Col. 4:2-4
“Continue Steadfastly in Prayer”
Today we are celebrating our church’s 13th anniversary. I can’t
believe that it has been that long. Reid Hankins told me the other day that he
has been at our church for nine years, which amount to almost one third of his
entire life! And I think that, in the case of Noble, it is close to one half of
his life, if not more. And let us not forget the little ones among us, who were
born and raised in our church. For them, our church is the only church they
know! I too was in my late twenties when this church got started. Now I am in
my forties, married with two little ones!
I am deeply grateful to God for His grace and faithfulness in sustaining
our church. As I say to all who ask me how our church is going, “Better than I
deserve!” and I truly mean that. I trust that you all agree. As I look out from
here, I see a congregation that is small in size but rich in God’s answer to
our prayer. When we started, we prayed that God would give us a multi-ethnic
congregation--not because it was fashionable in some way but because we wanted
to reflect the gospel of Jesus Christ even in the makeup of our church. If it
is the
But we also know that we are what we are and we have what we have only by
God’s grace despite our sins, weaknesses and failures, which is true especially
in my case. If we can look forward to the future with any sense of hope, it is
only on account of God’s goodness to us, not our own goodness. And we also know
that what we have and enjoy now in this church is not all that God has in store
for us--I am certain that God has so much more and better and greater things in
store for us. With our thirteenth anniversary, we are entering into our teenage
years. So, as we enter into this phase in our church’s life, we are confronted
with a very simple yet profound challenge: do we continue in the same way we
have done things for the past thirteen years or do we do things differently? We
should all acknowledge that our God can do many new and wonderful things among
us even if we continue the same way. But there is a good chance that things
will remain pretty much the same if we continue in the same way. For God uses
the secondary causes to accomplish His will and we and our actions are
secondary causes. But more importantly, we all know better than anyone that we
don’t have a perfect church with a perfect pastor and perfect members. That
means that there is always a room for improvement. We must keep doing the
things that are good and try to do them better. But we must be willing to
change things if we have been deficient or negligent or unfaithful in any area.
I am sure many things can be brought to our attention and, Lord willing, we
will address them one by one. At this time, however, I will mention one because
it is relevant to today’s passage. One of the things that I regret the most about
my ministry here is the lack of emphasis on prayer at the beginning stage of
our church. We have placed a heavy emphasis on God’s Word and rightly so.
Rightly dividing the Word of God, preaching Christ from all of Scripture, has
been and will continue to be the main thrust of this ministry, Lord willing. But
if we believe that no human preaching and argument can convert sinners and
change people’s hearts, we must pray for God’s efficacious work through the
means of grace. If we think that we can convince and convert people by the
sheer logic and coherence of the Reformed Faith, we have abandoned the true
spirit of the Reformed Faith. Praying often and together as a community was not
established at the beginning as our church’s culture. To change that has not
been easy. But I hope that we can be a praying church. After all, the house of
God is a house of prayer.
We are nearing the end of this letter of Paul’s to the Colossians (and to
the Laodiceans,
“Continue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful in it with thanksgiving….”
With these words Paul not only calls on the Colossians (and all Christians) to
pray but also prescribes how they ought to pray.
First, Paul in exhorting us to pray calls us to persist in prayer,
both as individuals and as a corporate body. Think about the setting in which
this letter was read. The Colossian church was gathered, as we are, for their
worship (most likely on the first day of the week). Since Paul knew this (as it
is clear in his direction to the church at
It is not enough that we pray. It is not enough that we pray occasionally
before our meals three times a day and when we gather together on the Lord’s
Day to worship. It is not enough that we pray sometimes when we find
ourselves in a bind, when we feel helpless before a seemingly insurmountable
problem, when we are heartbroken and there is no one else to turn to but God.
Those are all good reasons and good times to pray. God wants us to pray in
those times and on those occasions. But do we think that that is all God means
when He commands us to persist in prayer? If not, what does He mean? If we pray
for an hour every morning without fail--is that persisting in prayer? How about
two hours? How much time do we have to spend to persist in prayer? It is conceivable
that a person can pray ten hours a day because he is retired and
immobilized--all he could do for the Lord is to pray. But do we really think
that, if we were not so busy, if our schedule were not so packed, we would pray
more? When do we foresee that our hectic schedule would lighten up? And what
guarantee do we have that we will make it till that time? And even if we do
make it, would it change anything if we blame our external circumstances now for
our deficiency in our prayer life?
I am not trying to suggest that there is a certain amount of time we need
to spend in prayer everyday. Let us observe that, while the Lord calls us to
persist in prayer, He does not tell us how much time we have to spend in prayer
each day. We all know that the act of simply clocking in and clocking out,
however punctual and conscientious, is not the stuff
that true religion is made of. True religion cannot be so regulated externally.
What is the use of praying ten hours a day if our heart is not in it? If we
pray like the Pharisee who prayed, “I thank you, God, that I am not like that
tax-collector, the sinner!” But it is equally true that having good intentions
in our heart, which are not carried out in any specific, tangible way, does not
make up true religion either. It is not enough that we wholeheartedly agree
with the idea of persisting in prayer if we hardly pray at all throughout the
day. Yes, persisting in prayer may be speaking of our attitude, not any
specific amount of time. But what does it profit us to know and acknowledge our
need to persist in prayer if we do not actually pray? In C.S. Lewis’ Screwtape Letters, Scretape,
a senior tempter in hell, chides his nephew, Wormwood, for letting his patient
fall back into repentance and advises,
“It remains to consider how we can
retrieve this disaster. The great thing is to prevent his doing anything. As
long as he does not covert it into action, it does not matter how much he
thinks about this new repentance. Let the little brute wallow in it. Let him,
if he has any bent that way, write a book about it…. Let him do anything but
act. No amount of piety in his imagination and affections will harm us if we
can keep it out of his will…. The more often he feels without acting, the less
he will be able to ever act, and, in the long run, the less he will be able to
feel…” (pp. 66-67).
How insightful and how true! It is true that our actions have to flow out
of right motives. But even the right motives avail us nothing if they are not
carried out.
I hope these words are not coming to us as a legalistic burden. For it is God Himself who wants us to persist in prayer.
Why? Not because He is simply testing our loyalty by making things more
difficult for us than necessary! Not because He enjoys piling up religious
burdens on our feeble backs and watching us falter and crumble under their
weight! God wants us to persist in prayer because He knows us and our condition
and what He is to us!
God knows us and our condition. So we read in our passage, “Continue
steadfastly in prayer, being watchful in it….” We are called to persist
in prayer because we have to be watchful. This word translated as watchful here
is used in many of Jesus’ parables concerning His Second Coming. His people are
to be “watchful” for their Master’s return lest they be found sleeping or idle instead
of faithfully serving. The same word is used also in Jesus’ plea to Peter, John
and James to watch with Him--that is, to pray alongside gHim--in
the
So when God through Paul calls us to persist in prayer, being watchful,
what does He mean? He is telling us what condition we are in. On the one hand,
we have the exciting prospect of the sure return of our Lord Jesus Christ. His
return, at which our salvation shall finally be consummated, is the ultimate
and deepest longing of every true believer. But, on the other hand, with the
certainty of His return comes a heightened sense of urgency with which we are
to serve Him. For He has entrusted to each of us Christian
duties and mission as His faithful servants and representatives in this world.
And if our longing for Christ’s return is in any way diminished, it is probably
because we are being unfaithful in our Christian duties, like the servants who
dread the master’s return because they haven’t finished what they were tasked
to do. And we know that, while His return is certain, the time of His return is
unknown to us--thus our call to be watchful at all times without letting down
our guard.
But if we should be watchful in our prayer, it is not only because the time
of Christ’s return is uncertain! It is also because of the spiritual warfare we
are engaged in. As Christ was tempted in the
God knows us and our true condition. We may be oblivious to so many
things, even the peril of our spiritual condition. But everything is in plain
view before Him. He knows our weakness and the perilous condition we are in. He
knows how relentless and persistent the devil is in his attack against
us. That is why He calls us to be watchful, persisting in prayer. This
is not to say that we can defend ourselves against such a foe on our
own. Our only sure defense is Christ. For we are all sons and
daughters of Adam, who yielded to the temptation of Satan and brought sin and
death into the world. As long as Adam remains our covenant
representative, we too in our corrupt nature are helpless against the Serpent’s
temptation and schemes. But in Jesus Christ, the last Adam, we have a new
covenant Representative. As Adam was tempted in the Garden of Eden, so was the
last Adam tempted in the
Then why do we need to be watchful? Because God’s goal is not just
to protect us regardless of who we are and what we
want. He wants to save us and save us fully and completely--to save us not only
from the external consequences and punishment of our sin but also from the
inner corruption and defilement of our heart. His ultimate goal is to bring us
into conformity to Himself, to conform our heart and
will and desire to His own good and gracious and holy will, to have us possess
the true knowledge of God, to have us see as He sees. As we just said, our
watchfulness and our prayer have no power to defend us against the evil one.
But in persisting in prayer, we show our heart and mind to be in sincere agreement
with God and His assessment of our desperate need. And God has ordained our
watchfulness in prayer as a means through which He plugs us into the power of
Christ, which alone is able to resist and destroy Satan’s schemes attacks. You
see, persisting in prayer is not some extracurricular duty to be performed only
by some elite Christians. Persisting in prayer is the most urgent necessity
for all Christians, who need Christ every hour, every moment! If we don’t know
how desperately we need Christ at all times, all we need to do is to pay
attention to the command of the One, who knows our true condition: “Continue
steadfastly in prayer, being watchful in it….”
But most importantly, this command tells us who God is, doesn’t it? For in
this command we see our God, who cares for us more than we care for ourselves.
After all, who is our God? He sent His only Son to die for us while we
were yet sinners. So here we see God blowing a trumpet to awaken our sleeping
souls, alerting us to the danger and horror of prayerless spiritual
complacency. For He knows full well what terrible losses we suffer when we do
not live in constant, vital communion with Him! We may care little as long as
our earthly possessions and worldly security remain in tact. We may think that
all is going well--or, at least not so bad--as long as we are not struck with
major disasters. Oh how we do not see as God sees! What are the true losses and
devastations that we should dread? Just physical and
financial losses? What about our spiritual paralysis and
ineffectiveness? Our God certainly knows our weaknesses and our needs, even our
earthly and physical needs. And He cares for us as our gracious, merciful
heavenly Father. But He also sees--with the clarity of divine omniscience!--the
surpassing value of the spiritual blessings in the heavenly places in Christ!
He knows, as we will come to know once we arrive at heaven, that all the
treasures of this world are nothing in comparison to what He has in store for
us in heaven. He alone knows the full extent of the misery that will fall upon
those who reject the gospel of Jesus Christ, that all the riches of this world
profit us nothing if we lose our soul. Because He sees that so clearly, He
could allow the wicked to prosper in this world: whatever they enjoy in this
world is indeed nothing in comparison to what they will suffer in eternity. And
if they reject the gospel because of their earthly riches and fame, these
things are nothing more than a snare, a stumbling block, from the perspective
of eternity. That is why God can allow His dear children to suffer in chronic
illnesses and even die at the hands of cruel persecutors. That is why God could
allow Satan to do what he had done to Job--because He sees everything from His
eternal perspective! He knows, He really knows, that
the loss of everything we hold dear in this life is nothing compared to the
reward He will bestow for every little thing we suffer for Christ’s sake! Every
tear we shed for Christ’s sake will be rewarded with eternal joy, every sweat
with eternal rest, every sigh with everlasting jubilant singing, every human
insult with divine praise.
We should also be reminded that, if God calls us to pray, it is because He
is willing and able to help us in our need! He is willing because He is our
heavenly Father. He is able because He is the almighty God. That is why our
prayer is not just a religious duty. Our prayer is not directed to some dumb
idol that cannot even speak or see or hear. Our prayer is directed to the
almighty God who is able, more than able! To Him our petitions can never be too
big! And as our prayer is at the bidding of our heavenly Father, we have the
assurance that He will hear us and answer us far beyond what we ask or think. Our
heavenly Father does not just nag us incessantly with our problems. He does not
just point out our problems but also provides us with the solution. As Francis
Scott Key sang, “Praise the grace whose threats alarmed thee, roused thee from
thy fatal ease; praise the grace whose promise warmed thee, praise the grace
that whispered peace.”
That is why our prayer can be, and has to be, always seasoned with
thanksgiving: “Continue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful in it with
thanksgiving.” How wonderful is this provision and reminder! As we bring
our petitions before God, we are not to be overwhelmed by the enormity of our
problems. No matter how great our distresses, they are not so great that we
cannot pray with thanksgiving to God. This is not simply because God is greater
than all our problems and He can deliver us from them. But even if He did not,
we still have so much to be thankful for. We remember the words of Daniel’s
three friends, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, said to Nebuchadnezzar, “Our God whom we serve is
able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out
of your hand, O king. But if not, be it known to you, O king, that we will not
serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have set up” (Dan.
3:17-18). That is what our verse is reminding us, isn’t it? We are to persist
in prayer with thanksgiving. Think about the timing--when are we to give thanks
to God? After God answers our petitions? No, as we bring our petitions
to Him! Though we must be watchful because of our weakness, because of the
constant attack of the evil one, we do not panic; rather we pray with
thanksgiving. How can this be?
This shows how our thanksgiving is rooted in something deeper than our
immediate circumstances. What is it? Our eternal salvation in
Jesus Christ. Our Father’s unchangeable, irrevocable
love. The Holy Spirit’s efficacious work and eternal
dwelling in us. The unbreakable covenant of the triune
God with us. So overwhelmingly greater is this blessing of redemption
that our earthly problems, however great, cannot compare. This is so plain to
God. God has all the right to demand our thanksgiving even when we are in the
most distressing situation because that is nothing compared to the eternal
damnation in hell, from which He delivered us through His Son. If our heart is
devoid of thanksgiving because of some troubles that afflict us, it is like a
billionaire bemoaning a loss of twenty dollars! How ridiculous! Of course, what
we already possess in Christ--what we cannot lose--is so much more and greater
and better that what we can lose in this world, isn’t it?
Next week we will speak more specifically about the missionary or
evangelistic thrust of the church’s prayer. But even this week, we have learned
so much about what we need to pray for as we persist in praying. As we pray
with watchfulness and thanksgiving, we must pray for greater awareness of the
spiritual battle that is being waged in our life. We must also pray with deeper
appreciation for God’s grace. For the very fact that we can pray is a greats of
blessings, isn’t it?--that we are called to lay all our cares and burdens at
the feet of Jesus, that we can find the refuge for our souls in our communion
with Him, that we have Someone to turn to at all times and that Someone is the
almighty God who cares for us as our heavenly Father, that we have found a
place in the bosom of God to lay our weary heads and find true rest for our
souls! That is always available to us as we persist in prayer!
Let us once again remember that this command is given to the corporate body
of Jesus Christ. It is not only the individual Christians but also the
corporate body as a whole, who are called to persist in prayer! And in this
corporate dimension of the command we see the surpassing richness of the new
covenant in Jesus Christ! Think about the life of
As we celebrate our thirteenth anniversary, let us remember that this
command comes ultimately from God. There is a place for our prayer in the
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by Jeong Woo "James" Lee
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