The Knowledge of God's Will for each of us...
Studying the book of Colossians has already been an amazing experience, and we are still in Chapter 1!
While reading Colossians 1: 9-12, we looked more closely at what it was that Paul was praying for the Colossian church, and found a prayer that has a WIDE application.
One of the questions we ask as we read is "What is the invitation from the Holy Spirit to me in this section?"
I found an invitation to pray for people like Paul prayed for the Colossians. Listen to his prayer:
9 For this reason also, since the day we heard of it (the faith and love of the Colossian church), we have not ceased to pray for you and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding,10 so that you will walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, to please Him in all respects, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God; 11 strengthened with all power, according to His glorious might, for the attaining of all steadfastness and patience; joyously 12 giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified us to share in the inheritance of the saints in Light.
He asked that:
'you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding'
Wouldn't you LOVE to be filled with the knowledge of God's will?? Aren't we always wondering what the will of God is for our life, or the life of another? We usually couch that in concrete terms: "God, should I apply for this job, or that one?" "Should I move to Cinncinati or stay in Moorpark?" Should I marry this person or not?" But Paul is actually talking about something much bigger and more personal here....
Think about what it would be like to be FILLED with God's will! You would never have to ask--you would just know. And it wouldn't be about the details of 'what' so much as the details of 'how'. How would God have us conduct ourselves? How would God have us treat one another? What kinds of choices would God have us make? Scripture tells us that we have the very mind of Christ!
Jesus told His disciples that the Holy Spirit would teach them all things, and that He would bring to their memory all the things that Jesus had said. The same Holy Spirit lives in every believer, teaching us, bringing things to our memory, and reordering our disordered souls from the inside out. The Holy Spirit certainly knows God's will, so as He restores our souls and makes more space for Himself in our hearts, He will fill us with the knowledge of His will. It is something that will happen to us over time. In the meantime, we know God's will by reading the scripture: He wants obedience done in surrender to His Spirit. The Bible is filled with that stuff. He also promises that if we seek the Kingdom first, then all the other stuff will fall into place according to His will. I think that's a great promise!
Paul didn't end his prayer there, though. He went on to tell the Colossians what they could expect as they became filled with the knowledge of God's will with all spiritual wisdom and understanding. Verse 10 says "so that"....we will....
v.10 -walk in a manner worthy of the Lord
-please Him in every respect
-bear fruit in every good work
-increase in the knowledge of God
v. 11 -be strengthened with all power according to His glorious might
-attain steadfastness and patience
-joyously give thanks to the Father
...and why? Because He qualified us to share in the inheritance of the saints in Light!
So from now on, whenever I'm stumped about what to pray for someone, I think I will try this prayer of Paul's:
Lord, I lift up every reader of this blog today, and ask that they would be filled with the knowledge of Your will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so that they would walk in a manner worthy of You, they would please you in all things, they would bear fruit in every good work, increase in their knowledge of You, be made strong by your glorious might, become steadfast and patient, and always give thanks to you for qualifying us to inherit Your Kingdom!
Amen.
While reading Colossians 1: 9-12, we looked more closely at what it was that Paul was praying for the Colossian church, and found a prayer that has a WIDE application.
One of the questions we ask as we read is "What is the invitation from the Holy Spirit to me in this section?"
I found an invitation to pray for people like Paul prayed for the Colossians. Listen to his prayer:
9 For this reason also, since the day we heard of it (the faith and love of the Colossian church), we have not ceased to pray for you and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding,10 so that you will walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, to please Him in all respects, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God; 11 strengthened with all power, according to His glorious might, for the attaining of all steadfastness and patience; joyously 12 giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified us to share in the inheritance of the saints in Light.
He asked that:
'you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding'
Wouldn't you LOVE to be filled with the knowledge of God's will?? Aren't we always wondering what the will of God is for our life, or the life of another? We usually couch that in concrete terms: "God, should I apply for this job, or that one?" "Should I move to Cinncinati or stay in Moorpark?" Should I marry this person or not?" But Paul is actually talking about something much bigger and more personal here....
Think about what it would be like to be FILLED with God's will! You would never have to ask--you would just know. And it wouldn't be about the details of 'what' so much as the details of 'how'. How would God have us conduct ourselves? How would God have us treat one another? What kinds of choices would God have us make? Scripture tells us that we have the very mind of Christ!
Jesus told His disciples that the Holy Spirit would teach them all things, and that He would bring to their memory all the things that Jesus had said. The same Holy Spirit lives in every believer, teaching us, bringing things to our memory, and reordering our disordered souls from the inside out. The Holy Spirit certainly knows God's will, so as He restores our souls and makes more space for Himself in our hearts, He will fill us with the knowledge of His will. It is something that will happen to us over time. In the meantime, we know God's will by reading the scripture: He wants obedience done in surrender to His Spirit. The Bible is filled with that stuff. He also promises that if we seek the Kingdom first, then all the other stuff will fall into place according to His will. I think that's a great promise!
Paul didn't end his prayer there, though. He went on to tell the Colossians what they could expect as they became filled with the knowledge of God's will with all spiritual wisdom and understanding. Verse 10 says "so that"....we will....
v.10 -walk in a manner worthy of the Lord
-please Him in every respect
-bear fruit in every good work
-increase in the knowledge of God
v. 11 -be strengthened with all power according to His glorious might
-attain steadfastness and patience
-joyously give thanks to the Father
...and why? Because He qualified us to share in the inheritance of the saints in Light!
So from now on, whenever I'm stumped about what to pray for someone, I think I will try this prayer of Paul's:
Lord, I lift up every reader of this blog today, and ask that they would be filled with the knowledge of Your will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so that they would walk in a manner worthy of You, they would please you in all things, they would bear fruit in every good work, increase in their knowledge of You, be made strong by your glorious might, become steadfast and patient, and always give thanks to you for qualifying us to inherit Your Kingdom!
Amen.
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