Continue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful in it with thanksgiving. At the same time, pray also for us, that God may open to us a door for the word, to declare the mystery of Christ, on account of which I am in prison— that I may make it clear, which is how I ought to speak. Colossians 4:2-4 ESV
We’re nearing the end of Paul’s exhortation to the Colossians on right living, and so far we’ve seen how important and relevant each instruction is to us even now. And today’s passage is no different.
Paul instructs the church to “continue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful in it with thanksgiving.” This the sixth time in this letter that Paul has mentioned being thankful, and when a theme is repeated in scripture it means we need to give it extra attention. As noted in our study of Colossians 3:17 (And Whatever You Do), thanksgiving is the cornerstone of a healthy faith, and nearly all our worship and adoration of God stems from a heart of gratitude. We simply cannot please God if we are not thankful.
And one great way to exercise thankfulness is to do it in prayer. Instead of starting off our prayers with personal wants and desires, we should start by thanking God for what He’s already given us. Not surprisingly, we have so much to be thankful for that it can often be hard to even know where to begin, which oddly can become a mental block. Think about it: if someone asks you to write down 30 things you’re thankful for, you can get the first ten quite easily… then it gets harder. Asked to write 100 or 1,000 things, and we’re gonna struggle. We are just so blessed that we simply forget how much we have!
Perhaps it is good to start making that list of things we are thankful for, and each day we can add something to it. Start with the obvious things and praise God for each one individually. As we come to God in prayer with thanksgiving, the Holy Spirit will remind us of other things He’s done in our life, and we can praise, bless, and thank the Lord for those too! With practice, we’ll spend more time worshipping God in thanksgiving and less time asking for more stuff.
Paul then petitions the church to pray for him and his ministry partners. Going back to the opening of this epistle, we know this included Timothy and Epaphras, but as we read through the closing of this epistle (Col. 4:7-18) we see many other names, too, like Barnabas, Mark, Justus, and Aristarchus. We’ll learn about this more when we get there, but Paul didn’t preach the gospel alone; it was a team effort to get the Word out to the world.
He also asks the Colossians to continue to pray for them as they continue to preach the mystery of Christ. Paul used this exact phrase in his letter to the Ephesians (see Eph. 3:4) and this is the third time here in Colossians he talked about this mystery. Remember, Paul was personally chosen by the resurrected Jesus to preach to the Gentiles (see Acts 9:15), and this mystery speaks to the formerly veiled truth that Gentiles were included in God’s plan of salvation, not only the Jews (ref: Acts 28:28, Eph. 3:6, Gal. 3:14, Col. 3:11).
In asking for prayer, Paul gently reminds the church that he is in prison for his missionary work. We find a very practical lesson hidden in this verse. Notice that Paul’s only concern is for getting the gospel out to the world, not for his own benefit or situation. He asks the church to pray that “I may make it clear, which is how I ought to speak.” He only wants God to open a door so that more people can be saved. How radically unselfish!
Now the tough question: is selflessness ingrained in our prayer life? Do we spend more time praying for our brothers and sisters, and unsaved friends and family than we do for ourselves? I’m certainly convicted here, how about you? And this reminds us that even if it seems someone will never turn to the Lord, we can’t give up; we must keep praying for their salvation, and that at every opportunity the Spirit nudges, we will make [the gospel] clear in word and action.
We can now see Paul’s framework for a healthy prayer life: start with thanksgiving, pray for other believers, and pray for the gospel to reach the hearts of the unsaved. Yes, we can certainly pray for our needs and wants (Jesus showed us how in Matt. 6:5-14), but it is always better for our prayers to be centered on praising and worshipping God and for the needs of others. And I imagine when we make this our habit, our list of things we’re thankful will grow and grow (after all, God knows our needs before we ask!), and the Lord will show us how mightily He is working in the lives of those we pray for… which leads to even more for us to be thankful for! And in all of this we find our hearts are increasingly filled with the joy of the Lord.