So we have not stopped praying for you since we first heard about you. We ask God to give you complete knowledge of his will and to give you spiritual wisdom and understanding. Then the way you live will always honor and please the Lord, and your lives will produce every kind of good fruit. All the while, you will grow as you learn to know God better and better. We also pray that you will be strengthened with all his glorious power so you will have all the endurance and patience you need. Col. 1:9-11 (NLT)
Six objectives are listed for us:
1. Live in a way that will honor the Lord.
2. Please the Lord in every area of your life.
3. Produce good fruit through your way of life.
4. Get to know God better.
5. Be strengthened with God’s power.
6. Learn to be steadfast and patient.
The “gateway” to get to these objectives is to gain “comprehensive insight into the ways and purposes of God” (Amplified version). Paul says, “We ask God to give you complete knowledge of his will and to give you spiritual wisdom and understanding. Then the way you live will…” In other words we should grow deep in God’s truths and gain more insight into His purposes so that we will be able to act on those objectives.
That’s the gateway to getting to the six objectives, but the gateway needs a “key”. The key to unlocking the gateway is PRAYER. Paul says, “we have not stopped praying for you… We ask God to give you…” Prayer is the key. The place to begin to fulfilling the objectives is prayer. Spend consistent time with the Lord in prayer. Live in a constant state of open communication with Him if you want to experience the results of His power in your life. Through a consistent state of prayer throughout the day God then works in and through your life and becomes your strength. Prayer becomes the conduit through which you experience God’s power to do what He wants you to do. The power of prayer is the power of God.
If you want to know and experience God’s power, patience, steadfastness, and joy, then be consistent and avid in your praying.
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We make many choices in our lives but none more important than the choice to pray. However, I've come to realize in my life that it is a matter of choosing how I pray. Is it simply a blessing at meal time that is spoken so quickly because it is an act of routine or is it an act from the heart? Do I take time to invite God to hear my prayers or do I simply dictate my needs, wants and desires? Do I pray from a faithful, believing heart or from a fearful heart that borders on semi-belief until my prayer is answered? Do I accept God's answers to my prayers only when it has an immediate happy result or do I let God's timing create doubt? For today Lord I ask forgiveness for all the times I've simply expected you to meet my needs when you have already promised to do so; to do things immediately instead of valuing the lesson in patience; for only inviting you to hear my words instead of inviting you to hear my heart. Lord I want to honor and praise you, produce good fruit and get to know you better. I want to feel your strength and learn to be steadfast and patient. For today Lord, I invite you into my heart to hear my real prayers and I pray that in developing a closer relationship with you that my focus will be on your will for my life and not my wants and desires. Thank you Father for loving me not in spite of my shortcomings and weaknesses but because of who I am...your child.
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