Colossians 1:9-14 (NKJV)
9For 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; 10that you may walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing Him, being fruitful in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God; 11strengthened with all might, according to His glorious power, for all patience and longsuffering with joy; 12giving thanks to the Father who has qualified us to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in the light. 13He has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love, 14in whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins.
Introduction: Paul was a missionary by calling but a pastor by heart. Nowhere is this truer than in the letters he wrote to churches. He sets an ideal of what it's like to be a pastor when he prays for God's people. in this passage, he reveals 3 things about his prayer:
- The Distinction of his prayer. A prayer that is
- Focused
- Thankful
- Unceasing
- The Reason for his prayer
- Saving faith
- Supernatural love
- Sustainging hope
- The Petition in his prayer
- For spiritual wisdom
- For worthy walk
- For fruitful work
- For joyful witness
- For thankful worship
TIPS for prayer
- Set a time
- Don't be too ambitious
- Use the words of others
- Be quiet and listen
- Use ACTS fashion
A - Adoration
C - Confession
T - Thanksgiving
S - Supplication