Subheading: The Content of the Prayers

When we now come to the content of the prayers, we see this. Paul asks a full measure for the Colossians’ spiritual life in every area:

1.       … so that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will …

Subheading: Filled With the Knowledge of His Will

Our own will often keeps us from recognizing God’s will. It causes reservations when reading, and little readiness to apply what we read. How often have we already made a decision in self-will. Then we ask the Lord for His approval.

But the new life wants to do nothing but the will of God. That is the law of freedom. Paul therefore wants the Colossians to have a full knowledge. The Greek word epignosis means “full knowledge.” He wants them to be filled with that full knowledge. Both require reading God’s Word and fellowship with God.

The Lord Jesus knew “the will of Him who sent Him,” and it was His food to do it. Full knowledge of God’s thoughts went with complete submission to the Father’s will.

2.       … in all wisdom and spiritual understanding …

Subheading: Wisdom and Spiritual Understanding

It is good to know God’s Word and be willing to apply it daily. But first, knowledge alone is not enough. We also need a right understanding of God’s thoughts. For this we need people like Paul. They are able “to admonish every person and teach every person with all wisdom” (Colossians 1:28). Second, we need understanding. We need it to apply God’s will rightly in each situation. For this, the fear of God and close fellowship with God are required. Paul would not settle for some measure here either. He wanted the Colossians to have “all wisdom and spiritual understanding.” They would then have needed guidance in every situation.

The Lord Jesus is also the perfect example here. He compares Himself with a servant. God opens His ear every day, “So that I may know how to sustain the weary one with a word” (Isaiah 50:4–5). That is why He is also called the servant who “will act wisely” (Isaiah 52:13).

3.       … to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, to please Him in all respects …

Subheading: Walking Worthy of the Lord

The Lord always did what pleased the Father (John 8:29). Whoever wants to walk worthy of this Lord cannot be content with less. Once we know the Lord’s will, we must be practiced in it. We must apply it with understanding and wisdom to our situations. Then it will be seen in our daily conduct. Then we do not ask whether this or that is still permitted. Our decisions and actions are shaped by the desire to have the Lord’s approval.

And here too, Paul does not mean this only from time to time. It should be so in everything we do, “to please Him in all respects.”

4.       … bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God …

Subheading: Bearing Fruit and Growing

A worthy walk also affects the hidden things of our life. It includes what no one sees except God. In everything we want to seek His pleasure. But if our spiritual life is in good order, it will show. Being filled with God’s will will be seen in our works.

Then we do not merely do good works. We bear fruit in these good works. That is what distinguishes common good works from truly good works before God. Works shaped by understanding and wisdom are truly good works. A beautiful example is Mary of Bethany (see Matthew 26:7,10).

The Lord Jesus is, as always, the best example. He went about “doing good” (Acts 10:38). He showed people “many good works” from His Father (John 10:32). He was truly the tree planted by streams of water. It “yields its fruit in its season … And in whatever he does, he prospers” (Psalms 1:3). But Psalms 1 also takes us back to the first point. It speaks of a person who delights in the law of the LORD. He meditates on it day and night.

And if we think we have reached the maximum in our spiritual life, Paul’s request shows otherwise. There is still plenty of potential to “grow.” The desire to grow in our faith life is produced “through the knowledge of God.” It has been revealed “in the face of Jesus Christ” (2 Corinthians 4:6). We have seen how perfect everything was in the Lord Jesus. That is the motivation and the standard for our growth (see Ephesians 4:13). Whoever looks at Him will never think he has grown enough.

5.       … strengthened with all power, according to the might of His glory …

Subheading: Strengthened With All Power

The power for a walk that pleases God can never come from ourselves. It is the Holy Spirit who gives the new life power to unfold. This strengthening by the Spirit of God happens in a specific way. He directs our eyes to the glorified Christ in heaven. He has won the victory, He has overcome the world. He is already at the goal to which we are still traveling.

Again, Paul does not ask for a little power. He asks for strengthening “with all power.” There is certainly no lack of power. But there is a lack in our daily use of it. How often we let our eyes be distracted from the Lord Jesus and His glory.

6.       … for all perseverance and patience, with joy

Subheading: Perseverance and Patience With Joy

Our condition becomes clear in testing situations. It shows our readiness to do God’s will. It shows our wisdom and spiritual understanding. It shows our desire to walk in a way pleasing to the Lord. It shows our fruit-bearing and growth in good works. It shows our spiritual strength. There are many such tests in our lives. They come through circumstances and through people. This is especially true when we want to do God’s will.

Perseverance literally means “to remain under.” If we are filled with knowledge of God’s will, we live and act accordingly. We live aware that God has traced our entire path. Then we accept circumstances from God’s hand. We bow under this mighty hand of God. Then we remain under circumstances. The Lord always remained under them. He said, “Yes, Father, because this was well pleasing in Your sight.” “But He was oppressed and afflicted, Yet He did not open His mouth” What an example for us!

If we see Gethsemane as the place of perfect perseverance, then we see Golgotha. It is the place of perfect patience. For patience is endurance with our fellow humans. Infinite patience is revealed in the Lord’s prayer on the cross for His enemies. For patience is not only shown toward likeable people. It is shown toward the difficult ones. And again Paul asked the maximum for the Colossians. He asked “for all perseverance and all patience.”

Subheading: “With Joy”

Finally, a short word about the phrase “with joy.” Here is a quotation from John 15:10–11: “If you keep My commandments, you will remain in My love; just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and remain in His love. These things I have spoken to you so that My joy may be in you, and that your joy may be made full.”

The Lord Jesus was filled with full knowledge of the Father’s will. He had all wisdom and spiritual understanding. He always acted to please the Father. In His many good works, He always bore fruit for God. He went forward in the power of fellowship with His Father. In all circumstances He showed perseverance. Toward people He showed patience. This is what He calls “His joy.” This awareness was His food and His joy. He knew and did the Father’s will in everything and every situation. When will this joy be in us? When we become more like Him in this.

Are Paul’s prayer requests not extraordinarily fitting for us today? We live in a time with so many distractions. They are designed to draw our hearts and affections away from the Lord Jesus. They draw us away from the knowledge of His will.