Well, what a joy and delight this service has been already.
My heart's been encouraged and warmed just with the singing and the hearing of God's
Word.
But I am excited as well about a message that I believe God has for us as a church on the
brink of the new year.
Before we do jump in and get started, I would like to dismiss the children.
They're already on their way out.
Kindergarten through fifth graders, please head on back and enjoy your time.
Together in the Children's Ministry.
Well, it's been said before, but I'll just like to add my greetings, my welcome to you.
Happy New Year to each one of you.
It's good to be gathered together with you here on this first Sunday of 2015.
And speaking of the new year, let me ask you a question.
Any New Year's resolutions out there?
Anybody have anything that they'd like to do?
Yeah.
So, to be honest, about 10 or 15 years ago, I used to be a little bit jaded.
I used to be a little bit anti New Year's resolutions.
I used to say, well, if you've got to change something, do it.
Change it now.
Don't wait for the new year.
And, you know, there is truth to that.
There is something to be said for that.
Don't wait.
Change now.
But I have, over time, come to realize that there is a goodness, a freshness in the cycles
of life, in new seasons, a good time for a new growth and a renewed vision.
And I've become a little bit less anti New Year's resolution.
And I actually have a few myself that I'd like to see God work and do in my life.
So, speaking of New Year's resolutions, an article that I read recently, top five New Year's
resolutions.
These are the most popular ones, you know, that people generally make year after year
after year.
Number five, take up a new hobby.
Learn something new.
New activity, new hobby.
Number four, make more money.
Right.
That's right.
Make more money.
Get a better job.
Something along those lines.
Number three, improve my relationships.
Improve my relationships.
And that certainly is a worthy and good resolution.
Number two, stop.
Stop smoking.
Right.
Stop smoking.
And number one, the number one, year after year after year, New Year's resolution is
to lose weight.
That's right.
To be more healthy.
And, you know, there is nothing wrong in and of themselves with any of these New Year's
resolutions.
But let me just remind you that if your goal, if our goal is simply to be healthy, wealthy,
and wise, then our goals are far too short.
Our goals are far too low.
We need to have an eternal perspective.
We need to be seeking after the things that are above and the things that are pleasing to
God.
This New Year, let's strive to put a priority on things of eternal significance.
Not simply learning more.
Not simply earning more.
Not simply smoking less or weighing less.
But instead, let's be growing in our relationship with God.
And let's be encouraging each other in their spiritual growth as well.
And so we often wish each other a Happy New Year.
We wish each other success in the New Year.
But in Colossians chapter 1, our text this morning, Paul didn't simply wish people happiness.
Paul didn't simply wish people success.
But Paul prayed for them.
Paul prayed for their spiritual prosperity.
Turn, if you would, to Colossians chapter 1 this morning.
We're going to read through verses 1 through 14.
And then we're going to really focus in on verses 9 through 14.
Earlier this week, I shot off a quick email to Mary.
And I said, we're going to be looking at verses 1 through 11.
And that was a typo.
We're going to be looking at 1 through 14.
But don't worry, today we are going to specifically be focusing in on just those last few verses, verses 9 through 14.
And so Paul prayed very specifically for the spiritual prosperity of the Colossian believers.
Paul prayed that these believers would grow and that they would develop in several very specific ways.
And so we need to ask ourselves a question.
In fact, there's going to be lots of questions and answers.
That's kind of my format today.
We're going to work our way through this passage, asking questions and answering those questions
to better understand how we can pray for each other in this new year.
And so we need to ask ourselves the question,
how does the prayer that we see in Colossians chapter 1 line up with our own prayers?
In other words, how closely do our prayers mirror the prayer that we see Paul praying on behalf of the Colossian believers?
What is it that we tend to pray for when we pray for other believers?
And so to fully understand what Paul was praying on behalf of the Colossians
and to fully understand how we should be praying,
we're going to work our way through this passage together.
So Colossians chapter 1 this morning.
If you're using one of the Pew Bibles, it's page 1831.
Colossians chapter 1.
Verse 1.
Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God and Timothy our brother,
to the saints and faithful brothers in Christ at Colossae,
grace to you and peace from God our Father.
So these first two verses, just introductory here, kind of like an email,
who's writing it, who they're writing to, what this is about.
So Paul and Timothy, co-workers in the gospel,
are together writing this letter to the believers,
to the men and women in the church of Colossae.
And he's wishing them grace and peace from God to them.
Verse 3.
We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you.
Since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love that you have for all the saints,
because of the hope laid up for you in heaven.
Of this you have heard before in the word of the truth, the gospel,
which has come to you, as indeed in the whole world it is bearing fruit and increasing,
as it also does among you.
Since the day you heard it and understood the grace of God in truth,
just as you learned it from Epaphras, our fellow servant,
he is a faithful minister of Christ on your behalf,
and has made known to us your love in the Spirit.
All right, so this next paragraph here, verses 3 through 8, again, introductory.
Basically, what Paul is saying here is,
you know what?
I have never been to Colossae.
I have never been to the church in Colossae.
I've never met most of you as believers.
And although I have not met you, I have heard about you.
And although I don't know you, I am still praying for you.
And he references a man here named Epaphras.
Epaphras was an early believer in the city of Colossae.
He was one of the founding believers that helped get the church started there.
And he has been passing along good reports to Paul of the spiritual growth,
of the new life, of the fruit that God is producing in these Colossian believers' lives.
And what is Paul's response?
He says, we thank God and we pray for you.
We praise God for what he's doing,
and we pray that God will continue to do it in a greater and greater way.
Basically, that's what Paul's prayer for these Colossian believers is,
is that they will continue to grow spiritually.
He is praying for the spiritual growth and the well-being of these believers.
And so it's interesting that even though Paul had never met them,
he was still interested in them.
And so that should influence the way that we pray.
There's lots of people in this room here today,
a couple hundred people probably close to in the church today.
And you probably don't know everybody.
But that doesn't mean that you can't pray for everybody who's in here.
You can pray for the spiritual growth and the well-being of those that you know
and of those fellow believers,
those men and women here in this church and elsewhere that you don't know.
Paul was interested in the spiritual growth of the Colossian believers,
even though that's not where he directly was ministering and serving.
And so again, we're going to ask ourselves a series of questions and answers this morning.
So my initial question for you once again is,
how often do you pray for Christians in the same way that Paul prayed for the Colossian believers?
How often do you pray for other believers in the same way that we see Paul praying for these believers?
Now, think about it here for a minute.
Think about the last time that you prayed for another believer,
another brother or sister in Christ.
What was it that you prayed for?
Maybe you prayed for health.
Maybe you prayed for healing.
Maybe you prayed for a job.
Maybe you prayed for some other type of activity or event or situation in their lives.
And there's not anything wrong with praying for those things.
We should pray for those things.
But if we look at the scope of Scripture,
and if we look at the prayers that we see in Scripture,
the vast majority of the prayers in the Bible are for the spiritual growth
and the spiritual well-being of other believers,
more than the physical needs and the situations and circumstances that we find ourselves in.
Now, we should pray for those things,
but we should even more importantly be praying that in and through those circumstances,
in and through those situations,
that God will be getting a work done and growing and building and encouraging spiritual growth
in the lives of his children.
So, what is it that we should pray?
How is it that we should pray for Paul, for other believers,
in the same way that Paul prayed for these Colossian believers?
Well, look at verse 9, if you would.
Verse 9, he says,
And so from the day we heard it,
in other words, from the day we got the report from Epaphras,
we have not ceased to pray for you,
asking that you be filled with the knowledge of his will
in all spiritual wisdom and understanding.
So we have to ask ourselves a question,
what does it mean to not cease?
Does that mean literally 24-7 prayer, non-stop,
never doing anything else but praying for the well-being,
the spiritual well-being and growth of other believers?
No, obviously it doesn't.
Obviously it can't mean that, that's physically not possible.
But I believe what he means by saying not ceased
is that he is regularly, consistently, purposefully praying
for the spiritual well-being of these believers.
So my question for you is,
are you regularly, consistently, purposefully praying
for the spiritual well-being of other believers?
Do you make that a priority?
Do you have a plan to make that happen in your life?
Not just simply randomly praying, not simply haphazardly,
not just when somebody happens to come to your mind,
but do you consistently, regularly, purposefully pray
for the spiritual well-being of other believers?
Paul also says here that he desires that these believers be filled
with the knowledge of God's will.
We're going to get to that God's will part in just a minute here,
but let's look at that word filled.
What does it mean to be filled?
To be completely saturated, filled, influenced by,
in every single area of your life.
Think about Ephesians 5.18.
Paul says,
Do not get drunk with wine,
but be filled with the Spirit.
Completely under the influence of the Spirit,
every single action that you do,
every single inch of your life,
being saturated and influenced by
the power of the Holy Spirit
and the truth of God's word.
All right, so, not 24-7,
but consistently and purposefully,
filled, being completely saturated,
but what is it that Paul was praying
that they would be completely saturated with?
What is it that he wanted them to be completely filled
to the brim with as he consistently and regularly
and purposefully prayed for them?
He says that he desires
that they are filled with a knowledge of God's will.
Verse 9,
And so from the day we heard it,
we have not ceased to pray for you,
asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will
in all spiritual wisdom and understanding.
All right, so here's another question.
What is God's will?
Or more specifically,
in this passage that we're looking at this morning,
what is God's will?
Very oftentimes, people think of God's will
or knowing God's will as knowing who they should marry
or where they should live
or what job opportunities they should pursue
or what church they should become an active member in.
People are wanting to know,
what does God want me to do?
They think of God's will as being a very specific,
highly personalized plan
that they need to discover for themselves.
But biblically speaking,
that's, again, not often how we see God's will defined.
In fact, more often than not,
God's will is simply another word for God's commands.
God's will is God's revealed command.
Now, at times, the Bible does talk about God's will
referring to his unchanging,
sovereign control of the universe.
God's will will be done.
It's unchanging.
It is set before the world was even created.
God's will will happen.
His sovereign control over everything.
But the way that God's will is used in this passage
and throughout Scripture
really isn't something hidden that needs to be discovered,
but it is something revealed that needs to be obeyed.
God's will is God's word.
God's will is God's truth for our lives.
It is something that we need to step out and obey,
not seek out and discover.
So where is it that God's will is revealed?
If it's revealed, if it's not hidden,
if it's plainly available to us,
where is it that we can discover God's will?
God's will is revealed by God's spirit in God's word.
1 Thessalonians 4.3 says,
For this is the will of God, your sanctification,
that you abstain from sexual immorality.
All right, so part of the spiritual growth,
part of sanctification includes
abstaining from sexual immorality.
What is God's will?
Well, one aspect of it is to be sexually pure.
That's a clearly revealed command in scripture
that we need to step out and obey.
Again, 1 Thessalonians 5.3,
verses 16, 17, and 18.
What is God's will?
Verse 16.
Rejoice always.
Pray without ceasing.
Giving thanks in all circumstances,
for this is the will of God in Jesus Christ for you.
Again, clearly revealed truths in God's word
for us to step out and obey.
That is God's will for us.
And so when Paul is praying
that these Colossian believers would be filled,
completely saturated,
with a knowledge of the will of God,
he's praying that they would be filled
with the word of God
and empowered by the spirit of God.
Another question,
what does it mean to be filled with
not only God's will,
but spiritual wisdom and understanding?
Okay, so it's not just enough
to know something in our head.
It's not just enough to hear something in our ears,
but we must step out and do it, right?
Our Wednesday night small group studies,
Emily and I had the privilege
of being in the James study group.
And as you know, that's a key theme of James.
Not just hearing the word,
but stepping out and doing it.
Not just saying you believe it,
but actually living it out,
living out the truth.
And so Paul here says,
I want you to be filled with a knowledge
of God's will for you,
and I want you to step out and do it.
I want you to apply that knowledge,
practically speaking, to your lives.
Spiritual wisdom.
Wisdom, practically applying the truth to your life.
Living out the knowledge that you have.
All right, so Paul prayed
that the Colossian Christians' lives
would be completely saturated with a knowledge
and an application of God's will in their lives.
And that leads us to another question.
Why, out of everything that Paul could have prayed for,
why is it that he prayed that prayer?
That's the prayer.
That's the bulk of the prayer.
And everything that follows supports that
and fleshes it out.
The prayer that Paul prayed
is that they would be filled
with a knowledge of the will of God
and that they would practically apply it and live it out.
Why did he pray that?
And by extension, why should we pray that?
Why should we pray that for each other?
The answer is,
so that they will walk in a manner worthy of the Lord
and be fully pleasing to him.
Verse 10 says,
so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord,
fully pleasing to him,
bearing fruit in every good work,
so on and so forth.
We'll continue working our way on through those things.
But to answer the question,
why out of everything he could have prayed for,
he prayed that they would be filled
with the knowledge of God's will,
the answer is,
so that they will walk in a manner
worthy of the Lord
and be fully pleasing to him.
Let's break it down a little bit further.
Let's ask ourselves,
what do these words mean?
Words mean something.
Paul chose these words for a specific meaning.
Why is he using the word walk here?
Many people's New Year's resolution
is to be healthy, lose weight.
He's not talking about walking
as an exercise plan here.
Paul is talking about walking
being a synonym for your lifestyle,
for how you live.
The way you walk is the way you live.
Your walk is your lifestyle.
And so Paul says
that he wants these Colossian believers,
that he wants their lifestyle
to be worthy of the Lord
and fully pleasing to him.
And we say,
well, it's by grace that we've been saved.
It's by God's mercy alone
that he has saved us.
We are not worthy of salvation.
We are not worthy of a relationship with God.
So we need to ask ourselves,
what does this word worthy mean?
The idea here is an idea of weightiness.
To be worthy is to be of equal weight.
You know those old time scales
where you put a fixed weight on this side
and you put a pile of something else on this side
and it balances out.
And once it finds its equilibrium,
you know that they are of equal weight.
Well, that's how our lives should be as believers.
When our life is on this side
and the life of Christ is on this side,
it should be equal.
It should be balanced.
Our lives should be a reflection of Christ's life.
That's the goal.
That's what we should be striving for.
Of equal weight.
Believers are to be an equal standard
to God's standards.
We are to be holy as God is holy.
And we are to be fully pleasing.
What is the goal of the Christian life?
The goal of the Christian life is Christ-likeness.
To glorify God and to enjoy him
and to live for him
and to serve others,
but ultimately to be like Christ.
To know and to do everything
that God expects from his people.
And you may be sitting there and thinking,
wow, I thought this was supposed to be
an encouraging, uplifting New Year's message.
And this sounds pretty daunting.
This sounds impossible.
And you're right, it is.
In and of ourselves,
in our own strength,
it is impossible to be fully pleasing to God.
It is impossible to be worthy of the Lord
and for our lives to be equivalent to Christ's life.
We're going to get more to the how-to
in the following verses.
In verse 11 in particular.
So, Paul is praying for a knowledge of Christ
that leads to a transformed life,
verse 9,
and he's praying for Christ-like living
in the lives of these believers.
So, the question is, once again,
what is Christ-like living?
What does that look like?
What should it look like in our lives?
And so, in verses 10 and following,
we're going to look at four specific ways
that Christ-likeness is demonstrated,
four specific ways that Paul prays for
Christ-likeness to be manifested
in the lives of these men and women,
of these believers in the church in Colossae.
So, what does it look like?
Well, here are four specific areas of growth.
Let's read verses 9 and right on through verse 14 again.
And so, from the day we heard,
we have not ceased to pray for you,
asking 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.
What does it look like to be fully pleasing to him?
What does it mean to be worthy of the Lord?
Starting right here,
it means to be bearing fruit in every good work
and increasing in the knowledge of God
and be strengthened with all power
according to his glorious might
and all endurance and patience with joy
and giving thanks to the Father
who has qualified you to share
in the inheritance of the saints.
He has delivered us from the domain of darkness
and transferred us to the kingdom
of his beloved Son,
in whom we have redemption,
the forgiveness of sins.
What does it look like to be Christ-like?
What does it look like to be transformed
more and more like Christ?
Number one, the middle part of verse 10 there,
it means to be bearing fruit,
spiritual fruit,
in every good work.
You know, Paul started off this letter
and he said,
I've never met you,
but I've heard about you.
I don't know you,
but I am excited about the spiritual growth,
about the fruit that I hear about in your lives.
And Paul says,
I am going to continue, first of all,
to pray that you will continue
to bear more and more fruit.
Paul was not only thankful for the reports he heard,
but he prayed that God would continue
to increase their spiritual fruit.
So how does Paul's prayer for the Colossian believers,
how should that influence our prayers
for each other here today?
Well, we should be praying
that God would be producing spiritual fruit,
spiritual growth.
We should be thankful for what he has done
and is doing,
and we should be praying
that God will continue to do
the work in men and women's lives
so that they will grow spiritually,
continue to be fruitful,
and spiritually prosperous.
The second thing that he prays for
on their behalf
is not only that they would be bearing fruit,
but that they would be increasing
in the knowledge of God.
We see that in the last part of verse 10 there,
increasing in the knowledge of God.
This here is kind of a cyclical effect here.
The more we know God,
the more that we are like God.
The more that we live in the way that we should,
the better we know God.
One influences the other in a positive way.
It is a cyclical pattern of growth here
that the more we know God,
the more we are like God.
The more that we are like God,
the better that we know him.
And so Paul here,
the second thing he prays for
is that they would be increasing
in their knowledge of God.
Increasing in their knowledge of God.
The third thing he prays for,
verse 11,
look at verse 11 here together,
is that they will be strengthened.
That they will be strengthened.
He says,
may you be strengthened with all power
according to his glorious might
for the endurance and patience with joy.
Now with joy,
I think actually is better,
fits better with verse 12.
So we're just going to kind of lop that off
and include that in with verse 12 there.
So Paul here is praying for these believers
and he says,
may you be strengthened with all power
according to his glorious might
for all endurance and patience.
For all endurance and patience.
This is the good news here.
This is the exciting news here.
We're talking about being worthy of Christ.
We're talking about being fully pleasing to God
that our walk,
our lifestyle be reflective of God.
And we're starting to feel a little bit discouraged
and overwhelmed and saying,
we can't do it.
And that's exactly the position
that God wants us to find ourselves in.
Just like the song that we sang this morning together,
the prayer that we prayed through that song,
Lord, I need you.
Every hour I need you.
We need God's strength in our lives.
The only way that we will grow
in a knowledge of God,
the only way that spiritual fruit
will be produced in our lives
is through the strength of God alone.
Paul says that he prays
that they will be strengthened
with all power
according to his glorious might.
Let me encourage you with a truth here.
Your spiritual growth
is not fueled by your strength.
Your spiritual growth
is fueled by God's glorious power
and by God's glorious might.
And so here is an even more exciting reality
based upon that truth.
If our growth is not based upon our power,
but if our growth is based upon
God's insurmountable power,
then there is nothing in your life,
there is no struggle that you are facing,
there is no addiction
that you find yourself in,
there is no bondage
that you are experiencing
that is greater than the power of God.
God's power is glorious
and mighty and strong
and greater than anything
that we are facing.
There is no sin struggle
that is too strong
for the power of God
to change in your life.
And so that is encouraging.
And that's what Paul is praying,
that they would be experiencing
the fruit of God,
that they would be growing
in their knowledge of God,
and that they would be doing it
through the power of God,
which is greater than anything
that you may ever experience.
Well, he gives us a couple of examples here
of some things that you and I
may be experiencing.
He says,
with all power,
according to his glorious might,
for all endurance and patience.
Now those words are kind of,
sort of related,
but they also have different applications.
So what do the words
endurance and patience mean?
Well, when you are enduring something,
that means that you find yourself
in a difficult situation,
a difficult circumstance.
Any of you find yourselves
in a difficult circumstance?
Ever?
Yeah, I know that I do.
And so Paul here is praying
that God's insurmountable power
would be evident in their lives
when people are facing
difficult circumstances
and difficult situations.
But he also prays for patience.
Kind of, sort of,
related to endurance,
but I really think that
the word patience here
could be understood
to be referring to people.
Not just difficult circumstances,
not just difficult circumstances
and situations,
but patience
when you are interacting
with difficult people.
Difficult people.
Patience with others.
Do any of you interact
on a regular basis
with difficult people?
Yes, we all certainly do.
And so Paul here is praying
that these believers
would experience
the insurmountable power of God
in difficult circumstances
and situations
and when interacting
with difficult people.
And the fourth thing
that he prays
to bear fruit,
increase in knowledge,
being strengthened,
the fourth thing
that he prays
is verse 12
through verse 14.
He prays
that these believers
would be joyfully
giving thanks
to God the Father.
That they would be
joyfully giving thanks
to God the Father.
Verse 12,
let's add those two words
in from verse 11.
With joy,
giving thanks
to the Father
who has qualified you
to share in the inheritance
in the saints.
He has delivered us
from the domain of darkness
and transferred us
to the kingdom
of his beloved Son
in whom we have redemption,
the forgiveness of sins.
That sounds pretty
gospel-y, doesn't it?
That sounds like a summary,
a recap of the glorious news
of the gospel.
And if Paul is praying
for these believers,
why is he bringing
the gospel into this?
Why is he introducing
these glorious gospel truths?
Why is it that he reflects
upon the gospel
in these verses?
It's because a gratitude problem
is a gospel problem.
If you don't have
a proper, thankful,
joyful attitude towards God,
it's because you don't understand
the gospel.
You don't fully grasp
how the gospel
has transformed your life.
You don't fully grasp
what God has done
on your behalf
through his Son,
Jesus Christ.
Let me ask you a question.
Are you a person
who grumbles
and complains
and mumbles
and murmurs
about everything?
Or are you somebody
who gives thanks
about everything?
Are you one of those people
that people try to avoid
when they see coming?
Or they try not to get
into a lengthy conversation with?
Because they know
that all they're going to hear
is moaning
and groaning
and griping
and complaining.
If that characterizes you,
then you don't fully understand
what God has done
for you.
And that's why Paul
reminds us here
of the glorious truth
of the gospel.
Because a gratitude problem
ultimately is a gospel problem.
And Christians
that struggle
with being grateful
don't have a proper understanding
of what the gospel is
and what God has done
in their lives.
So he reminds these believers
of who they were
before the gospel
and he reminds them
of who they are now
because of the gospel.
So four bullet points
summarizing the gospel,
what has God done for us?
Look at the second half
of verse 12.
who has qualified you
to share in the inheritance
of the saints in light.
Before conversion,
you were dead
in your trespasses and sins.
Before you became
a child of God,
you were blind
to spiritual truths.
But God did a work
in your life.
He brought faith
into your life.
He opened up your eyes
to the truths
of the gospel.
He gave you the ability
to turn from your sin
and to turn to him.
He transformed you
from darkness.
He gave you an inheritance
as one of his children
to share in the glorious light
of the gospel.
If you have trouble
with being thankful,
reflect upon this truth.
You were dead
and you are alive.
You were blind
and you can now see.
You were in darkness,
but you are now in light.
You were not a part
of God's family,
but you are now
a child of God.
God has qualified you,
if you are a child of his,
to share in the inheritance
of the saints in light.
But another part of the gospel,
beginning of verse 13 there,
God has delivered us
from the domain of darkness.
Again, we were in bondage
to sin.
We were in spiritual darkness,
but God has delivered us
from that darkness of sin
and given us spiritual sight
and light.
Second half of verse 13,
what else does the gospel do?
What else has the gospel done
for God's children?
And transferred us
to the kingdom
of his beloved son.
We used to be enemies of God.
We used to be fighting against God
and God has transferred
our citizenship
to become citizens
of God's kingdom,
to be citizens
of Christ's kingdom,
to be citizens
under Christ the king,
our king.
He has transferred us
from the kingdom of sin,
the kingdom of this world,
fighting and warring against God,
instead to becoming
a citizen of the kingdom of God.
In verse 14,
he says,
in whom we have redemption,
the forgiveness of sin.
What is the gospel?
The gospel is simply
that God has redeemed his people
and forgiven them of their sins.
God has redeemed you
if you are a child of God.
He has bought you back,
made you a part of his family,
and he has forgiven your sin.
Are you a person
who struggles with being grateful?
Are you a person
who is characterized
by grumbling and complaining?
Reflect upon these glorious truths
of the gospel?
Paul says that he desires
that these believers
are joyfully
and regularly
thanking God.
And if you have trouble with that,
just think about who you were,
what God has done,
and who you are now.
So what I want to do
in conclusion here
this morning is
I want to pray for you
as Christ the King Church.
I want to pray this passage for you.
And then what we're going to do
is I'm going to encourage you
just to take a couple of minutes
to turn to the people around you,
just to pair up
with some people nearby you,
and I want you
to pray this passage
on behalf of
the believers at this church,
the men and women here
in this church.
And so,
would you please bow your head?
I'm going to pray for you,
and then in just a minute
I'm going to invite you
to turn to each other
and pray with each other.
Let's pray.
God, I thank you
and I rejoice
for the spiritual fruit
in the lives
of these dear people
of Christ the King Church.
And God, I want to ask you
that you would continue
to increase their fruit
even more.
I pray that they would be filled
with the knowledge
of your will
with all spiritual wisdom
and understanding
so that they would walk
in a manner
that is worthy
of the Lord Jesus Christ
and that they would please him
in every way.
I pray that they would be
bearing more fruit
in every good deed.
I pray that the people
of Christ the King Church
would be growing
in a knowledge of you, God.
I pray that they would be
strengthened with all power
to have endurance
for every difficult circumstance
and to have patience
for every difficult person
that they come into contact with.
And God, I pray that they would be
joyfully giving thanks to you
because you have saved
and redeemed them
from the power of darkness
and sin
and welcomed them
into the kingdom
of your Son.
And God, I pray these things
desiring to see your glory
displayed through these people
in an even greater way.
And I pray all these things
in Christ's name.
Amen.