Author: astherainandsnow

“All who came before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them. I am the door. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture. The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.” John 10:8-10

“Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me.” Revelation 3:20

“And Jesus came and said to them, ‘All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.'” Matthew 28:18-20

“Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation.” Mark 16:15

Jesus’s figures of speech gave ready illustration to keen listeners. He was indeed the way to be saved: near and available, yet inviting initiative to enter. Whosoever will may come. To pass through Jesus one way was to enter life, and the other way was to go out in the security that I have known you since the foundation of the world. One way was to enter eternal salvation, the other was to share that message of salvation while being spiritually sustained in the pasture of that world. Who would not make Him their chosen gateway through which to thrive in abundant life? (John 14:6; Acts 2:21; Ephesians 1:4; Revelation 22:17)

Yet, harnessed in self-will and determination, we craft our own doors. We skirt or dismiss God’s right way. We test wrong paths. We forge selfish paths. We think we know best. We’re enticed by the world’s offerings. Choices abound for the ways to success in a myriad of ‘vital’ areas: health, finance, mental peace, relational fulfillment. Enticements lure us into a variety of entertainments and occupations of mind and body, and out into a wild array of sensory and intellectual experiences. But only the gospel door will truly fulfill. Only Jesus knows us inside out and offers the way to abundant life and full joy. (John 15:11; Philippians 2:2-4)

His way is narrow, and often difficult. It goes against the world’s crowd and flow of popularity. It requires fixing the will and saying no to outside avenues and frivolities. We must open that door, and in doing so reject others. Are we willing? Is this our desire? (Matthew 7:13-14)

What keeps us putting off the decision to follow Jesus with no turning back, to enter once and for all? If we know that these truths set us truly free, why are we unwilling to turn the handle? What allures of this life do we pretend are greater than the treasure of knowing Christ and the soul-satisfying joy He gives? We begin to understand the worth of knowing Jesus when we accept that everything hinges on Him. (John 8:36; Philippians 3:8-9)

Lord, my gracious Door, keep me ever close and always eager to invite others in to know You too.

“Paul and Timothy, servants of Christ Jesus,

“To all the saints in Christ Jesus who are at Philippi, with the overseers and deacons:

“Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

“I thank my God in all my remembrance of you,  always in every prayer of mine for you all making my prayer with joy,  because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now.  And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.  It is right for me to feel this way about you all, because I hold you in my heart, for you are all partakers with me of grace, both in my imprisonment and in the defense and confirmation of the gospel.  For God is my witness, how I yearn for you all with the affection of Christ Jesus.” Philippians 1:1-8

Paul, held in the love of Christ, burned with Christ’s love for His church. He was thankful for them and their partnership in the gospel and fellowship of grace because he held them in his heart. The Lord had changed what he valued, and this new treasure captivated his affections and focus. Because he held the Philippians, whose church was strengthened by a converted jailer at his testimony, close in love and prayer, he could not help but rejoice, and desire God’s best for them. (Acts 16:25-34)

The world has many offerings for our hands and hearts to seize. It might be the profane or prurient, but more likely it is the urgent and material. What we hold in our hearts determines our life motivations and goals. If we cling tightly to material things, we will soon find them illusive. (Matthew 6:19-21)

If we hold the things of God and certain people at a distance, replacing them with the immediate and inane, we will likely never foster fondness for them. If we take time to ponder the ways and character and word of God, we will find Him attractive. Familiarity with such graciousness and purity will breed affection. If we sincerely pray for those with whom we struggle, our attitudes will soften and warm to their worth in God’s eyes. (Matthew 5:43-44)

Have we taken an honest look at what we treasure? If worldly success, or control and ability to have all we want in our time and way, there our ambition will be directed. If the deep treasure of knowing God, there we’ll plant our pursuit.

What and whom are we holding in our hearts? Angst at circumstances? Anger, resentment, or a thirst for revenge against someone who’s betrayed or hurt us? Disappointment at unfulfilled dreams, expectations, or rights we claim? Things and fame and success we do not have, rather than all God by grace has given?

What do we pray for? Comfort, ease, more goods? Whom do we pray for? Only those we love and find appealing? What do these indicate about what we value most?

If our treasure truly is in heaven, then our affections will be Godward and our prayers expressions of humble gratitude and worship.

Lord, help me release anything that doesn’t draw me closer to or make me more like You.

“We ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding,  so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him: bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God;  being strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy;  giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in light.” Colossians 1:9-12

“Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God. And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.” Colossians 3:16-17

“For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.” Hebrews 4:12

“Make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge,  and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness, and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love.  For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they keep you from being ineffective or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.” 2 Peter 1:5-8

When the word dwells richly, filling the heart with thanksgiving and the mouth with praise, all that follows is marked expressly with Christ’s name. Permeated with the word, our walk will be worthy of Him, every word and deed good, honest, and true. Soaked in the word, we will exude grace and insight. Taking full root, the word will grow and spread its light through every tendril of thought, and bloom bright and lovely in every decision and expression.

Prayer for wisdom and understanding initiates increasing thirst for the word, and vibrant spiritual changes upon taking it in. Conviction and cleansing are effected by the blade’s clarifying edge, along with honing of habit and character. As the dwelling is enriched by willingness and humility, fruit of the Spirit will be evident and lavish, attractive to a watching and needy world. (Galatians 5:22-23)

What are we doing to enrich the word’s nourishment of our souls and attending behavior? What specific evidence does our countenance, response to stress, attitude toward hardship, or interactions with others display of the word dwelling and growing within? If there are some areas we flourish and others we keep hidden away in refusal to change, how will we address our self-deception?

Where in our thinking, concessions, or indulgences is God calling us to let His word take up full habitation? How dedicated are we to increasing understanding, adding to faith, and implementing the power of biblical truth unto obvious, abundant expression?

“Sing them over again to me,
Wonderful words of life;
Let me more of their beauty see,
Wonderful words of life;
Words of life and beauty
Teach me faith and duty.
Beautiful words, wonderful words,
Wonderful words of life;
Beautiful words, wonderful words,
Wonderful words of life.” ~Philip P. Bliss (1874)

Lord, keep Your word my highest delight and joy, that it may grow richly, speed ahead in glorious display, and be honored. (2 Thessalonians 3:1)

“Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God. And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.” Colossians 3:16-17

“All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, reproof, correction, and training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.” 2 Timothy 3:16

“Blessed are those whose way is blameless,
    who walk in the law of the Lord!
Blessed are those who keep his testimonies,
    who seek him with their whole heart,
who also do no wrong,
    but walk in his ways!
You have commanded your precepts
    to be kept diligently.
Oh that my ways may be steadfast
    in keeping your statutes!
Then I shall not be put to shame,
    having my eyes fixed on all your commandments.
I will praise you with an upright heart,
    when I learn your righteous rules.
I will keep your statutes!..

With my whole heart I seek you;
    let me not wander from your commandments!
I have stored up your word in my heart,
    that I might not sin against you.
Blessed are you, O Lord;
    teach me your statutes!
With my lips I declare
    all the rules of your mouth.
In the way of your testimonies I delight
    as much as in all riches.
I will meditate on your precepts
    and fix my eyes on your ways.
I will delight in your statutes;
    I will not forget your word.” Psalm 119:1-8,10-16

Let. Allow. Welcome. Invite. Submit. Paul anticipates the murmurings of restless rebel hearts when he chooses a directive that requires an act of the will that supersedes emotion. The word of Christ dwelling richly in us doesn’t just happen.

The word dwells richly when heart soil is soft and receptive. It must be welcomed in and given space to spread out and take over corners of self-serving fetishes, hidden indulgences, and cordoned-off resentments. It must be supplied with tending to remove crabby scrabble and fresh air to grow and bloom and emanate fragrance. (Luke 8:5-15)

What need we do to let in the word? What evidence do we display of its richly dwelling?

“O Jesus, Christ, grow in me,
and all things else recede:
to you my heart would nearer be,
from sin be daily freed.

Each day embrace my weakness, Lord,
with your supporting might;
and let my death be lost in life,
my darkness in your light.

Let faith in you and in your strength
my every motive move;
may you alone be my delight,
my passion and my love.

Fill me with gladness from above,
hold me by strength divine.
Lord, let the glow of your great love
through my whole being shine.

Show me your glory more and more,
Lord, holy, wise, and true!
Your living image I would be,
in joy and sorrow too.

Make this poor self grow less and less,
and be yourself my aim;
and through your grace, make me each day
more worthy of your name.” ~ Johann Caspar Lavatory (1741-1801)

Amen, Lord. May Your living, refining, powerful word have full sway in me so You are richly exalted.

“They brought to the Pharisees the man who had formerly been blind. Now it was a Sabbath day when Jesus made the mud and opened his eyes. So the Pharisees again asked him how he had received his sight. He said to them, ‘He put mud on my eyes, and I washed, and I see.’ Some of the Pharisees said, ‘This man is not from God, for he does not keep the Sabbath.’

“So for the second time they called the man who had been blind and said to him, ‘Give glory to God. We know that this man is a sinner.’  He answered, ‘Whether he is a sinner I do not know. One thing I do know, that though I was blind, now I see.’  They said to him, ‘What did he do to you? How did he open your eyes?’  He answered them, ‘I have told you already, and you would not listen. Why do you want to hear it again? Do you also want to become his disciples?’  And they reviled him, saying, ‘You are his disciple, but we are disciples of Moses.  We know that God has spoken to Moses, but as for this man, we do not know where he comes from.’  The man answered, ‘Why, this is an amazing thing! You do not know where he comes from, and yet he opened my eyes… 

“Jesus heard that they had cast him out, and having found him he said, ‘Do you believe in the Son of Man?’  He answered, ‘And who is he, sir, that I may believe in him?’  Jesus said to him, ‘You have seen him, and it is he who is speaking to you.’  He said, ‘Lord, I believe,’ and he worshiped him.” John 9:13-16,24-30,35-38

What’s more amazing: that a man blind from birth is healed in an instant, or that a people bent on tradition and legalism are angry it would be done on their Sabbath? That a helpless man is healed by mercy, or that onlookers would care more about the what and how and where? Only the one who had been healed recognized the upended wonderment that was transpiring. His eyes now opened to faith, he could see clearly their duplicitous religiosity.

The measure of our understanding of God’s ways determines how dumbfounded we are at His work. When the one thing we know is truth, we will not get tripped up on all the things we do not know and cannot figure out. When we marvel at who God is and what He’s done, our rebel can’t becomes may. When we know He is strong and kind, we are never baffled at His goodness to us. We desire to know Him better and glorify Him more, and take steps of faith to those ends.

When we pray specifically, are we surprised at His answers? Could it be that although we claim to trust in Him, we worry more than we trust? Or we trust our own ideas more than we do His plans? Where are we tripped up by innuendos we can’t decipher or situations we can’t figure out, rather than taking the opportunity to ask the Lord to increase our faith? What insignificances will we set aside to wonder at Him?

Lord, turn my nay-saying and doubts into wholehearted belief that You are good, and all You do is good. (Psalm 119:68)

“He was despised and rejected by men,
    a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief;
and as one from whom men hide their faces
    he was despised, and we esteemed him not.

“Surely he has borne our griefs
    and carried our sorrows;
yet we esteemed him stricken,
    smitten by God, and afflicted.
But he was pierced for our transgressions;
    he was crushed for our iniquities;
upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace,
    and with his wounds we are healed…

“He was oppressed, and he was afflicted…
By oppression and judgment he was taken away.

“Yet it was the will of the Lord to crush him;
    he has put him to grief.” Isaiah 53:3-5,7,8,10

Humanly speaking, He had no beauty. Heavenly speaking, He was the the bright morning star, the beloved Son with whom God the Father was well-pleased. Humanly speaking, He had no majesty. Heavenly speaking, He reigns as regal King of kings and Lord of lords. Humanly speaking, nothing about Him was fair. Heavenly speaking, He was and is the true and righteous Judge. (Matthew 3:17; 1 Timothy 6:15; Revelation 17:14; 19:16; 22:16)

Often what is ugliest in the world’s eyes is fairest in the Lord’s. It takes spiritual sight and a worshipful mindset to see and understand things God’s way. Jesus, man of sorrows, is indeed Prince of peace. Meditating on Christ Jesus lifts our sights about all else, helps us see His glory, and holds Him in the high place He belongs.

“Fairest Lord Jesus, 
ruler of all nature, 
O thou of God and man the Son, 
Thee will I cherish, 
Thee will I honor, 
thou, my soul’s glory, joy, and crown.

How am I cherishing my Lord this day? Does He have first place in my affection?

Fair are the meadows, 
fairer still the woodlands, 
robed in the blooming garb of spring: 
Jesus is fairer, 
Jesus is purer 
who makes the woeful heart to sing.

Can we grasp HIs promise of one-day no more sorrow? What heartache can we bring to Jesus today for Him to turn to song? (Revelation 21:4)

Fair is the sunshine, 
fairer still the moonlight, 
and all the twinkling starry host: 
Jesus shines brighter, 
Jesus shines purer 
than all the angels heaven can boast.

What shame, confusion, or doubts will we bring into Jesus’s light? (John 8:12; 1 John 1:5)

All fairest beauty, 
Heavenly and earthly 
Wondrously Jesus is found in Thee 
None can be nearer, 
fairer or dearer, 
Than Thou my Savior are to me.

How and when are we savoring Jesus? How does the knowledge of how deeply we are loved compel us to share Him with others? (Isaiah 43:4)

Beautiful Savior! 
Lord of all the nations! 
Son of God and Son of Man! 
Glory and honor, 
praise, adoration, 
now and forevermore be thine.” ~Anonymous, or Münster Gesangbuch (1677)

Kingdoms and tribes strut and war, claiming rights and supremacy, refusing reconciliation. Relationships strain and affection wanes, the result of battling emotions. But Jesus rules all nations. With whom do we need conciliation? What territories of personal desire need submission to the Lord’s rule, alignment, authority, and purity? (Proverbs 16:1; 21:1; Daniel 2:21)

How beautifully we can see when through the lens of Jesus!

Lord Jesus, keep me worshipping You as my soul’s glory, joy, and crown.

“Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him, rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving.

“[You’ve] been buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through faith in the powerful working of God, who raised him from the dead. And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, by canceling the record of debt…[Hold] fast to the Head, from whom the whole body, nourished and knit together through its joints and ligaments, grows with a growth that is from God…

“If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God… 

“Put to death therefore what is earthly in you… You must put them all away: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and obscene talk from your mouth. Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have put off the old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator…

“Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive.  And above all these put on love.” Colossians 2:6-7,12-14,19; 3:1-3,5,8-10,12-14

For every therefore, there is a presupposition to drive the following statement. Paul is a master of reason and logic, and implements words cogently to make his points. You believe the gospel. You who were alien and hostile to Christ have been reconciled by His death. Therefore, because of your standing, just as you received Christ by grace and faith and trust in His sufficiency, so now walk. The Colossian church was not meant to forge ahead alone, nor in a vacuum. They were God’s to train and nurture, empower and refine and make fruitful. Don’t forget how you were saved! In this same way you are to thrive! (Colossians 1:3-5,21-22)

If we are saved, it is also by Christ’s grace, and we are to walk in Him by the enabling of that grace. Because we are established in faith and have been made new by His power, we are expected, by that faith and holy power, to display godly attitudes and actions in all we do. Because we’ve been forgiven, we forgive. As those reconciled, we are to reconcile. Since we’ve been set free from the old self and its proclivities, we are free to exercise the new self and serve and love as Christ does. (2 Corinthians 5:17; Galatians 5:13; Ephesians 4:32)

Are we? Does our manner of character and living exhibit a strong link between what Christ has done and how we live? How distinctly are we living out the new self, displaying the image of our Creator? Where need we adjust our mindset, or choices? What habits, language, and practices do we need to put off, by act of will, and put on instead, by determination?

Lord, let me never stop marveling at all You have done for me, and will do through me as I yield, for Your glory.

“The mouth of the righteous is a fountain of life,
    but the mouth of the wicked conceals violence.
Hatred stirs up strife,
    but love covers all offenses.
On the lips of him who has understanding, wisdom is found…

The mouth of the righteous brings forth wisdom.” Proverbs 10:11-13,31

“The teaching of the wise is a fountain of life.” Proverbs 13:14a

“The fear of the Lord is a fountain of life.” Proverbs 14:27a

“Good sense is a fountain of life to him who has it.” Proverbs 16:22a

“The words of the mouth are deep waters,
    but the fountain of wisdom is a rushing stream.” Proverbs 18:4

“For with you is the fountain of life;
    in your light we see light.” Psalm 36:9

“As they make music they will sing,
    ‘All my fountains are in you.'” Psalm 87:7

Power of water rising, only to fall, pulled by gravity, in incessant splashing. Welling and rising out of an unknown, invisible source, the circuitous force and amorphous spray and propulsion and drop mesmerizing. Constant flow, rhythmic staccato and splash, beauty in glistening, light-kissed, iridescent drops.

We are containers, designers by God to be filled with His Spirit of life and love and joy. Our mouths, minds, eyes, when filled with Him, are also filled with wisdom and grace, intended to overflow and shoot out in glad array, displaying and voicing God’s wisdom and goodness and praise. (Galatians 5:22; Ephesians 5:18)

Have I been counted righteous by the fount of Christ’s blood? Then my mouth will love, and issue life-giving words. Have I sought understanding? Do I have it? Then I can teach and encourage and comfort with spiritual wisdom. Do I prefer shallow interest in the Lord, mimicking only what others have opined or decided or quipped? Or do I take time and thought to go deep, tapping down into the soul where He abides, and guides, and fills, so I can live and speak from an eternal spring of substance? (1 Peter 1:18-19; 1 John 1:7)

The key to being filled is being emptied before Christ, and allowing Him to apply His riven side, the flow of redeeming blood shed for me. Cleansed from sin, we are filled with Jesus and His power to live uprightly, think rightly, and spout forth righteousness. Arid desire gives way to flourishing love, monotony to melodious, joyful song.

“There is a fountain filled with blood
Drawn from Immanuel’s veins;
And sinners, plunged beneath that flood,
Lose all their guilty stains.

The dying thief rejoiced to see
That fountain in his day;
And there may I, though vile as he,
Wash all my sins away.

Dear dying Lamb, Thy precious blood
Shall never lose its pow’r,
Till all the ransomed Church of God
Be saved, to sin no more.

E’er since by faith I saw the stream
Thy flowing wounds supply,
Redeeming love has been my theme,
And shall be till I die.” ~William Cowper (1772)

How would others describe the state of our souls by what they see and hear coming forth from us? What can we do this day to draw anew from the Spring of Living Water that is our Lord, then winsomely display for others the redeeming love of our Savior? (John 7:37-39)

Lord, empty me of self and fill me with Thee, as my endless theme, love, and joy.

“The Lord brought me forth as the first of his works,
    before his deeds of old;
I was formed long ages ago,
    at the very beginning, when the world came to be.
When there were no watery depths, I was given birth,
    when there were no springs overflowing with water;
before the mountains were settled in place,
    before the hills, I was given birth,
before he made the world or its fields
    or any of the dust of the earth.
I was there when he set the heavens in place,
    when he marked out the horizon on the face of the deep,
when he established the clouds above
    and fixed securely the fountains of the deep,
when he gave the sea its boundary
    so the waters would not overstep his command,
and when he marked out the foundations of the earth.
    Then I was constantly at his side.
I was filled with delight day after day,
    rejoicing always in his presence,
rejoicing in his whole world
    and delighting in mankind.” Proverbs 8:22-31

“In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.

“And God said, ‘Let there be light,’ and there was light.  God saw that the light was good… God saw all that he had made, and it was very good.” Genesis 1:1-3,31

A dark dawn sky turning red fire. Birdsong in harmony, with splendid variations of octave, melody, rhythm, tone. Majestic stone snow-glazed slopes slicing heaven. Wide meadows scattered with bluebonnets. Sweet strawberries. Endless desert sands, cloud sheep, cool piney woods, fish-poked water circles, sun ball dipping into the sea’s horizon at day’s end. God the Creator imagined and made in perfect wisdom and delight, and it was very good. His work still delights, and we must praise.

“Glorify the Lord with me;
    let us exalt his name together.” Psalm 34:3

The creation we see and delight in is fallen, flawed by sin, groaning for restoration. As magnificent as its grandeur, we know in the beginning it was without decay or imperfection, and can only marvel before its Maker who still redeems. Behold how great and lovely is He!! How marvelous His deeds! (Romans 8:22-23)

“I will consider all your works
    and meditate on all your mighty deeds.

Your ways, God, are holy.
    What god is as great as our God?
You are the God who performs miracles.” Psalm 77:12-14a

What is my response to this One who formed me, and in wisdom equipped me to enjoy His creation and know Him by grace?

“Sing to the Lord a new song,
    for he has done marvelous things.” Psalm 98:1

He makes His ways and name known to bring abundant, joy-filled life. What is my song, and when do I approach him with singing? (John 10:10)

“Enter his gates with thanksgiving
    and his courts with praise;
    give thanks to him and praise his name.” Psalm 100:4

How am I making His name, wisdom, and praise known?

“I know that the Lord is great,
    that our Lord is greater than all gods.” Psalm 135:5

When we fill our sights, affections, and thoughts with God Almighty, He imparts wisdom, love, and joy.

“On the glorious splendor of your majesty—
    and on your wonderful works I will meditate.” Psalm 145:5

To Him be all honor! Amen!

“To God’s holy people in Colossae, the faithful brothers and sisters in Christ:

“Grace and peace to you from God our Father.

“We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you, because we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and the love you have for all God’s people—  that spring from the hope stored up for you in heaven… 

“For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you. We continually ask God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all the wisdom and understanding that the Spirit gives, so that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God,  being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience,  and giving joyful thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of his holy people in the kingdom of light.  For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves,  in whom we have redemption.” Colossians 1:2-5,9-14

Paul is in tune with important things, and his letters direct their readers to what matters most. He’s interested in spiritual character and growth, and hinging present issues with eternal hope. He wastes no time on the mundane and material that isn’t connected with, or would detract from, their walk with the Lord. His deep relationship with Him prompts powerful prayer.

Paul begins with thanksgiving borne of interest and discovery of the work of Christ’s gospel. Planted in welcoming hearts, it has blossomed into faith, producing the fruit of hope and love. His desire is that they not stop growing but increase in the knowledge of God and passion to express His goodness and grace in their world and circumstances.

Often we base prayers on the urgencies of the moment: what we want or need NOW. Clipped by stress and blinded to the long view, we fail to grasp the deeper possibilities of God’s will for His people. How can we bear fruit in every good work if no real work is required? How do we learn patience and endurance if all is easy, healthy, and comfortable? Why would we desire to increase in knowledge if we already know everything?

If we begin prayer with thanksgiving for all we take time to hear and observe, how might God reshape what we pray? How would contemplation of eternal glory and spiritual rigor reorder our wanting, and asking? If we really love those for whom we pray, what does God care most about for them?

Studying and voicing prayers from Scripture helps prioritize a godly mindset. Setting prayer in a framework of who God the Father is and what He’s already done inspires the lens through which we see His will and the possibilities of how to arrive there. For those we love and serve, how might He reorient our thinking and approach? Our end goal? What would change in our prayers if we were more concerned for spiritual growth, God’s will done on earth, and eternal glory? (1 Chronicles 29:10-19; Matthew 6:7-13; Ephesians 3:14-21)

Hallowed Father, help me pray boldly and effectively, for Your will and glory.