Wednesday, November 16, 2016

Over the years I’ve often gone back to Paul’s prayer recorded in Colossians 1:3-12. It’s been helpful in my own prayer life. Let’s do a focus and amplify study of this passage. The focus I came up with was: How to have an effective prayer life. Amplifying this focus I found two main points: 1. Thank God for what He has already done, verses 3-8. 2. Pray for others to experience a cycle of growth, verses 9-12. These points can be amplified further to get the full impact of how Paul prayed. He often included thanksgiving in his prayers. I believe it was a faith builder for him. If God has done certain things already this should build confidence He will do what still needs doing. Consider what Paul thanked God for in the lives of the Colossian Christians. They were saved by faith in Christ Jesus, verse 4. He mentioned the love they had for all the saints. He also mentioned the hope that is stored up for them in heaven which they heard about in the word of truth, the gospel that had come to them, verse 5. In a world that’s bereft of hope, faith and love, when you know someone is experiencing these qualities while in the world, that’s something we should thank God for. Before we go any further in this study, let me encourage you to stop and think of some of the things God has already done in your life and your family’s lives. If they’ve trusted in Christ you could never thank Him enough for this. What else has He done? Take time right now to thank Him. I believe that’ll be a faith builder for you.