Text for the Week: Devoted to Prayer

Scripture: Colossians 4:2-6

² Keep on praying and guard your prayers with thanksgiving. ³ At the same time, pray for us also. Pray that God would open a door for the word so we can preach the secret plan of Christ—which is why I’m in chains. ⁴ Pray that I might be able to make it as clear as I ought to when I preach. ⁵ Act wisely toward outsiders, making the most of the opportunity. ⁶ Your speech should always be gracious and sprinkled with insight so that you may know how to respond to every person.

Questions

1. Why Does Paul tell the Colossians to “keep praying” were they likely to give up praying, were they struggling with this element of the Spiritual life?
2. What does it mean to “guard your prayers with thanksgiving” and why is this so important to a healthy prayer life?
3. What is the role of intercessory prayer in the life of the Church and why does Paul ask the Colossians to pray for him three times in two verses?
4. What is the connection between wise action and prayer that Paul would include both ideas in the same thought?
5. How does one’s speech to others reflect one’s prayer life and vice versa that Paul would connect these themes?

Background

Related Scriptures: Matthew 6:5-15, Romans 8:26, Ephesians 6:18-20, Philippians 4:6, 1 Thessalonians 5:12-22, James 4:3, 1 John 5:13-17

This section matches the opening (1:3) where Paul talks of his prayer for the Colossians, he wants the Colossians to imitate him in their prayer lives, both in acknowledging its importance and making him the object of their prayers.

The fact that the opening words of the closing of the letter are about prayer display the importance the activity has in Paul’s theology and practical expression of the faith.

The word attached to praying in v2 προσκαρτερέω means “to attach oneself to” or “be loyal to” and also “to persevere”. Paul is trying to convey the idea that we are to have a consistent routine of prayer that is important to us, even when such a routine is difficult.

The phrase “guard your prayers” is a little awkward but seems to convey the idea that we are to be alert in prayer. The phrase draws on the imagery of a person on night watch duty.

The idea of keeping watch, is somewhat balanced by “with thanksgiving”, while someone on watch will always be aware of negative scenarios (the person on watch looks for invasion or people in need, while questioning strangers) the concept of thankfulness is always positive, recognizing and displaying joy in what one has.

Paul wants prayer from the Colossians not simply so God will make him and his work successful but also because it is a way for the Colossians to connect to him as a person.

Reflection

It is often remarked that John Wesley set aside an hour in the morning and an hour in the evening for prayer, along with other prayer times in between and encouraged his Methodists to do the same. He did this to fulfill Paul’s words to the Thessalonians “pray without ceasing” (1 Thess. 5:17). This type of devotion seems daunting for many in the church, not without good reason, and so the subject of prayer, outside of meal and bed times and times of great need is left without thought. I think part of the reason that prayer is difficult for so many, is because the dominant metaphor for God in the Church over the last few centuries has been that of a king relating to subjects instead of a parent relating to children. We have been taught that God has supreme authority and is so much greater than us (something that is technically true) that we should approach God only with extreme reverence and deference, quieting making our request before the Divine throne and then backing away. With this metaphor in place who could possibly be blamed for not desiring to spend time with God. Further, when one has this understanding of God it is easy to expect that my prayers will not be answered and God has other concerns to attend to.

One of the novelties of the way Jesus taught about God was his use of paternal language for God; Jesus encouraged his followers to think of God as parent and addresses God as father. While not everyone has firsthand experience with a good father (which is lamentable) but we can all think of a character from a TV show or book who exemplifies good parenting. And this is the relationship that Jesus wants us to picture when we approach our times of prayer. Coming to God in prayer should be like having a conversation with a loving parent, not approaching a lordly and distant monarch. How much different are conversations with parents where one can learn from their experience, feel listened to, go for help, laugh, and grow close with. In the best relationships with parents even those moments of guilt and shame are only temporary we learn that in confessing our failures we do not find judgment and scorn but love, mercy, and reconciliation. Such and attitude toward God can revolutionize our prayer life as we recognize that prayers are not simply times to ask for miracles and heap praises on God, but prayer is a time to have conversation. An hour of intercession and rattling off “you are so amazing” might be difficult, especially when it is daily, but an hour of fellowship, talking about how the day has gone and listening for God’s responses will be far more enjoyable.

Prayer is not simply about singing God’s praises or repenting or asking for mercy in a given situation, prayer is about learning God’s heart, sharing life with God, and learning how to be like God. As William Carey said, “To pray is to change. Prayer is the central avenue God uses to transform us. If we are unwilling to change, we will abandon prayer as a noticeable characteristic of our lives.”  Prayer is an opportunity to talk to God about the world around us and learn how God thinks and feels about our situations. It is a time to understand God’s priorities and to allow those priorities to shape our own character. Prayer, for the Christian, is not about saying the right words, or spending an adequate amount of time, or being in the right pose, or being rightly reverent each of these may help us pray, but prayer is simply about spending the time in communication with God. Prayer is about allowing our hearts to commune with God’s heart and allowing God’s words to shape us and change us. Prayer is about taking concerns to God so that we can be concerned for others and the world the way God is concerned for the cosmos and each of us.

Takeaway

Prayer for Jesus’ followers is about taking time to commune with God as a parent, entering a loving conversation where we can learn to be more like God and God can see our heart for the world and respond to us.