My Prayer for You (Following Paul’s Example)

Posted on Jul 31, 2015 in College Blog |

Colossians 1:9-14 (ESV)

9 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, 10 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. 11 May you be strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy, 12 giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in light. 13 He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, 14 in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.

           Foremost, thank you for your patience with me in regards to my attempt to start a college ministry for our church. I pray that I will be able to schedule and find ways to encourage you and hopefully strengthen your relationship with Jesus Christ. Please pray for me that I will be the example in character and in love that I should be for you for the glory of God. As I am preparing to spend some quality time this weekend with my wife, I was thinking about all of you and came across this passage in Colossians where Paul is expressing his prayer for these Christians he has probably never met before. I’ve met you. I know you. All of you have meant so much to Amanda and I. In considering this, these verses which express Paul’s prayer for these believers is my same for you.

 
           Foremost, pray that I will continually pray for you even when you are absent from your homes in the Concord area and attending colleges and universities across the United States (1:9). Foremost, I pray that “you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding (1:9).” I pray that through the study of God’s Word while in college and seeking Him through prayer and other disciplines, that you may be “filled” with God’s will. That you would know how to live for God while on your campuses, interacting with friends and peers, being a part of clubs and activities, even in how you study. I pray that you would be able to withstand the pressures of the non-Christian culture around you by living out what you have read and studied from God’s Word.
           
          Why do I pray this for you? In order that you may “walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, pleasing to him (1:10).” I pray that in everything you do, every action you take, every word you speak, every thought you dwell upon, that you would please God. I know none of can be perfect and will ever be perfect until we are resurrected, but my hope is that your motive is to please God in every way. My prayer is that your deepest desire is to please God in every situation you face.

             If you’re wondering what this would look like, it can be found in this: “bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God. May you be strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy, giving thanks to the Father (1:10b-12a).” My prayer is that your lives would be filled with good works and that you would continue to grow in your good works as you grow in the knowledge of God’s will through His Word. I pray that through God’s spirit, you would be endure in your faith in the midst of pressure to do otherwise. That you would have patience and trust that God cares for you and will take care of you. I pray that daily you would express your thanks to God for what He has done for you through His Son Jesus. That you would daily thank him for His love, forgiveness and grace. That you would never forget what God has done for you.

            I know this is long, but this is truly my prayer for you today as I sit here in this Starbucks and going forward. I pray that God would remind me to continually to pray for you like this daily. That my heart for you as students would be for you to strive in your growth in God and for God and that my life in some way would display this same transformation. I pray that I would live out what I ask and pray of for you. I ask this in Jesus name, to His glory and fame, Amen.

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