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Thursday, March 31, 2022

The Foundation Treasure of Prayer


I’m in a new adventure of prayer, and I am so encouraged! 

Partly, it gives me encouragement about the broken condition of the church, that God will help his children surrender to him and unite as commanded. But partly it takes care of me because it keeps my mind on what really matters. We all need to get our strength from the Lord, no matter what anyone else is or is not doing. 


The very first line of request in this prayer is like putting the compass on the map and immediately knowing which direction we are heading. I am going to take that first request and draw attention to each part, and how the parts work together to give us a way of praying that applies to everything in life. 

asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will 

The “you” is plural, meaning the whole Colossian church; the “his” is singular, meaning the one God and his will. 

Every Christian is brought into this to seek the one will of God for the one body of Christ, the one new man, the one holy temple in the Lord.[1] There is no room for us applying this to solitary Christian living, personal dreams and goals, or any of the other self-centered qualities of worldly culture that are so familiar, even in Jesus’ church. 

asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will 

The focus on “his will” is the central issue. Of all people, Paul knew what it was like to self-justify the very best of religiosity, only to suddenly discover God had a will he knew nothing about. He also realized that Jesus was going to do his will to get Paul doing his will. After Paul experienced the transformation of surrendering to Jesus’ will, he now wanted everyone to make God’s will the central thing in the body-of-Christ life of Jesus’ church. 

asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will 

God objectively having a will means very little if we don’t know what it is. This has been a long-standing quandary for me, that God has a will about things we go through, including divisions, and depression, and giving ground to the devil, but people don’t have knowledge of God’s will. When you add to that that many church-folk have no desire to know God’s will, prayer is certainly needed! 

asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will 

Paul did not want any dabbling in God’s will in the individualism that lets us think we can customize his will to our dreams and goals and self-protections. God’s will was not a smorgasbord from which we can pick our favorite interests. Paul was writing this letter from prison! It simply went with the territory of doing God’s will. And Paul wanted the whole Colossian church to be filled to the full with the knowledge of God’s will about everything for everyone. 

asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will 

Paul knew what God wanted. Paul knew that he wanted what God wanted. He was in prison and couldn’t go to Colossae and unite everyone to do God’s will. 

However, he could say that “from the day we heard, we have not ceased to pray for you,” and then tell them what he was “asking” so they would be drawn to join him in both asking for the same thing and joining God’s work to make it happen. 

asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will

Each component of this request is like the colors of the spectrum giving us the wholeness of light. This whole prayer will be like that, different colors and nuances of what matters, but all shining this light of what can happen in a church if everyone together is filled with the knowledge of God’s will. Everything in this prayer IS God’s will, and praying it on a daily basis, memorizing it, hiding it in our hearts, will answer God’s prayer that the knowledge of us will fill our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. 

Meditating on this prayer, and beginning to pray it in whatever customized ways apply to anything I am going through, or needs in the lives of others, makes me all the more encouraged to keep praying like this. I can always join with my “two or three” (of any number) who will pray like this with me. I know some personal ways that God is already speaking to us through this prayer and the sharing my prayer group is doing. God is already showing us what he is doing to make this real in our church, and that we have a start of seeing those who are joining him in this work together. 

The spiritual battle rages. Our battle is not against flesh and blood, but against the spiritual enemy of our souls.[2] Praying like Paul is how we live as “more than conquerors through him who loved us and gave himself for us.”[3]And those of us who will unite to pray like this will be a huge blessing to those who are unable to do so because they are already defeated. Let’s see which POW’s we can rescue with our prayers while building up those who are praying together in Jesus’ name!

 

© 2022 Monte Vigh ~ Box 517, Merritt, BC, V1K 1B8

Email: in2freedom@gmail.com

Unless otherwise noted, Scriptures are from the English Standard Version (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.)

 



[1] This is developed by Paul in Ephesians 2, and then reinforced as a summary in Ephesians 4:1-6, including the application to the whole church in Ephesians 4:7-16.

[2] Ephesians 6:10-20

[3] Romans 8:37

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