Christ and the Rhythm of Prayer

    

The Preeminent Christ-14

TITLE: Christ and the Rhythm of Prayer

TEXT: Colossians 4:2-6

THESIS: The habit of prayer is essential for believers as it fosters steadfast communication with God, encourages vigilance in recognizing specific needs, promotes an attitude of gratitude, and facilitates opportunities for effective service, ultimately guarding both our witness and our time in alignment with God’s purpose.

 

Truth: John Wesley founded the Methodist movement in the 18^th century. Wesley was a passionate preacher and devoted leader who emphasized the importance of personal holiness and communal accountability. Wesley believed that prayer was vital to spiritual growth and revival. He dedicated significant time to both private and corporate prayer, often rising early in the morning to spend time in communion with God.

 

One of Wesley’s famous quotes highlights his commitment to prayer: “God does not do but by prayer, and everything with it.”

 

 

I.                            Prayer is to be our greatest habit.

Explanation: We clearly see this in the call to ‘continue steadfastly in prayer.’ Emphasizing the need for persistent, continual communication with God, Paul uses a compound word (kartereo), which literally means “to endure.” Literally, to be courageously persistent, to hold fast and not let go. MacArthur wrote, “Praying at all times is not necessarily limited to constant vocalization of prayers to God. Rather, it refers to a God consciousness that relates every experience in life to Him. That, however, does not negate the need for persistence and earnestness in prayer.” (MacArthur, Colossians, 179). 

 

A parallel passage is found in Eph. 6:18, where Paul wrote, “With all prayer and petition pray at all times in the Spirit, and with this in view, be on alert with all perseverance and petition for all the saints.”

 

Jesus told a parable to illustrate the point of persistence in prayer (Luke 18:1-8; Luke 11:5-10). The point being is that if unwilling sinful humans will honor persistence, how much more will our holy, loving heavenly Father?  John Phillips wrote, “Paul was a great believer in prayer. Prayer is what links us with God’s throne. It is by prayer that we do business in the heavenlies. It is the most purely spiritual of all of our exercises. Yet, there is nothing that we neglect more. Most people would rather do anything than pray.” (Philipps, Colossians, 201).

 

Thomas Watson wrote, “Prayer is the key of heaven; it is the most excellent exercise of our faith.”

 

John Calvin wrote, “Prayer is the chief exercise of faith; it is the means by which faith is nourished and ever made strong.”

 

Martin Luther wrote, “To be a Christian without prayer is no more possible than to be alive without breathing.”

 

Prayer is key to obeying everything else we have covered in Colossians 3.

 

 

II.                        Prayer is to be our guarded habit.

 

Explanation: Paul wrote, “Watch and pray.” True prayer involves keeping alert. In its most basic sense, staying means staying awake and not falling asleep during prayer. While in Gethsemane, Jesus came to the disciples and found them sleeping and said to Peter, “So, you men could not keep watch with Me for one hour? Keep watching and praying, that you may not enter into temptation; the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak” (Matt. 26:40-41).

 

The deeper meaning is that we ought to always be on guard for things we should be praying for, which means to look for things. We are not to pray vague, general prayers, but rather specific ones. This is how we remain devoted in prayer. We must be alert to specific needs. We are to have a focused approach to prayer. Paul has in mind praying for the specific needs of the church. Not general prayers, but very specific ones.           

 

John Owen, “He who does not pray, in a sense, does not live. For prayer is the life of the soul, the communication of the mind with God; and in the absence of it, the soul withers.”

 

Thomas Watson, “Prayer is a shield to the soul, a sacrifice to God, and a scourge for Satan. It must be guarded and cherished as we guard our own lives.”

 

Andrew Murray, “The believer who does not pray regularly and with purpose is abandoning the very means that God has provided for his defense and strength.”
 

 

III.                     Prayer is to be our grateful habit.

 

Explanation: Paul wrote that prayer is to be offered in an attitude of “thanksgiving.” This is the fifth time that Paul has mentioned gratitude in this epistle. Believers are to be grateful for salvation (1:12), for growth (2:6), for fellowship (3:15), for the opportunity to serve (3:17), and here for the guarantee that God will answer prayer in accordance with His purpose.

 

MacArthur offers some extremely helpful advice on thanksgiving in prayer. He wrote:

 

 

1.       Believers are to be thankful for God’s presence.

2.       Believers are to be thankful for God’s provision.

3.       Believers are to be thankful for God’s pardon.

4.       Believers are to be thankful for God’s promises.

5.       Believers are to be thankful for God’s purpose.

 

Charles Spurgeon, “It is a great joy to know that our prayers are accepted, and it is a greater joy to pray with thankfulness. When we realize how much we owe to God, gratitude should overflow in our prayers.”

 

 

IV.                    Prayer is to be our growing habit.

 

Explanation: Having exhorted the Colossians to pray, he asks them to pray at the same time for us as well. The content of the request was that God may open up to us a door for the word, so that we may speak forth the mystery of Christ. A door usually refers to an opportunity. We are to pray continually for God to open doors, doors of effective service. Paul wrote to the Corinthians 16:8-9 “I shall remain in Ephesus until Pentecost; for a wide door for effective service has opened to me, and there are many adversaries.”

 

At the end of Paul’s first missionary journey, he and Barnabas reported to the church “all things that God had done with them and how He had opened a door of faith to the Gentiles” (Acts 14:27). Revelation 3:7 describes Jesus as the One “who opens and no one will shut and who shuts and no one opens.”

 

The mystery Paul was referring to is the content of the gospel. Paul wanted people to pray that he would speak as he ought to, as God wanted him to. This should be the prayer of everyone who proclaims Christ.

 

Why is the habit of prayer so important? There are two primary reasons communicated in this text.

 

(verses 5-6)

 

1.        To guard our witness: “To walk in wisdom toward outsiders….”

2.        To guard our time: “…making the best use of the time. Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer each person.”

 

This is how you redeem your time here on earth.

 

E.M. Bounds once wrote, “What the church needs today is not more or better machinery, not new organizations or more novel methods, but men whom the Holy Ghost can use, men of prayer, men mighty in prayer.” He continued, “The man who is not praying is playing. The prayerless man is weak.”
 

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