“Lord,
Teach Us to Pray” X –
(Prayers of Paul;
Introduction
– Beyond the Lord’s Prayer, how should I pray for
others? How should I pray for my spouse,
for my children, for my brothers and sisters in Christ? How should I pray for missionaries? How should I pray for the elders? How should I pray for myself? We should be learning to pray in much the same
way we see our two and three year olds learning to pray – they imitate their
parents, their elders in the faith. And
so we recite the Lord’s Prayer and sing the psalms, the inspired prayer
book. We can also learn by imitating an
elder brother like the apostle Paul.
What if we prayed these prayers for one another?
Colossians 1:9-12
– Paul is writing this (and all three epistles) from prison
in
9 For this reason we also, since the day we heard
it, do not cease to pray for you, - As
we have seen in our study through the Lord’s Prayer, when prayer is received as
an opportunity, when we realize the breadth of the prayer Jesus taught us, and
when we realize how dependent upon God for everything we are, it is possible to
begin to imagine never ceasing from prayer.
and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge
of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding; - He first
petitions for knowledge of God’s will, and to be filled with it, in all wisdom.
10 that you may walk worthy of the Lord, - Here is the
reason for the petition – so that we might walk worthy of our name –
Christian. Then, this worthy walk is
described.
fully pleasing Him, - Fully, not just sort of…which means it is
possible to do so (to be blameless, not sinless).
being fruitful in every good work - walking
in His will, having His blessing on every work, and fruit blessed for the sake
of His kingdom, for the glory of God.
and increasing in the knowledge of God;
- “filled with the knowledge” and then “increasing in the knowledge”. Paul is praying for the center focus of the
Colossian’s life to be upon God, full upon God, and increasing in the knowledge
of God.
11
strengthened with all might, according to His glorious power, for all patience
and longsuffering with joy; -
In the midst of any suffering or trial, Paul is not praying
simply for release, but strength – how much?
with all might, According to what? His glorious power, For
what? ALL patience
AND longsuffering WITH joy.
This is the attitude of the disciple who has knowledge of God, and it
must be sought in prayer. It is not
naturally in some and not in others.
12 giving thanks to the Father who has qualified us
to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in the light.
- The
joy is spelled out here; great thankfulness that God is our Father, that He has
qualified us, that He lets us pray and approach Him, that He has given us an
eternal inheritance of light and glory – unbelievable.
Philippians 1:9-11
– First, in verse 3 and following, Paul gives thanks for
these brothers and sisters in Christ. We
know that He knows this church very personally.
How does he pray?
9 And this I pray, that your love may abound still
more and more - This
love is the love of God and towards on another.
While he praises what he hears about them, he longs for still more and
more.
in knowledge and all discernment, - Love filled with knowledge, not a zeal without
knowledge (Rom 10:2). Paul’s use of this
word, epignosis, knowledge, over and over again, is
not simply a cerebral knowledge of a list of propositions, but rather a full,
intimate acquaintance with the Divine.
And discernment, like wisdom, is the moral and
ethical living out of that knowledge/relationship.
10 that you may
approve the things that are excellent, that you may be sincere and without
offense till the day of Christ, - The same idea as in Colossians, a
‘worthy’ walk. Our lives are to prove,
test, and justify our profession. We may
not be hypocrites, nor be insincere.
This occurs by grace and not in our flesh and so we must pray for it and
continue to pray for it.
11 being filled
with the fruits of righteousness which are by Jesus Christ, to the glory and
praise of God. - Here
is what we must have to pass the test.
These are the fruit of Christ’s life in us. Constantly pray for a deep-rooted work of
Jesus Christ Himself in the hearts of believers by which the tree will be
filled with fruits of righteousness. The
end of this will be the glory and praise of God.
Ephesians 3:14-19 –
Paul has spent three chapters telling the Ephesians who they are in
Christ. Now, before he moves on to the
chapters of commands, he pauses to pray that the truths of what God has done
would take deep root in us.
14 For this
cause I bow my knees unto the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, - Do we far too easily brush over our
physical position before the Lord? It is
not just about what is going on in our heart.
Bowing is an act of humility, of humiliation and acknowledgement that
Someone Else must lift us up. Notice
also that Paul is addressing the Father.
15 Of whom the
whole family in heaven and earth is named,
- Praying for one another is motivated by
our understanding of who we are in Jesus Christ. We are a family under one name – the Triune
God of Scripture, all baptized in the name of the Father and the Son and the
Holy Spirit.
16 That he
would grant you, - This
is simply a gift; it is nothing that we can earn or conjure up.
according
to the riches of his glory, - First
– how much does God have at His disposal?
Paul knows that in Christ he has access to immeasurable riches of
glory. Second – Paul does not hesitate
to pray with great confidence to access all of the riches of Christ’s
glory. These are inspired prayers. This is the way God would have us pray.
to
be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man; - We
are Christians. We are not strengthened
by looking deep within ourselves. We are
strengthened with a mighty and miraculous strength of the Holy Spirit in our
inner man, that is, the soul, the conscience, the heart of man.
17 That Christ
may dwell in your hearts by faith; - Christ
already is in the hearts of believers.
This idea of dwelling has much more of the idea of inhabiting and
‘settling in’ as well. We are praying
that it would be obvious that Christ is at home and is the Lord of this
home. This occurs by faith, not by
works, not by trying hard.
that
ye, being rooted and grounded in love, - Christ
dwelling in our hearts results in a rooted and grounded love from and for
Christ. This root produces fruit. And part of this fruit is more comprehension
of love, as Paul says…
18 May be able
to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and
height; - Love
that encompasses everything. Love that cannot be measured. Love that has no walls, no
bottom, no ceiling. Love that
lives and moves and has its being in the Triune God of scripture. Love that is God Himself.
19 And to know
the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye
might be filled with all the fullness of God. - Paul prays for the impossible. How can we know that which passes
knowledge? How can we be filled with the
fullness of the infinite? And these two
things are connected. The knowledge of
the love of Christ is the fullness of God dwelling in us. This is beyond us. But this is for us. Paul prays this for the church. We should pray this for one another.
Simple Applications –
Pray the Lord’s Prayer and these prayers of Paul word for word. Pray the psalms and other prayers in
scripture word for word. Let them shape
the way you pray and what you pray. Pray
these prayers of Paul for yourself and for those you know. Pray these prayers for those you are asked to
pray for but do not know well. Pray
these prayers for your elders and for this congregation generally. May God grant a reformation of faithful
praying in our homes and in this church. Amen.
Dave Hatcher –