Journey Through The Bible
   Old Testament Reading: Daniel 7-9
   New Testament Reading: Colossians 1

For this reason also, since the day we heard this, we haven’t stopped praying for you. We are asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding, so that you may walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him: bearing fruit in every good work and growing in the knowledge of God (Colossians1:9-10).

Our next stop on our journey through the New Testament is the book of Colossians. The book of Acts does not mention the city of Colossae because Paul did not start the church, nor did he ever visit it. Paul had heard of their faith, but he had never seen these believers personally. Here was a church of unknown people, in a small town, receiving an inspired letter from the great Apostle Paul!

The prayers in Paul’s prison letters are certainly unique. The request in his prayers centers on spiritual blessings, not on material or physical matters. Of course, it is not wrong to pray about physical or material needs. But spiritual needs are vastly more important.

In this prayer, Paul made three requests.

First, he prayed for Spiritual Intelligence. Every Believer needs to be filled with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding (v9). There is always more to learn about God and His will for our lives. No Christian would ever dare say that he had arrived and needed to learn nothing more. The will of God is an important part of a successful Christian life. God wants us to know His will and understand it.

Next, Paul prayed for Obedience. In the Christian life, knowledge, and obedience go together. There is no separation between learning and living. Paul prayed for their spiritual understanding so that you may walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him: bearing fruit in every good work (v10). True spiritual wisdom must affect daily life. Any doctrine that separates the believer from the needs of others is not spiritual doctrine. As D. L. Moody often said, “Every Bible should be bound in shoe leather.” Paul would agree.

Finally, Paul prayed for their Moral Excellence. Wisdom and conduct should always be related to moral character. Paul said that our good work results from bearing fruit (v10). Fruit is often a reference to qualities of Christian character. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control (Gal 5:22-13a). One of the greatest problems in our evangelical world today is the emphasis on spiritual knowledge and Christian service without connecting these important matters to personal character. Knowledge, service, and conduct must always go together. We are to know God’s will so that we might obey it, and in obeying it, we serve Him and grow in Christian character.