[bobthecockroach]

Read Colossians 1:3-12

We give thanks to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, praying always for you, since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of your love for all the saints; because of the hope which is laid up for you in heaven, of which you heard before in the word of the truth of the gospel, which has come to you, as it has also in all the world, and is bringing forth fruit, as it is also among you since the day you heard and knew the grace of God in truth; as you also learned from Epaphras, our dear fellow servant, who is a faithful minister of Christ on your behalf, who also declared to us your love in the Spirit. For this reason we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding; that you may walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing Him, being fruitful in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God; strengthened with all might, according to His glorious power, for all patience and longsuffering with joy; giving thanks to the Father who has qualified us to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in the light.

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Paul says here that he prays for the Colossians without ceasing. The Colassians were already doing well but Paul still found it necessary to pray for them. We need to pray for other Christian, even those who seem to have things together. Let's take some time to look at Paul's prayer for them.

1. He prays that they would be filled with the knowledge of God's will.

We all need God's guidance and direction. We need to know Him and His will so we can share Him with others. We need to understand doctrine so we can teach others.

2. He prays that they would be stregthened with all might.

Doing God's will is more than knowing what it is. It takes strength to do God's will. Also, he mentions patience. God does not always work in our time. We need God's strength to carry out His will and His patience to wait on His timing.

3. He thanks God and shows us that we should do the same.

As we work on doing God's will we must remember that it is only through His power that we are able to do any good. We must eternally be thankful for His saving us and His preserving us and working good in us.

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I can think of several people that I know are already doing good but could still use prayer. One is my pastor who is in Afghanistan as a marine chaplain. Using him as an example, I would like to give an idea of what I think a prayer based on Colossians 1:9-12 would look like.

"Dear God, I pray for Pastor Lee that You would bless Him with the knowledge of Your will. I know that He desires to serve You so let him know You better so he can serve You better. Give him strength to continue striving for Your will even when it's difficult. Give him patience to wait on Your time because we know that our time is not Your time; You are wiser than we could ever be. I thank You for Your wisdom, Your strength, and Your timing. Keep Pastor Lee thankful as well and help Him remember to depend on You alone. Amen."

[Jo Mo]

That is a great prayer to pray for others. There is another prayer that is likened to this one.

Eph 1:15-19
15Wherefore I also, after I heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus, and love unto all the saints,
16Cease not to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers;
17That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him:
18The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints,
19And what is the exceeding greatness of his power to usward who believe, according to the working of his mighty power,
KJV

God bless

[bobthecockroach]

Good call, thanks for replying.