Prayers of Paul

Inner Strength.

/ kdmiller55 / Leave a comment

For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named, that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being… – Ephesians 3:14-16 ESV

Ephesians 3:14-21

Paul was a praying man. He prayed constantly for the people over whom God had placed him as a shepherd, and his prayers reveal not only his heart of love, but his understanding of God’s will. Paul opened his letter to the Ephesians with a prayer and, here in chapter three, he shares the content of yet another one of his prayers for them. Paul wrote this letter from prison and he told them that he did not want them “to lose heart over what I am suffering for you, which is your glory” (Ephesians 3:13 ESV). Then he wrote, “For this reason I bow my knees before God.” Paul’s prayer was motivated by his desire that they not lose heart. He didn’t want his imprisonment to leave them scared, in doubt, or lacking in faith. He no doubt knew that they would find his imprisonment for sharing the gospel more than a bit intimidating. It would have been easy for them to question whether they would be next. In Paul’s day, being a Christian could be dangerous, especially for Gentile converts living in a pagan context. Persecution was a constant reality. So Paul told them what he was praying for them. He wanted them to know of his concern but, more than that, he wanted them to know what the solution was. He made it clear that his prayer on their behalf was directed the the Father. He was going directly to the source. Paul uses a word play in the Greek. He says that he bowed before the Father (patera) from whom every family (patria) is named. He is the Father of the fathers of all the families on earth. He is the creator of all mankind, so ultimately He is the Father of all. Without Him, no one would exist. Paul is reminding his readers of God’s deity and dominion over all things. Paul was taking their needs to the God of the universe.

And what was it that Paul was asking God for? Strength. His pray was “that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being.” Paul was asking God to provide them with power – not an outward display of His power, but an inner strength provided by the indwelling Holy Spirit. Paul was praying his prayer from prison. He was not asking God to break open the bars and release him. He was not asking God to show a power of force and deliver the Ephesian believers from any and all persecution. He was praying for inner strength. Paul knew what it meant to have that kind of strength. In his letter to the Philippians, he wrote, “Not that I am speaking of being in need, for I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content. I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need. I can do all things through him who strengthens me” (Philippians 4:11-13 ESV). Paul had experienced an up and down life, filled with tremendous joys and extreme heartache. He had been beaten, shipwrecked, stoned and left for dead, imprisoned repeatedly, threatened, chased out of town, and ridiculed relentlessly. Yet he was able to say, “I can do all things through him who strengthens me.” Paul knew that the key to their survival was power provided by God – life-transforming, boldness-producing power that would come from the inside out.

What many of us lack as believers is endurance. We give up far too easily. When faced with difficulties, trials or trouble of any kind, we immediately begin to figure out how to get ourselves out of the situation in which we find ourselves. We even pray that God would deliver us from the difficulty. But it may be that God wants to use the very circumstances from which we seek deliverance to make us stronger. I could be that God wants to reveal His power within us while the trouble looms all around us. He wants us to learn that inner strength, when provided by Him, always prevails over external circumstances. Paul wrote the majority of his letters from prison. He remained steadfast and faithful even when faced with some of the most difficult situations. He did not let external conditions distract or defeat him, because he found strength from Holy Spirit. So he prayed that God would do the same thing for the believers in Ephesus. And that should be our prayer for one another today: God-provided, Holy Spirit-produced inner strength. The strength to face any and all circumstances with faith, joy, patience, contentment, and an overwhelming sense of God’s faithful presence. A change in our circumstances won’t make us stronger, but a change in perspective will. We must know that our God is in charge, all-powerful, and deeply in love with us, regardless of what our surroundings or situation may seem to say. We need His strength to patiently wait for His will to be done. We need His power to transform our inner man and give us strength to stand strong in the midst of the storms of life.

Pure and Blameless.

/ kdmiller55 / Leave a comment

And it is my prayer that your love may abound more and more, with knowledge and all discernment, so that you may approve what is excellent, and so be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God. – Philippians 1:9-11 ESV

It was Paul’s prayer that those to whom he wrote would increase in love, but in a love that would be accompanied by knowledge and discernment. It was his desire that their love would be truth-based and God-directed. He knew that the kind of love God required was different than that found in the world. God’s brand of love produces a life that is pure and blameless. That doesn’t mean that we can live sinless, perfect lives on this earth, but as we learn to love as God loves, it produces an increasing degree of Christ-likeness in our lives. The love of God is selfless and sincere, not selfish and hypocritical. In his great “love chapter,” Paul describes God’s love in these terms: “Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged. It does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance” (1 Corinthians 13:4-7 NLT). That is the kind of love that Paul prays will abound or increase more and more. It is that kind of love that will allow us to stand before Christ some day pure and blameless. And Paul reminds us that this kind of love is the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ. He must produce this kind of love within us. We can’t fake it or self-manufacture it. Paul describes the fruit of the Spirit as “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control” (Galatians 5:22-23 NLT). Love is a byproduct of righteousness. Righteousness is a gift provided to us by Jesus Christ. Isaiah reminds us that, “When we display our righteous deeds, they are nothing but filthy rags” (Isaiah 64:6 NLT).

We must never forget that our righteousness comes from Christ. In the same way, our ability to love comes from Christ. We cannot love with the kind of love He did apart from Him. Jesus commanded us to “love one another: just as I have loved you” (John 13:34 ESV). The apostle John writes, “let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God” (1 John 4:7 ESV). So we are to love on God’s terms. We are to love with God’s love. That is the kind of love Paul prays will increase more and more in the lives of believers. And when we love like that, God gets all the praise, glory and honor. Why? Because, apart from Him, we couldn’t pull it off. Jesus made it very clear. “Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing” (John 15:5 ESV). Bearing fruit – the fruit of righteousness – is what it is all about. And that fruit includes love – the kind of love that was modeled by God, comes through Christ, is made possible by the indwelling Holy Spirit and produces a pure and blameless life.

The reason Paul prayed for this to happen was because He knew that it was not going to be the norm for any believers. Our sin natures are constantly seeking to get us to love by our own standard, not God’s. We are prone to selfishness and self-centeredness. We seek our own way. We love only if we get love in return. We operate with a what’s-in-it-for-me mentality. So Paul prayed that our love would increase. But he wanted it to be God’s kind of love. For that to happen, he knew that God would have to produce it. That requires a knowledge of God and a willing reliance upon the Holy Spirit’s direction in our lives. To love what God loves, we must know Him well enough to understand where His heart lies. We must have knowledge and discernment to know the difference between our loves and His. As we grow to know Him better, we will end up loving what He loves. We will love like He loves. His love is always focused on righteousness and redemption. He loves in order to bring about change and transformation. His love has a purpose. It is always for our good and His glory. We must learn to love that way. It is His love, perfect in us and flowing through us, that will make a real difference in this world, and result in our lives being pure and blameless when we stand before Him some day.

Love, Knowledge and Discernment.

/ kdmiller55 / Leave a comment

And it is my prayer that your love may abound more and more, with knowledge and all discernment, so that you may approve what is excellent, and so be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God. – Philippians 1:9-11 ESV

It was Paul’s desire that the love of the believers in Philippi would grow more and more. He knew how important love was in the life of the believer. He fully understood that, because God has loved us, we are obligated to love others. God is love, and as His children, we are to express His nature. But Paul also qualified His request for increasing love by requesting that it be accompanied by knowledge and discernment. He was not asking for a sentimental sort of love, but a well-reasoned and Christ-like love founded on an understanding of the truth of God. Our love is not to be without discrimination or discernment. The psalmist writes, “You who love the Lord, hate evil!” (Psalm 97:10 NLT). Paul himself wrote to the believers in Rome, “Let love be genuine. Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good.” (Romans 12:9 ESV). In his prayer for the Philippian believers Paul gives his reason for requesting love accompanied by knowledge and discernment – “so that you may approve what is excellent.” The NET Bible translates that phrase as “so that you can decide what is best.” Our love, as it grows, if accompanied by knowledge and discernment, will help us establish right priorities and enable us to focus on what really matters. The problem today is that love has become non-discerning and indiscriminate. We love without thought or priority. We love food, cars,  entertainment, pleasure and people all equally and without considering what it is that God loves. What does His heart beat fast for?

There are things in life that we are NOT to love. God hates pride. So should we. God hates injustice. So should we. But there are also things that are not immoral or unethical, that we have made priorities or “loves” in our lives, that have taken the place of God. We love convenience more than God or others. We love our own comfort more than we love God or others. We love acceptance, the praise of men, the things of this world, our own agendas, and a host of other things more than we love God or others. But Paul prays that our love will be marked by knowledge of the truth and a Spirit-provided discernment that will allow us to see what really matters. True love can be costly. God showed His love for mankind by sending His own Son to die. It cost Him dearly. God knew what needed to be done and He did it. His love was driven by what was best. Jesus’ love for us was also driven by what was best – what His Father wanted. We are to love, but always on God’s terms. Sometimes, our brand of love can do more harm than good. In our day and age, we have confused tolerance with love. We are told to love everybody. But what we are really being told to do is approve of what everyone is doing. Our love is to be all-accepting and non-discriminatory. We are not to judge. We are not free to disapprove. But the Word of God would have us love – within reason and with truth as our standard. In the Proverbs we read, “There are six things that the Lord hates, seven that are an abomination to him: haughty eyes, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked plans, feet that make haste to run to evil, a false witness who breathes out lies, and one who sows discord among brothers” (Proverbs 6:16-19 ESV). God will not overlook sin. He can’t. So neither should we. That does not mean that we should refrain from showing grace. But at no point are we to show love without discernment. Sometimes the greatest form of love is that which points out the sin in another person’s life. If sin separates us from God, then letting someone know that what they are doing is putting a barrier between them and God is the most loving thing you could do for them. Telling them you love them while knowing that their behavior is an affront to God is anything but loving.

What if we prayed this prayer for one another today? Can you imagine what it might be like if each of us, as believers, were more knowledgeable and discerning in our love? What would it be like if we truly learned to love as God loves? Peter tells us, “Above all, keep loving one another earnestly, since love covers a multitude of sins” (1 Peter 4:8 ESV). But notice that he says, love covers a multitude of sins, not accepts or ignores them. Yes, we need to love more. But we need love that is based on knowledge and discernment. We need love that approves of and agrees with what is best – God’s best. How did God love us? While we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. God loved us at our worst, but He was not wiling to leave us that way. The apostle John reminds us, “The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil” (1 John 3:8 ESV). “You know that he appeared in order to take away sins, and in him there is no sin” (1 John 3:5 ESV). God’s love was based on redeeming us and renewing us into the likeness of His Son. He didn’t love us by leaving us just like we were. He loved us so that He might justify and sanctify us. And we are to love in that very same way.

Power and Authority.

/ kdmiller55 / Leave a comment

…that he worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come.  And he put all things under his feet and gave him as head over all things to the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all. – Ephesians 1:20-23 ESV

Ephesians 1:15-23

Paul ends his prayer with a rather strange, but highly appropriate reminder of the source of the hope of our calling, our glorious inheritance and the immeasurable power at our disposal. It is Christ, the resurrected, ruling, righteous, and soon-to-be-returning Son of God and Savior of mankind. It is Jesus Christ who makes it possible for us to have a restored relationship with God. His death satisfied the just demands of a holy God. He died in our place so that the penalty for our sins might be paid in full and our condemnation be removed once and for all. His death made possible our adoption by God and our new status as His children. Our calling, our future inheritance and the power of God available to us are all a result of the sacrificial death of Jesus Christ on the cross. The amazing thing is that He willingly left His rightful place at God’s side and came to earth, took on human flesh, and died so that we might live. But Paul reminds us that, after His resurrection, made possible by God’s “great might,” Jesus returned to His Father’s side and was restored to His rightful position with all the power and authority that was His.

As important as it is that we believe Jesus came as a baby and lived His life as a human being, died on a cross and rose again, it is essential that we understand that Jesus is God, with all the “rule and authority and power and dominion” that God possessed. He is “above every name that is named.” God “put all things under his feet and gave him as head over all things to the church.” In other words, Jesus Christ possesses unsurpassed power and authority, and deserves our unwavering allegiance as the King of kings and Lord of lords. We tend to think that when Jesus cried out on the cross, “It is finished!,” He was saying that His work was done. And while His earthly work had come to a point of completion with His death, He is far from finished. He has returned to His Father’s side and He continues to work on our behalf as the head of the church, His body. That means that we, as members of that body, report to Him. And the power and authority that Jesus Christ possesses passes down to us as members of His Kingdom. He has every right to rule and reign over our lives. But we have a responsibility to act as His ambassadors, extending His reign over the earth and living as obedient citizens of His Kingdom as we do so. It is interesting that Paul ends his prayer with a reminder of the power and authority of Christ. In a sense, it is when we come to understand the rightful place of Jesus Christ as our ultimate authority and the unquestioned ruler over our lives, that we really come to know God. Jesus isn’t just a doorway through which we walk to get to God. He is God. He is God the Son, the second person of the Trinity. He is a vital part of the Godhead – God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit. Mysterious and inexplicable, but essential to what we believe about Jesus Christ and His subsequent role as our returning King. The apostle John was given a vision of what His future return will look like. “Then I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse! The one sitting on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he judges and makes war. His eyes are like a flame of fire, and on his head are many diadems, and he has a name written that no one knows but himself. He is clothed in a robe dipped in blood, and the name by which he is called is The Word of God. And the armies of heaven, arrayed in fine linen, white and pure, were following him on white horses. From his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations, and he will rule them with a rod of iron. He will tread the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God the Almighty. On his robe and on his thigh he has a name written, King of kings and Lord of lords” (Revelation 19:11-16 ESV).

He is coming again and this time it will be with power and authority. He is coming as the King of kings and Lord of lord. He has no equal. No one will be able to oppose Him. He will bring judgment to the earth. He will destroy the enemies of God. He will establish His Kingdom on the earth and reign in righteousness. But while all of that is somewhere out in the future, we must not forget that Jesus Christ possesses that same power and authority right now. We are to treat Him as our King and Lord each and every day of our lives. It is He who makes it possible for us to pray. Our very ability to come before God is a byproduct of His death on the cross. We enter into God’s presence because of Christ’s blood, not because we somehow deserve to be there. Even in our prayers we should acknowledge the great debt we owe to Jesus for what He has done. We can know God because we know Christ.

Hope, Riches and Power.

/ kdmiller55 / Leave a comment

…having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to the working of his great might… – Ephesians 1:18-19 ESV

Ephesians 1:15-22

Paul had been consistently asking that God would give “the Spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him” to the believers in Ephesus for whom he prayed. He knew that as they grew to know God better, they would also grow in their understanding of and appreciation for all that He had done for them. It was Paul’s desire that they would know the hope to which God had called them. In the Greek, the word, hope, has to do with “expectation of good.” It is a joyful and confident expectation based on the knowledge that God has called us into a relationship with Him. He has good things in store for us. He loved us enough to save us, but He is also in the process of sanctifying us. We can expect that God will continue His good work of transforming us into the likeness of His Son. We should live with a sense of hope, an expectation of good, even when things appear to be going bad. As we grow in our knowledge of God, we begin to understand just how loving, gracious, merciful and powerful He really is.

In fact, that is part of what Paul prayed for. He wanted the believers in Ephesus to know “what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe.” For far too many of us, the power of God remains an unknown quantity in our lives. It is not that it is absent, but that we fail to see and appreciate it. God is always at work. His power is always available to us. But rather than avail ourselves of that power, we tend to rely on our own. Then we wonder why our spiritual lives seem so weak and powerless. We question why God doesn’t appear to working in our lives like He is in the lives of others. But it goes back to the knowledge of God. It is as we grow to know Him better, that we begin to understand just how powerful He really is and how that power is available to us on a daily basis. The stories we read in the Bible become far more than antiquated antidotes of God’s power in the distant past. They become exciting examples of the kind of power available to us right here, right now. Our God is still a miracle-working God. He is still capable of doing the impossible, conquering the unbeatable, delivering the oppressed, protecting the innocent and revealing His power in a myriad of ways on a daily basis. As believers in Jesus Christ, we have been given access to the same power that raised Him from the dead. But it is one thing to know about that power intellectually, and another thing to know about it experientially. Paul would have us know God’s power in a real and intimate way. He would want us to have the daily experience of the immeasurable greatness of God’s power.

Finally, Paul prayed for a growing awareness of “the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints.” There is a sense in which we must live our lives on this earth with our eyes focused on the reality of our future inheritance. This world is not our home. God has something far greater prepared for us. Any joy we experience in this life is nothing compared with what is to come. This world is marred by sin and, even as believers, our ability to know and experience God is hampered by our own sin natures. But there is a day coming when we will be free from all the restrictions of sin. We will enjoy uninterrupted fellowship with God and all those who have placed their faith in Jesus Christ as their Savior. No more sin, sorrow, pain, suffering, war, abuse, lying, murder or death. God has promised it. We must believe it. Warren Wiersbe has said, “To know God personally is salvation. To know Him increasingly is sanctification. To know Him perfectly is glorification.” That about covers the contents of Paul’s prayer. He would have us know God better and better. It begins at salvation, but it does not stop there. All the while we live on this earth, we are to grow in our knowledge of God. We are to experience His power and increase in our faith as He reveals Himself to us in real and tangible ways. But ultimately, we will know Him perfectly. That is the ultimate objective. It is why Jesus died. Even He said, “this is eternal life, that they know you the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent” (John 17:3 ESV). Knowing God is what it is all about. We can know Him now because of Jesus’ death on the cross. We can know Him increasingly better because of His Spirit within us and the Word in which He reveals Himself to us. But one day we will know Him perfectly and personally, free from sin, and without interruption or interference of any kind.

The Knowledge of Him.

/ kdmiller55 / Leave a comment

For this reason, because I have heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love toward all the saints,  I do not cease to give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers, that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him… – Ephesians 1:15-17 ESV

Ephesians 1:15-22

Paul’s prayers were personal and practical, but in a spiritual sort of way. His prayers cut to the chase, aiming straight for the heart of the issue in the lives of those for whom he prayed. The theme of his prayers tended to revolve around their spiritual maturity and the ongoing development of their relationship with God. And Paul was not just content to pray for these things and leave them up to God. He had been willing to play his part, having helped start many of the churches to whom he wrote and writing his letters filled with instruction, encouragement and, at times, admonition and correction. Paul was not a glass-half-empty kind of guy, who always saw the negative side of everything. He was optimistic and always encouraged when he heard good reports regarding the congregations to whom he ministered. In the case of the brothers and sisters at Ephesus, he had received news of their faith in the Lord Jesus and their love toward all the saints. This report caused him to thank God. He knew this was evidence of the work of God in their lives. What a much-needed reminder for those of us who tend to see the faults and the failures, while overlooking the obvious activity of God in the lives of our brothers and sisters in Christ. Paul was not afraid to point out spiritual short-comings, but he was always eager to look for God-sightings in the lives of others. Evidence of spiritual transformation did not go unnoticed by Paul and his gratitude to God never went unexpressed.

Paul was not only thankful to God for His work in the lives of the people of God, he was thankful to God for those individuals. He told them, “I do not cease to give thanks for you” (Ephesians 1:16 ESV). He was grateful to God for them. He legitimately loved them and that love flowed out in the form of regular, heart-felt prayer for them. He wanted to see their faith and love increase, and he knew that the key to that happening was for their knowledge of God to increase, which is why he prayed: “that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him” (Ephesians 1:17 ESV). His request was that God’s Spirit, the Spirit of truth, would provide them with wisdom and revelation when it comes to their knowledge of God. The idea of revelation has to do with disclosing of truth or making the unknown known. Paul knew that those for whom he prayed would need the Spirit’s help in discerning the truth regarding God. In his letter to the Corinthians, he wrote, “For the Spirit searches everything, even the depths of God. For who knows a person’s thoughts except the spirit of that person, which is in him? So also no one comprehends the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. Now we have received not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might understand the things freely given us by God” (1 Corinthians 2:10-12 ESV). In a sense, Jesus made God known to man. He made it possible for men to have a right relationship with God and know and experience His love, grace and mercy. The Holy Spirit makes it possible for us to know God better and better.

What Paul knew was that every believer needs one thing and one thing only – more knowledge of God. Jesus Christ restored our relationship with God. He made it possible for us to enter into God’s presence. The Holy Spirit now provides us with the ability to grow in our knowledge of God. And that increasing knowledge of Him is what informs us of His will and transforms us into the likeness of His Son as we willingly submit ourselves to that will. It is interesting to think about all the times we have prayed for God to remove someone from a difficult situation or to relieve them of a particular burden. But did we stop to think that God may be trying to reveal Himself to them in the midst of what they are going through? Did we ever consider that God might be wanting to give them His Spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of Him and that is His purpose behind their trial or difficulty? The people to whom Paul wrote in Ephesus were not immune to problems. They were new converts to Christ living in a hostile environment. Christianity was still new and novel and those who professed faith in Christ were often treated with hostility and resentment. Paul knew any hope they had for survival was based on their knowledge of God. Knowledge of God would provide them with knowledge of His will. They would better understand and appreciate His love. They would be better equipped to recognize His power and put their faith in it when times got tough. A growing knowledge of God is the greatest need of every believer. It is the essence of what it means to have eternal life. Jesus put it this way: “And this is eternal life, that they know you the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent” (John 17:3 ESV). So our prayer for one another should be that we grow to know God better and better – experientially, not just academically. Knowing God is more important than trying to please God. Knowing God is better than attempting to serve God. Getting to know God is more vital to our spiritual well-being than getting things from God.

Delivered. Transferred. Redeemed. Forgiven.

/ kdmiller55 / Leave a comment

He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. – Colossians 1:13-14 ESV

Colossians 1:9-14

Those of us who have placed our faith in Jesus Christ as our Savior can be some of the most ungrateful people on the planet. For all that God has done for us, we can easily find ourselves taking it all for granted. It is so easy to treat our salvation with a certain degree of complacency. If we’re not careful, our status as God’s redeemed ones can lose its wonder. The reality of our forgiveness from sin – all sin – can lose its overwhelming significance. And Paul knew that, which is why he prayed that we would have God’s power in our lives and experience the joy of His presence. He knew that, while our initial salvation was important, our ongoing sanctification was just as crucial to our relationship with God. We are to grow in our knowledge of God. While salvation introduced us to the God from whom we were alienated due to our sin, it was not to stop there. We are to “grow up into salvation” (1 Peter 2:2 ESV). We are to “grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ” (2 Peter 3:18 ESV). And that happens only as we are “filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding” (Colossians 1:9 ESV). It is the knowledge of God’s will that allows us to live in such a way that pleases Him. It is what produces fruit in our lives and allows us to know God better and better. And that growing knowledge of God produces joy and an attitude of gratitude for all He has done. For most of us, the length of time between our salvation and our ultimate glorification, when we will see God face to face, is going to be relatively long. It is in the space which some have called the “gospel gap” that we must be careful. We must never lose sight of the fact that God has qualified us “to share in the inheritance of the saints in light” (Colossians 1:12 ESV). He has literally “rendered us fit” for glory. We have all we need to get into heaven, right now. We have all we need to come into His presence, at any time. We have Christ’s righteousness. There is nothing more we need to do, except grow in our knowledge of God and His Son Jesus Christ.

Here’s the part Paul does not want us to miss: “He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.” It’s a done deal. He has delivered us. He has transferred us. He has redeemed and forgiven us. That reality should produce in us an overwhelming sense of gratefulness. He has done for us what we could have never done for ourselves. I think that is what it means to “grow up into salvation.” The longer we spend time on this earth as believers, the greater our appreciation for what God has done for us should grow. As we grow in our knowledge of God, we also grow in the awareness of our own weakness and propensity to sin. We should see our sin in stark contrast to His holiness and be increasingly amazed that He has delivered, transferred, redeemed and forgiven us. We didn’t deserve it. We haven’t earned it. We could never repay Him for it. But we can be thankful and ever mindful of what He has done. We can remember the unbelievable gift He has provided through the death of His Son on our behalf. We can also live our lives with a sense of peace, knowing that our future is secured. We can know beyond a shadow of a doubt “that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love. No power in the sky above or in the earth below—indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 8:38-39 NLT).

We have been delivered, transferred, redeemed and forgiven. God has done all that for us. Jesus Christ made it possible for us. And the reality of it should never be taken for granted by us. Every time we struggle with sin, we must remind ourselves that we have been delivered from the domain of darkness. We are no longer slaves to sin. Every time we feel like this world is our home, we must remind ourselves that we have been transferred into the Kingdom of His Son. We are citizens of another realm. Every time we feel the need to earn favor with God and pay Him back for our sins, we must remind ourselves that He has already redeemed us with the blood of His own Son. Each and every time we sin we must remind ourselves that we are already forgiven. That sin has been paid for. Nothing can separate us from the love of God. All we have to do is confess it and enjoy the forgiveness that has already been made available to us. Confession doesn’t earn us forgiveness, it simply allows us to take advantage of the it. All of this should amaze us. It should constantly astound us. It should never be treated complacently by us. “Yet now he has reconciled you to himself through the death of Christ in his physical body. As a result, he has brought you into his own presence, and you are holy and blameless as you stand before him without a single fault” (Colossians 1:22 NLT).

Power To Spare.

/ kdmiller55 / Leave a comment

May you be strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy,  giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in light. – Colossians 1:11-12 ESV

Colossians 1:9-14

As Paul continues his prayer, he uses two Greek words, dynamoō and dynamis, which both have to do with power. You can see the similarity they have with our English word, dynamite. He asks God to fill those he is praying for with power, but not just any kind of power – Paul is specifically referring to God’s power. He uses a different Greek word when speaking of God’s power – kratos – and it means “power, might: mighty with great power.” Knowing God’s will requires that we choose to obey it rather than our own. In the same way, having God’s power available to us requires that we depend on it rather than our own. God’s power is glorious. It stands alone and is unequaled and non-replicatable. We can’t manufacture the kind of power God provides. It is the same power that raised Jesus from the dead. It is the same power that created the universes and all it contains. Our petty power pales in comparison. Why would we ever choose to live in our own strength when we have the power of God at our disposal? Sounds ludicrous, doesn’t it? Yet we do it all the time. As children of God, we have his power at our disposal, but we continually attempt to live this life in our own strength, relying on our own limited resources.

It is interesting to note that Paul first prays for a filling of God’s will. Then he asks for power from on high. Why? Because knowing God’s will and obeying it will require God’s power. His power will give us the strength we need to patiently endure as we do His will. His will for us may not be easy. It was God’s will that Jesus die on the cross. And Jesus faithfully fulfilled the will of His Father, in spite of the pain, suffering, humility and shame. Unlike the Law, which required human effort to keep God’s holy requirements, God’s will for believers is made possible by God’s power. He has placed His Holy Spirit within us to give us the strength we need to do all that He has called us to do. But we must avail ourselves of that strength. We must recognize our own weakness and turn to Him for “power from on high” (Luke 24:49). Paul reminds us that it was God who “has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in light.” It was His power that redeemed us. It was His power that justified us. His power raised Jesus from the dead and proved that His sacrifice was acceptable as the payment for our sins. When Paul said that God has “qualified” us, he used the Greek word, hikanoō, and it literally means, “to equip one with adequate power to perform duties of one.” Even now, while we live on this earth, we share in the inheritance of the saints. We are saints. And we have the power to perform the duties of one. It is at our disposal, but we must avail ourselves of it. We must learn to rely on it. We must also learn to thank Him for it. He has made it fully possible for us to “walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God” (Colossians 1:10 ESV). That is something for which we should be truly grateful. God didn’t just save us and then leave us on our own. He saved us, then empowered us. “By his divine power, God has given us everything we need for living a godly life. We have received all of this by coming to know him, the one who called us to himself by means of his marvelous glory and excellence” (2 Peter 1:3 NLT). Living this life is not easy. Living a godly life in the midst of ungodliness is difficult. But we have power available to us that is unmatched and immeasurable. The problem is that we need to learn to rely on it rather than turning to our own limited strength. God will bring us to points of weakness in order to show us our insufficiency and encourage us to tap into His all-powerful, all-glorious power. When we do, we will learn to say with Paul, “I can do all things through him who strengthens me” (Philippians 4:13 ESV).

A Worthy Walk.

/ kdmiller55 / Leave a comment

And so, from the day we heard, we have not ceased to pray for you, asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God. – Colossians 1:9-10 ESV

Colossians 1:9-14

What does Paul mean when he says, “walk in a manner worthy of the Lord?” He uses the Greek word, peripateō, which can literally mean, “to live your life.” It can also mean, “to make one’s way, progress; to make due use of opportunities.” So, in essence, Paul is telling his readers to conduct their lives in a manner that is worthy of the Lord. But what does that mean? What does a “worthy” life look like? This seems to be a favorite topic of Paul’s. In Philippians 1:27, we read a very similar statement: “Only let your manner of life be worthy of the gospel of Christ…” He had the same thought in mind when he wrote to the believers in Ephesus. “Therefore I, a prisoner for serving the Lord, beg you to lead a life worthy of your calling, for you have been called by God” (Ephesians 4:1 NLT). But Paul went on to explain what he meant. “Always be humble and gentle. Be patient with each other, making allowance for each other’s faults because of your love. Make every effort to keep yourselves united in the Spirit, binding yourselves together with peace” (Ephesians 4:2-3 NLT). There is a sense in which our lives are to reflect who we are in Christ. God saved us in order to transform us into the likeness of His Son. He adopted us into His spiritual family and made us His sons and daughters. As such, we are heirs to His Kingdom. We are joint-heirs with Christ. God placed His Holy Spirit within us in order that we might have the power we need to live the life He has called us to live. We are His ambassadors and we represent Him on this earth. So the manner in which we conduct ourselves on a daily basis is to reflect favorably on the One who saved us and has sent us into the world as His emissaries.

Which brings us back to Paul’s prayer. How are we to know what a life worthy of our calling looks like? In Ephesians, Paul describes it as one marked by humility, gentleness, patience, unity and love. But before we think we can pull off this kind of life on our own, he tells us that it is only possible as we are filled with a knowledge of God’s will. It is as we understand His will and receive His divine knowledge and understanding that we will know what it is He would have us do on a day-by-day basis. An awareness of God’s will is what provides us with direction for life. But that awareness must be followed by obedience. Knowing what to do and actually doing it are two separate things. I can know God’s will and choose to ignore it. I can decide that His will is not what I want to do. But each time I make that decision, I am choosing to live a life that is NOT worthy of the Lord. That is a serious and sobering thought. Disobeying God dishonors Him. It robs His of glory. it is no different than a disobedient child who chooses to throw a temper-tantrum in the middle of the grocery store aisle. His behavior reflects poorly on his parents. How much more so does my willful decision to disobey the will of God for my life by demanding my way instead? A life that is lived worthy of the Lord has certain visible characteristics about it. It is marked by behavior that is Spirit-driven and, therefore, not normal or natural. It will be a life that pleases God and produces the fruit of the Spirit – love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control (Galatians 5:22). That kind of life honors God because it is made possible by God. We can’t pull it off on our own. Paul reminds us, “If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit” (Galatians 5:25 ESV). But it all begins with a knowledge of God’s will. His will makes possible a worthy walk. His will makes possible a fruitful, God-pleasing life.

Imagine what might happen if we all began to pray for one another, asking that God would fill us with a knowledge of His will with all the spiritual wisdom and understanding that comes with it? And what might happen if we each began to willingly obey that will as it was revealed to us? Paul tells us we would be fruitful. He reminds us that we would be pleasing to God. And he lets us know that we would grow in our knowledge of God. That means far more than just an intellectual understanding of God. We would know His heart and learn to trust His word. We would discover just how much He loves us and has His best in mind for us. We would learn to obey more quickly and willingly. We would seek His will gladly and readily. And our lives would become glowing testimonies to the life-transforming truth of the gospel and the power of God.

God’s Will. Your Walk.

/ kdmiller55 / Leave a comment

And so, from the day we heard, we have not ceased to pray for you, asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God. – Colossians 1:9-10 ESV

Colossians 1:9-14

Sometimes my prayers can lack focus. Not only does my mind wander when I pray, but even in those moments when I successfully manage to give God my undivided attention, the content of my prayers can be all over the map. It can be hard to know what to pray. If I’m not careful, I can find my prayers becoming somewhat robotic and rote, making the same requests for the same individuals day after day. One of the things I like about the prayers of Paul found in his letters, is that they were focused prayers. He wasn’t distracted by external issues, but seemed to go straight to the heart of what was really necessary and needed. His prayers always seemed to be spiritually-focused, not materially-minded. In his own life he had learned the secret of contentment. “I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need. I can do all things through him who strengthens me” (Philippians 4:12-13 ESV). He had learned to be content with Christ. Everything else that had at one time been so important to him – his career, his reputation, his financial status – had taken a backseat to his relationship with Christ. He wrote, “Yes, everything else is worthless when compared with the infinite value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have discarded everything else, counting it all as garbage, so that I could gain Christ” (Philippians 3:8 NLT).
So when Paul prayed for others., he focused his prayers on their spiritual condition. He prayed that the believers in Colossae would be filled with a knowledge of God’s will. that would be the source of the spiritual wisdom and understanding they would need in their daily lives. And he knew that knowing God’s will was the key to their ability to live spiritually healthy lives. Knowing God’s will was going to be essential if they were going to live lives that were worthy of their calling as God’s children. We all know what we want to do. Our will is no secret to us. But God’s will can sometimes be difficult to discern. So Paul asked God to make His will known to those for whom he prayed. Why? Because Paul wanted them to “walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him.” He knew that their knowledge of God’s will and their willful obedience to it would produce fruitfulness. Jesus called it abiding. He told His disciples, “I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing” (John 15:5 ESV). To abide is to remain, to rest in and depend on, just like a branch does with the vine. It submits its will to the vine and allows the vine to produce fruit through it. Knowing God’s will and submitting to it is what makes us fruitful. It produces a life that is pleasing to God. A branch that refused to abide is useless. It loses its capacity for fruit-bearing. Failure to abide is when I determine to do my will instead of God’s. It’s when my agenda takes the place of His. Paul knew that was a danger for every believer. So he prayed that they would know the will of God and live according to it, so that they could bear fruit in every good work. Jesus said bearing fruit brings glory to God. “By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples” (John 15:8 ESV). But it requires abiding in Christ and a submissive obedience to the will of God.

And Paul prayed this prayer because he knew that, ultimately, knowledge of and obedience to the will of God produces a growing awareness of who God is. If we know God’s will and obey it, we will develop a deeper intimacy with Him. Not only will we grow in our knowledge of His will, we will grow in our knowledge of Him. “All the while, you will grow as you learn to know God better and better” (Colossians 1:10 NLT). Knowing God is the objective. He wants us to know Him better. He wants to reveal Himself to us. He wants to deepen the relationship between He and us. That is the essence of what it means to have eternal life. Jesus Himself said, “And this is eternal life, that they know you the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent” (John 17:5 ESV). The apostle john wrote, “And we know that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding, so that we may know him who is true; and we are in him who is true, in his Son Jesus Christ. He is the true God and eternal life” (1 John 5:20 ESV). Jesus Christ has made God known to us. He has made it possible for us to know God, the one true god. But that knowledge is to increase daily. As we learn His will, we get exposed to His heart, His nature, and His incredible love for man. As we live within His will, we discover just how faithful, true, trustworthy, loving, wise, and powerful He really is. And like Paul, we learn to say, “I can do all things through him who strengthens me.”