2019-06-28
Good Morning Dear Ones,
I’m commanded by the Holy Spirit to continue providing and discussing support Scriptures to the book of Colossians. By now, you have noted there are a lot of them! In addition, we are examining our individual relationships with God and with other human believers. In doing this kind of analysis, we are asking ourselves questions like: 1) Are you living in the faith? 2) Do you know Christ is in you? 3) Does your life stand the test in the light of what He is teaching in COL? 4) Have you died to sin, and are you being raised with Christ? (Consider your life before and after Christ entered it.) 5) Do you have His power to say “no” to temptation? 6) Have you been delivered from the dominion of darkness? 7) Are you continuing steadfast in the faith? 8) Are you willing to examine your sinfulness, reveal sin before God, and stop the sin? 9) Will you let God “transform you inwardly by the renewal of your mind” [RO 12: 2]? 10) Do you recognize God’s right to sovereignty over your life? 11) What temptations are you trying to overcome? 12) What are your ultimate goals for your life on earth and in heaven? Consider answering all these questions for yourself, in light of what Colossians has taught. (It might help to outline the basic teaching in Colossians).
Prayer is our main way of communicating with the Lord during our time on earth. Another way is the regular taking of Communion. There are many ways we can approach God’s mighty throne. It is clear to me that we need to acknowledge Who God is in our lives, what He does for us, for what we are thankful, and that He is praiseworthy. Only then, should we offer our supplications in Christ’s name. God should always come first, before us. God loves for us to rehearse our history with Him and what we learned from Him. That really matters. If it is a prayer of confession, then we must be entirely open and honest with Him. We learn, in HE 4: 13, that God is omniscient, and nothing can be hidden from Him. So, lying simply won’t do! God loves it when we are humble and reverent toward Him. God listens to all our prayers whether private or corporate, whether focused on confession of our sins, and no matter when offered. His faithfulness to us is perfect, and we must ask ourselves if we are in the habit of being faithful about looking for what He is saying to us or trying to teach us. He communicates with people in many ways, which demands for us to learn to listen for Him.
Now, we should write a prayer: Any of these suggestions can be included. We can look for grace and peace where possible. God loves to hear our recitation of Scripture, e.g. His love as expressed in 1 COR 13: 4-8, 12-13. Mentioning God’s keeping our inheritance safe in heaven, in 1 PET 1: 4, 6. “…And so we look forward to possessing the rich blessings that God keeps for His people. He keeps them for you in heaven where they cannot decay, spoil, or fade away… Be glad about this, even though you must be sad for awhile because of the many kinds of trials you suffer.” Acknowledge His grace extended to us, citing EPH 2: 8-9. That He teaches us to love, is a blessing [COL 1: 7-8]. Note that He imparts wisdom, knowledge of His will for us, and faith [COL 1: 26-27; COL 2: 2-3]. Humbly recite PS 51: 6 and PS 119: 125. Thank Him for the strength He gives us [PHIL 4: 13, “I have the strength to face all conditions by the power that Christ gives me.” [also, COL 1: 11-12]. Acknowledge that Christ has rescued us from the dominion of darkness [EPH 1: 18-20; COL 1: 13]. We can note the eternal forgiveness that only Christ’s Atonement opens to us [1 JN 1: 9]. Rehearse Christ’s attributes and deeds that apply to the main thrust of our prayer. Using the things learned in COL 1: 15-20, they can be applied to our own situations. Recognize the importance of Christ’s blood shed for us [LV 17: 11; HE 9: 22; 1 COR 11: 25] and body given for us [1 COR 11: 24]. Note the peace that has come to our lives as a result of Christ making us God’s friends [RO 5: 9-11]. Acknowledge the unity in the community of believers [COL 2: 1-2] and its value in courage and love. Of course, we should mention the things for which we are thankful and want to praise Him [1 THESS 5: 16-18]. We can thank Christ for spiritually circumcising us, thus freeing us from the power of the sinful self [COL 2: 11-13; EPH 2: 8-10]. I often thank Him for bringing orderliness into my life and giving me a purpose, which led me to spend my life willingly and happily serving Him. We can thank Him for freeing us from the unnecessary rules, regulations, and legalism that other humans impose on us. Angel worship, asceticism (harsh treatment of the body), and false humility have no place in our lives, as they don’t control physical passions. We are freed by Christ from all of these. That fact is worthy of our thanks and praise. We can “think eternally” and set our hearts on the things of heaven, rather than earth [COL 3: 1-2]. Acknowledge that Christ teaches us to do this.
PRAYER: O Lord, it is You, Who teaches us what we need to know to be in regular contact with You. You always make Yourself available to us, any time day or night, any day of the year. There are times when we worship and pray to You corporately. Those are the times when we are in church or at some special meeting or class directed toward You. Like the Lord’s Prayer [MT 6: 9 -13], there are times when we utter it, almost mechanically. We stand in unison that we will take the time to learn what each phrase of these prayers means to us. Our relationships with You (vertically) and with other people (horizontally) matter tremendously. We are unable to please you with the heart-attitudes we have and the quality of these relationships without Your help [JN 15: 5]. That is why we pray for Your intervention today. We acknowledge Your greatness in every area and importance as the central Figure of our lives. We welcome You in them and seek to lessen any distance between us. You are to be praised and thanked for all Your blessings every day, in the holy/mighty name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
NEXT WEEK: In fulfilling the purpose of these many devotions written and my desire to highlight the importance of praying habitually, I have been commanded by the Holy Spirit to write more of these recommendations for what can be included in our prayers next week. Our prayers are powerful, and they are always heard. Our Lord needs to hear from us, so that He will know how we are reacting to the people and events of our lives. I have lived all over North America in my life, moving often. In each new place, I would hope and pray to make friends. For many years now, God has forged strong, faith-building relationships in my life. Because of technological advances over the last 75 years, I have been able to retain those relationships and kept them active. God gave me a talent and interest in writing, which has extended to e-mail notes, texting, phone calls, and the like. Even these devotions written every week use that talent, which He gave me. I’m keenly aware that He gives us our talents for use in His work. We can all examine the talents we have and ask ourselves: How are we using them to do His work? We can’t help but thank and praise Him for making this possible, for preparing ahead the tasks He wants us to do [EPH 2: 10]. For Who He is and what He does, we should all thank and praise Him! He is truly praiseworthy!
Grace Be With You Always,
Lynn
JS 24: 15
© Lynn Johnson 2019. All Rights Reserved.
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