Godly leaders, with “great hearts” demonstrate a passionate concern for the spiritual welfare of other Christians everywhere. They long for fellow Christians to understand God’s will for their lives and to live in a way that honors and pleases the Lord. This principle should be expressed in the life of every Christian! It was clearly modeled in Paul’s intercessory prayer for the believers in Colossae (Colossians 1:9-14).
Furthermore, how should a Christian pray for Christians elsewhere in the world that they have never met? How should we pray for missionaries working in places and situations foreign to us? Paul, the great apostle to the gentiles, shows us how in these opening verses of Colossians. In them, we have an opportunity to listen in on an apostolic prayer of Paul for a church he had not founded or visited as well as many Christians that he had never met personally.
So in what ways can Paul’s intercessory prayer for the Colossians serve as a guide for our intercession? This passage establishes a pattern for those who would intercede for fellow Christians, including those they have never met – missionaries, evangelists and fellow Christians in other parts of the world. There are sincere, faithful servants of the Lord around the world who are facing challenges today beyond our imagination or understanding! Paul’s prayer provides a healthy pattern for Spirit led and prompted intercession.
Using Paul’s intercession as a guide, we should pray that…
1. They fully understand God’s will for their lives (1:9b).
2. They honor and please the Lord in every way (1:10).
3. They continually bear good fruit (1:10b).
4. They come to know God better every day (1:10c).
5. That the Lord empowers them to stand firm under pressure (1:11).
6. That their lives overflow with thanksgiving and joy (1:12-14).
I would like to offer a tribute to my parents who are now with the Lord, two of the most effective intercessors I know. Mom and Dad believed that battles were won and spiritual progress was made through prayer. They would pray daily and fervently until spiritual battles were won. I remember vividly, a particular prayer project they tackled. Satan was trying to destroy a marriage. I remember my Mom clinching her delicate feminine fists, setting her jaw and hearing her say “Satan will not get this one!” And he didn’t either.
Until my parents died they would still receive telephone calls requesting prayer from everywhere. Mornings in their modest home were dedicated entirely to prayer ministry. Name after name, prayer project after prayer project, missionary after missionary, minister after minister, and nation after nation were all part of their prayers on any given day.
Mom and Dad’s impact upon the world was not their skill as preachers or theologians. Their impact, however, as godly people of prayer would be difficult to calculate! They served as a model for the prayer ministry of hundreds of Christians, including their sons!
Coffee With The Lord 