Praying Like Paul

For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you. We continually ask God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all the wisdom and understanding that the Spirit gives. – Colossians 1:9

Over the next couple of days, we are going to study a prayer that is found in a book called Colossians. This prayer is particularly unique because Paul is writing to a church he has never visited. He has never met one Christian in this city. Yet, without knowing a single name or a single need he prayed a perfect prayer for not just this church and not just these people, but for any church and any people. I call it a “Carpe Diem” prayer.

If you are familiar with that phrase, you know it means “seize the day.” I don’t know of any prayer that we could pray daily that could do more in us, for us, with us, and through us than this prayer. We all want to pray the types of prayer that we are one hundred percent convinced that God not only hears, but God would agree with and God would answer. This type of prayer has six different components. We’ll cover three of these components today and then we’ll discuss the other three tomorrow.

First, we should pray to be guided by the will of God. We are to begin every day by asking God to fill us with the knowledge of his will. Because, if you are living in the will of God, every other part of your Christian life will fall into place. Unfortunately, that seems to be a pretty difficult thing for us to be diligent in living out. Our biggest problem is not in finding the will of God; it is doing it. The purpose of prayer is not to get your will done in heaven; it is to get his will done on earth. The purpose of prayer is not to tell God what you want Him to do. It is to ask God what He wants you to do. Therefore, the very first thing we ought to pray is to be guided by the will of God.

Second, we should pray to be guarded by the wisdom of God. Paul doesn’t just ask that we would be filled with knowledge but filled with the knowledge that comes through wisdom and understanding. Knowledge without wisdom is deficient. It can be dangerous. It is one thing to understand the world around you. It is another thing to understand the world above you. We are living in a world today that is floating in an ocean of knowledge and dying in a desert of wisdom. We are learning firsthand if you have the knowledge to detonate a nuclear bomb but don’t have the wisdom not to use it, you can destroy the world.

When you pray, you should pray not only to be guided by the will of God but guarded by the wisdom of God to have the wisdom in any situation to know you must do whatever God would have you to do.

Third, we should pray to be gratifying in our walk with God. In the New Testament, the Christian life is constantly described as a walk. The Christian life is always a manner of next steps. You never stand still in the Christian life. You are always progressing, always moving, always going, taking one step after another.

There is only one place you should ever put your foot. There is only one step you should ever take and that is so it will take you wherever you are pleasing God in every way. Every step you take in your life, every place that you go, everything that you watch, everything that you hear, and every word that you say, when you know it should all be pleasing to the Lord, it makes every step doubly important and should give us even more concern and care about every step we take.

Dear Lord, help me to pray like Paul. Guide me by your will. Guard me with your wisdom. And gratify me in my walk with you. In Jesus’ name, amen.