Colossians 4:2-3 Five Keys to a Powerful Prayer Life
A great section from Paul’s teaching on prayer is found here in the book of Colossians. Paul gives us five keys to open the door to a powerful prayer life.
Key # 1 – Devotion
Key # 2 – Alertness
Key # 3 – Thankfulness
Key # 4 – A Mind Set on Others
Key # 5 – A Mind Set on the Things of God
In this section we will deal with devotion. Paul speaks to us in the 2nd verse of the 4th chapter of the letter to the church at Colossae saying “devote yourself to prayer.” The word devote is from a Greek compound word using the preposition “from” in the sense of meaning toward and the word kartereho meaning strength. Literally the phrase means to be with an earnestness in prayer.
First it seems as though the idea of giving your strength toward prayer speaks of the seriousness of the matter. Only those things which are the most serious to us gain the bulk of our strength. This also speaks of the worthiness of the practice of prayer. Conversations with God that seek his heart and his mind are certainly the most serious conversations you and I will ever have with anyone. It was serious when Moses spent time on the mountain to hear the heart of God. It was serious when Jesus spent time in the Garden seeking the heart of the Father. It was serious when that little church gathered in the upper room to pray until the coming of the Spirit. It was serious the day you bowed your heart in prayer asking for your own salvation and the forgiveness of your sins. This idea of devotion speaks of the seriousness of prayer. I am reminded the Bible says you have not because you ask not. When we get serious about the asking, God gets serious about the answering.
Second the idea of devotion is one of giving you strength. This idea alone signals to us that prayer is work. It was work when Jesus prayed in the garden and it was laborious when the church banded together to prayer for Peter’s release. As Paul speaks of asking three times for the removal of the thorn in the flesh we get the idea that he prayed deliberately and earnestly. Even though Paul received a no for his request, he also received a strong word of encouragement from the Lord. Sometimes when we pray we don’t get our initial desire but God gives us something better and stronger. In this case he received a powerful promise, “My grace is sufficient for you.” By the grace of God, Paul learned how to experience the sufficiency of God in his own weakness. But much better than that, in every circumstance of life Paul learned to lean on the promise given in that prayer, “My grace is sufficient for you.” That promise, gained in an earnest prayer before God, must have carried him time and time again when the traveling became difficult. “ My Grace is sufficient. While in prison, while persecuted, while beaten and ship wrecked, Paul lived out the promise gained through the labor of prayer. Perhaps our prayers are powerless because there is no labor in prayer. This idea of work in prayer speaks of its intensity.
Third the idea of devotion in prayer reminds us that it is something that captures us. That of which we devote ourselves is that which captures us in several ways. First it captures our attention. Of course when prayer captures our attention it is not really prayer that has captured us but it is God and the things of God. This is primary in so many ways but especially in powerful prayer. The thought of being captured by the Lord and the things of God suggests that our desires are turned to see the kingdom of God come on earth. It is to desire an experience with God in His fullness right here on this earth in our time. To give attention means to give it thought and interaction. When our attention is captured so are our other resources. That brings us to the second part of being captured which is a portion of our time. Here the Lord deals with our frequency. It was in this vein that Paul could say “pray without ceasing.” When God has our attention, life is a continual prayer. Rick Killian says it this way, “The idea is that life is an open book to the Lord. Every moment of every day is in constant communication with the Lord. One of the first things that Paul teaches us is that prayer is much more than a spiritual discipline to be entered into during certain times and seasons. It should instead be as close and as regular as your breath, integrated into every fiber of your being. “
Now for a self check. Can you say you are devoted to prayer. Do you think when striking out that conversation with God of the serious nature of the practice on which you are embarking? Perhaps you have taken prayer lightly or flippantly. Now is the time to change or repent and return to the seriousness in prayer you enjoyed on the day Jesus saved your soul. What about your labors in prayer? Are you one to pray the easy times like the blessing over a meal and skirt the harder things like desperately seeking God for all decisions in life? Even those that may require fasting and days of prayer prior to hearing the voice of God? And then, has God captured you so that your life is captured by prayer? This is a call to prayer. Let us learn to pray in power first by learning to be devoted to prayer.
