Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful. 3 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. 4 Pray that I may proclaim it clearly, as I should. Colossians4:2-4
Paul's letter to the Colossians moves to a number of closing comments and we'll work through them over the next few days. One should not undervalue these "parting shots" as they give us a glimpse into what is urgent in Paul's heart. As the train is leaving the station, he's hanging out the window yelling these thoughts to the congregation on the platform.
Over the last while I have been prompted again and again about prayer. I have to admit that it is one thing to think about praying and another to _devote_ oneself to it. One translation says "continue steadfastly in prayer."
Prayer connects us to God. It makes us come face to face with Him. It brings us to a place of dependency and honesty. To continue steadfastly is a reminder that by nature we hide from God as Adam and Eve did when He called them in the garden. We have to choose to pray.
We must be watchful (awake-alert-aware) as we pray and our prayers are an opportunity to express gratitude and love to God.
Finally, Paul is convinced that their prayers will make a difference in his work as an apostle, teacher and evangelist. He asks for their prayers.
While I wish I could be more eloquent in urging you to prayer and while I wish I could claim that my own prayer life is a great example, the one thing I do know is that prayer is important.
1. Devote yourself to it
2. Be alert-awake-aware (watchful) and thankful as you pray.
3. Pray for those who preach, teach and spread the Word.
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Theo Groeneveld theo@emmanuel.org.za
You can see past EmmDevs at http://emmdev.blogspot.com/
