:

    1. That the walk (manner of living) of the disciples may be worthy (as becometh) a disciple of Christ unto all pleasing.
    2. That they may be fruitful in every good work.
    3. That they may increase in the knowledge of the Lord.

Armed with the knowledge of God’s word and the spiritual understanding that is needed to be a workman in the kingdom of God and with the wisdom to properly apply God’s word to the circumstances and problems of life, we need to press on to live our lives in a manner that would be befitting a disciple of Jesus Christ. The Lord said: Matt. 5:16 “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.” Thus, it is our privilege and duty to live our lives according to the teaching of God’s word so that men will glorify the Father which is in heaven.

Being a good disciple of Christ is more than living a good moral life. It also is to be manifest by our being fruitful in every good work. A good work is a work that brings praise, honor and glory to God. Normally they involve those things that we do for others unselfishly and seeking no honor and glory for ourselves. The pattern of our lives is to be manifest through the multitude of good works.

When we live a life that is honoring and glorifying unto God and bring forth much good fruit, then we are not finished for as long as we live we should be striving to gain more knowledge of the Lord. I have known several older people who in the latter years of their lives were still reading, studying, and meditating on the word of God and still making every effort to hear the word preached, so that they could know more about God.

“Strengthened with all might, according to his glorious power, unto all patience and longsuffering with joyfulness;” The seventh thing that Paul prayed for on behalf of the disciples at Colosse was that they may be strengthened. The work and warfare of a disciple of Jesus Christ requires strength. However, this is not a strength that we have inherently in ourselves; rather it is a strength that can only come from God. Paul said: 2 Cor. 12:10 “Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ's sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong.” He also said: Phil. 4:13 “I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.” The source of our strength comes from Christ.

Paul prayed that this strength they would receive from God would affect them in 3 ways:

    1. Patience.
    2. Longsuffering.
    3. Joyfulness.

Patience simply means waiting upon the Lord. We live in a very impatient society. We live in a society that wants instant gratification. A disciple of the Lord must learn to wait upon the direction and moving of the Spirit of God. We get in trouble when we try to go ahead of the Lord. When we realize that the Lord is our strength and the one who answers and responds to our prayers, then we learn to wait upon him and realize the foolishness of going ahead of the Lord.

Longsuffering is to be a trait of the disciple of the Lord. We learn to be longsuffering when we realize how the Lord has been longsuffering towards us. It takes the knowledge of the Lord’s longsuffering towards our sins and failures and the strength the Lord grants us to be longsuffering to the sins and failures of others.

Joyfulness comes through the peace and comfort of knowing that we are in the Lord’s hand and they he is the strength of our lives and he is the one who has delivered us numerous times in our trials and troubles.