First Baptist Church of Diana, Texas

The second key to open the door to a prayer life filled with the power and fullness of God comes in Paul’s second exhortation in Colossians 4:2 when he says “keep alert in it.” This translation is the New American standard and it refers to the first phrase which is “devote yourselves to prayer.”  Literally he is saying, in the middle of your devoted prayer life, keep on being alert.

A logical conclusion immediately comes to mind.  Keeping alert will take a conscious decision and there will be those things which will try to keep us from being alert. Of course anyone who spends time in serious prayer knows of the distractions that come along to divert our attention. Perhaps if the distractions are identified, we will be better equipped to walk in the victory of Christ Jesus.

I believe the enemy trembles when God’s people are serious about their prayer lives. For that reason alone I believe he saves some of his strongest temptations during times of prayer. It seems as though his methods are all so similar, he appeals through our mental capacities, through our physical bodies, and through our flesh or carnality.

The mind. The word used for keeping alert in Col. 4:2 is also used in 1 Thessalonians 5:6 as the opposite of sleep and drunkenness. There the Bible says, “so then let us not sleep as others do, but let us be alert and sober.”  We will think of this in two ways. First we must think in terms of a clear mind.  There is often a continual struggle in intense prayer for control of the mind. The solution appears to be in the determination we have to keep our minds focused on spending time with Jesus. The mind can be controlled through discipline just as any other facet of humanity. Be aware and be ready for distractions in the mind – keep alert.

1. Second, 1 Thess. 5:6 reminds us of our physical limitations. The body will grow tired and desire to drift off. Sleep may pull at your eyes. Your body may cry out for rest. Perhaps your senses will take over and tell you of your discomfort due to heat or cold. Your stomach may tell you about your hunger.  This is connected to the mind for it is through the mind that the body alerts you of such things. Again – discipline is the key. Keep alert. You can endure slight discomforts if you concentrate in prayer.
2. The flesh or the carnality of mankind. Praying of the kind we are looking for in this study requires one to walk in the spirit. Paul liked to use the term in the spirit and is probably referring to the same thing John was talking about when he quoted Jesus commanding us to abide in Christ. To walk in the Spirit or to remain in Christ, we must be exercising spiritual disciplines through a personal walk with Christ. We must be in the Scripture, not to seek some knowledge, but to seek Christ. We must be practicing prayer and worship through a desire to be with Christ and in Christ not just to mark it off our good Christian check list. Of course, staying confessed up is also essential. If we are not walking with Christ or if we have known sin for which we have not repented and confessed openly to the Lord, we will be distracted from powerful prayer lives. In such cases, our flesh will be pushing back the Spirit.

Do you have difficulties with distractions in prayer? Perhaps it is a need for personal discipline or perhaps you need to deal with known sin. I pray right now for all who may read this blog, that you will overcome the things that distract you from a vibrant and powerful time of prayer with our Lord. If you are new to reading blogs, you may not know that you can register comments.  Just click on the link below that says “No comments” or lists a number beside the word comment such as “1 Comment” and you may write comments that will be seen by all who visit.