Some of the Conditions and Content of Prayer ~ Colossians 4:2-6

For this week's study on Colossians 4 I was inspired by my pastor's sermon where he focused on Colossians 4:2-18 which can be found here. Since I've been looking at praying the scriptures, and how to pray the scriptures, I am only looking at 4:2-6. I pray this is a helpful little study that encourages you to jump into God's Word and to pray His Word. God bless you!

Some of the Conditions of Prayer (4:2):

1.     Devotion – “devote yourselves to…” (NIV), “Continue steadfastly…” (ESV) Others?

a.     What is Paul assuming about their prayer lives?

b.     How do we see this played out in the book of Acts?

                                               i.     1:14 – “joined together constantly in prayer”…

                                              ii.     1:24 – “Then they prayed…” and selected Judas’ replacement, Matthias

                                            iii.     2:42 – “They devoted themselves…to prayer.”

                                            iv.     3:1 – “going up to the temple at the time of prayer…”

                                              v.     4:24 – “they raised their voices together in prayer…”

                                            vi.     6:4 – “will give our attention to prayer…” hence the selection of Deacons

                                           vii.     9:10-19 – Ananias heard God in a vision, he went to a praying Saul (11)

                                         viii.     10:3ff – Cornelius “your prayers…have come up as a memorial offering”

                                             ix.     And so on!!

c.      Application - How can we combat what deters our prayer lives?

2.     Watchful –

a.     Does it seem that Paul has an outward focus, or an inward focus, here?

b.     What does Jesus have to say on this matter?

                                               i.     “Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation” (Mk. 14:38)

c.      Application – What do you do to help you stay watchful and focused?

3.     Thankful –

a.     How can being thankful keep our wants and desires in check? (James 4:1-3)

b.     What does Jesus have to say on this matter?

                                               i.     “Give us today our daily bread” (Mt. 6:11). Requesting the necessities, and what brings God glory, helps keep our wants in check, which enables us to be even more mindful of God’s provisionà gratitude!

c.      Application – When do you find you are most thankful?

Some of the Content of Prayer (4:3-6):

1.     Open Doors for the Gospel -

a.     For whom are you praying for “open doors”?

b.     Can you think of a passage where God literally opened doors for the Gospel?

                                               i.     Acts 16:6-10 – Vision of the Macedonian Man; Acts 14:27 – “a door of faith to the Gentiles.”

c.      Application – What helps you persevere in prayer for those doors to open?

                                               i.     Ill.: Christopher Yuan’s mother – prayed for his salvation EVERYDAY for 8 years, fasted every Monday, and even did a 39 day fast.

2.     Clarity and Wisdom to embody the Gospel Message –

a.     What two ways does Paul call the church to be ready for “outsiders”?

“…we should spend days and nights in solicitation at the feet of God, and seize resolutely on him and protest to him with a firm and fixed determination that we will not leave him alone until he grants our desire. No, Lord, you shall not escape me. Either you must suffer day and night from my importunities, or I obtain what I’m asking. I will give you no rest until you have fulfilled the desire of my heart. I will have it from your hand or die begging for it. Such, Christians, is the perseverance which the apostle commands us here, and again elsewhere, when he gives us order to pray without ceasing”

(From The Reformation Commentary on Scripture: Philippians, Colossians, IVP © 2013, pg. 239).

This morning let’s pray for an OPEN DOOR in our local circle and in a global corner!

The Need for Confession, the Joy of Forgiveness ~ Psalm 32

“He who conceals his sins does not prosper, but whoever confesses and renounces them finds mercy”

(Proverbs 28:12).

Read Psalm 32 – Pay attention to the "Selahs" and pause there when reading.

      While this passage isn’t directly a prayer from David to God, it shows an “acknowledgement” of the necessity to pray and the promise to “confess” his sins.

·      This is another penitential Psalm, like Psalm 51.

·      Could this Psalm, aka a Psalm of Instruction, be the teaching that David promised in 51:13 (“then I will teach transgressors your ways…”)?

-       Where else do we see this “Blessed” construction? (Psalm 1:1 and Matthew 5:3-10)

o   Synonymous Parallelism - 3 different Hebrew words to describe the whole spectrum of sin (though the NIV says “transgressions” and “sin” in vs. 1 and “sin” in vs. 2.)

§  Transgression – rebellion towards God Himself.

§  Sin – general term designating an offense, falling short of God’s law

§  Iniquity (sin, NIV) - corrupt, twisted in relation to ourselves.

o   Synonymous Parallelism - 3 different Hebrew words for the manner of forgiveness that indicate the completeness of that forgiveness by God.

§  Forgiven – the sin has been “lifted off,” our shoulders. I.E. Rockbridge!

·      “as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us” (Psalm 103:12).

§  Covered – i.e. the blood of Christ covers us just as the sprinkled blood covered the mercy seat (covering of the Ark of the Covenant) on the Day of Atonement.

·      “When God covers sin, he graciously blots it out (cf. Psalm 85:2); when man covers his sin, he is sinfully hiding it” (ESV SB, 976).

§  Does not count – a bookkeeping term (Boice, p. 279)

-       What was the problem that we see with David in vs. 3?

-       What were the consequences to his sin and lack of confession/repentance in vs. 4?

o   How is this really a mercy of God? His heavy hand upon him actually draws him back to confess his sin.

-        Where do we find the climax of this passage? Vs. 5. – He uses the same 3 words for sin that he used in vss. 1-2 to show the completeness of his confession.

“Confession is like opening a floodgate of a dam. When there is no confession, the waters pile up behind the dam, creating immense pressures on the wall, but as soon as the floodgate is opened, the waters subside and the pressures diminish” (P. Craigie, Psalms 1-50, WBC, pg. 267, © 2004).

-       Why is the presence of the word “Selah” (“pause and take notice”*) at the end of vs. 4 and at the beginning of vs. 6 important to understanding this passage? *(J.M. Boice, Psalms: Volume 1, Baker, pg. 280, © 1994).

-       What key word in vs. 6 clues us in that this application is for “everyone”? “Therefore” in vs. 6-7 – Boice said this is where David again lives out Psalm 51:13

-       The authorship of the Psalm switches in vs. 8, how? From David to God.

o   Does God’s response promise total deliverance? Yes and No.

§  Yes – “you are my hiding place, you will protect me from trouble” (“Rock of Ages, cleft for me, Let me hide myself in thee” – Boice, pg. 282)

§  No, rather instruction, teaching and counsel “in the way you should go” (vs. 8, c.f. Psalm 1).

§  Certainly God is watching “over you” and his “unfailing love surrounds the man who trusts in him” (vs. 10) b/c He promises to “never leave you nor forsake you” (Deuteronomy 31:6).

§  “Unfailing love” is God’s hesed love!!

-       How can David say in vs. 11 that the sinner should “rejoice” and “be glad” and “sing”?

o   David knows, as Paul explains in Romans 4:6-9, that we have been saved not by works of the law or circumcision but by grace by the One who “forgave the guilt of my sin” (Ps. 32:5).

“Intelligentia prima est ut te noris peccatorem (the beginning of knowledge is to know oneself to be a sinner)”

(St. Augustine; quoted by P. Craigie, Psalms 1-50, WBC, pg. 268, © 2004).