It is good to sing thy praises
Praise ye the Lord, the almighty
O foe a thousand tongues we sing
Holy spirit, truth divine
So let our lips and lives express
Take my life and let it be
Glory be to the Father
Scripture Colossians 1:9-14
(Colossians 1:9-14 ESV)
Paul even started his letters to the people he wrote with prayer, making his prayer specific to his audience.
Paul prayed for people he didn't even know well, only had heard about.
Our qualifications for our inheritance are not based on who we are.
Our inheritance is based solely on the acts of God.
It is all God's action.
He rescues me by redeeming me.
He took me out of the place that I was in, the darkness and lifted me out by his very own action.
This finished work of Christ qualifies me for this hoped for inheritance.
So what is desired of us?
To be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding.
To walk in a manner worthy of the Lord... Fully pleasing to him
Bearing fruit I never good work
Increasing in the knowledge of God
Paul doesn't ask that they have a special knowledge, but that the knowledge they had would fill them. That they would know God so well they were filled up with that knowledge. Not just to be head knowledge but to be life knowledge. Knowledge lived out as we go about our business.
He wants us to know what God has done so that we can live the way we should. This is what we should pray for. This is what we should pray for when we pray for others. Their knowledge of the Lord to increase and to fill them.
And then for the will of God to so infuse them that they live it out as they should. To be a people strengthened by God to live out that will and knowledge.
Paul prays for their endurance... That ability to keep going despite their circumstances. Long-suffering endurance.