Prayer for Others
This morning we are going to begin a verse by verse look at the letter that Paul wrote to the Colossians. You can easily google the city of Colosse and find out its importance in the time of Paul’s writing. It was an important city but some have noted that the church there was one of the least important churches to who Paul wrote. Paul apparently had not visited Colosse before he wrote this letter; having heard about their faith; rather than witnessing it firsthand. However, it is likely that one of Paul’s disciples took the gospel to Colosse. This morning I just want to encourage you with a small little detail that Paul mentions as he begins this letter. Let’s look at verses 1-3: “Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, and Timothy our brother, 2 To the saints and faithful brethren in Christ who are in Colosse: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. 3 We give thanks to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, praying always for you,” I know that I’ve mentioned this before because Paul has mentioned it before; but please notice the priority of prayer for the Colossians. Paul hasn’t even met these people and yet he writes that he and those he is with are always praying for them. I want to encourage you this morning to develop a way to pray for those you know and even those you don’t know. For me, I schedule time into my prayer routine to lift others up in prayer and yet I know the word “always” doesn’t really fit my routine. Would you join me in attempting to regularly pray for five or six people/families each day that you know through your local church or through work or a sports team? Would you build into your life five minutes to lift these people up to the Lord in prayer? Only heaven will reveal the impact of this type of prayer. I’ve been reminded by the Holy Spirit this morning to get back to a routine I once had using the church directory, a routine that I gave up a year ago. I’m back on it today because of Paul’s reminder to pray always for others. If I can help you with this, let me know.