O God, you are my God, earnestly I seek you;
my soul thirsts for you, my body longs for you,
in a dry and weary land where there is no water.
Because your love is better than life, my lips will glorify you.
I will praise you as long as I live, and in your name I will lift up my hands.
(Psalm 63:1,3,4)

Prayers
Holy God, you know the disorder of our sinful lives:
set straight our crooked hearts,
and bend our wills to love your goodness and your glory, in Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Lord of heaven and earth, as Jesus taught his disciples to be persistent in prayer,
give us patience and courage never to lose hope,
but always to bring our prayers before you; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Reading: Colossians 4:2-18

What are your priorities in life? What is most important to you? What are you most concerned about? Family? Health? Church?
Clearly some priorities are short-term, and some are long-term. (Recently one of my short-term goals has been to keep from over-heating!) I’m sure that in the past few months many people have re-assessed their long-term priorities, as I have. What really matters to us?

Today we come to the final part of the apostle Paul’s letter to the Christians at Colosse, which he wrote from prison in about 61AD. In these closing words we can see what is on Paul’s heart for the Colossians, what he urges them to prioritise. And we are challenged about our own priorities, as individuals and as a church.

1.PRIORITY OF PEOPLE (vv7-18)

Paul’s final greetings are not a mere formality. They reveal his deep appreciation and concern for people. Ten are mentioned by name, with personal comments. Notice how often Paul describes individuals as his colleagues; “fellow-servant”, “fellow-prisoner”, “fellow-workers”. None of these people had the God-given apostolic authority of Paul (see 1:1), but he speaks of them warmly as his brothers and sisters, not as underlings.
“People Matter More Than Things” was a book about youth work written by George Burton in 1965. The title applies to people of all ages and all types. We should take time to get to know people by name, especially our sisters and brothers in Christ, to encourage and support them (see Col.3:16). I am very glad that in the past few months there have been new opportunities for that, whether by phone-calls or meetings in small groups or one-to-one. When the C-19 restrictions are eased or removed, let us all maintain the priority of people.

2. PRIORITY OF SPEAKING TO GOD ABOUT PEOPLE (vv2-4)

“Devote yourselves to prayer”, Paul urges. Remain constant, keep faithful, persevere in your prayer life. The apostle is echoing the words of his Master: Jesus had told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up. (Do read Luke 18:1-8.)
Both Jesus and Paul knew how strongly we are tempted to cut back on praying, or even to give up altogether. I know how easily other things can clamour for my attention and crowd out prayer time.
“Whether we like it or not, asking is the rule of the Kingdom” (Charles Spurgeon).
But how? In verse 2 Paul uses two significant words to describe how we should pray.

a) Watchful
Be alert in prayer. Again Paul echoes Jesus’ words: in Gethsemane, Jesus urged his disciples to “Watch and pray” (Mark 14:38).
A great example of alertness in prayer is Epaphras, whom Paul commends in v12. “Wrestling in prayer for you” depicts full attention and concentration. It is the opposite of a casual or sluggish attitude, just praying “when you feel like it”.
Much prayer is rightly spontaneous, often responding to urgent needs. But our prayer life is also to be marked by discipline. In practice, this means praying when we are wide awake, not drowsy. Do you have a prayer-list(s)? We depend on the Holy Spirit to guide our praying, but we can and should use up-to-date information from mission magazines or emails. All this is part of being watchful in prayer.
Donald Coggan wrote “Really to pray is to stand to attention in the presence of the King and to be prepared to take orders from Him”.

b) Thankful
Paul himself always prayed with gratitude to God (1:3). He urged the Colossians to live their lives “overflowing with thankfulness” (2:7 & 3:15-17).
It is fairly easy to give thanks when life is good. But what about tough times? “One act of thanksgiving when things go wrong with us is worth a thousand thanks when things are agreeable to our inclination” (John of Avila). Paul was in prison, but still thankful.
A Welsh proverb says “Three things for which thanks are due: an invitation, a gift and a warning”. By the grace of God in Jesus Christ, we have all three! The invitation “Come to me…” (Matthew 11:28); the gift “God so loved…that he gave…” (John 3:16); the warning “Unless you repent, you will perish” (Luke 13:3,5). So whatever situation we face, our prayers are to be filled with gratitude.

Our praying as individuals and as a church fellowship is to be watchful and thankful.

3. PRIORITY OF SPEAKING TO PEOPLE ABOUT GOD (vv5-6)

Now Paul writes of our attitude to “outsiders”. We may not feel comfortable about that word: it sounds harshly exclusivist. But Jesus himself used the phrase to refer to those who were not his disciples (Mark 4:11). People’s response, or lack of response, to the Lord Jesus Christ and his claims, determines whether they are inside or outside His Kingdom.
We are to “be wise” in our interaction with those who are not (yet) Christians (v5). That means making the most of every opportunity for serving, doing good, sharing the good news.
Jimmy & Katia are CMS mission partners serving in Florianopolis, Brazil. They recently asked prayer for their church “to come out of this time (of lockdown) strengthened in their faith and eager to make the most of their time to reach those around them with the good news of Jesus”. Let’s pray that for ourselves at St Christopher’s also.
How should we speak to people? Two significant words from verse 6:-

a) Gracious
“Always full of grace”. When Jesus spoke in the Nazareth synagogue, the people were “amazed at the gracious words that came from his lips” (Luke 4:22). Those words sprang from God’s heart of grace – his undeserved love for sinful people.
The Colossians had responded to the gospel; they had “heard it and understood God’s grace in all its truth” (Col.1:6). Now Paul urges them to reflect that grace in their conversation with others. In the same way, our words can and should reflect the amazing love we have experienced through the Lord Jesus Christ – the riches of his grace.

b) Salty
Our words are to be “seasoned with salt”, not mushy or insipid! Jesus described his disciples as “the salt of the earth” (Matt.5:13). Salty conversation is wholesome and pure and true. It is the opposite of the kind of language mentioned in Colossians 3:8-9.

Gracious and salty speaking is to characterise our interactions with others, particularly those who may challenge or oppose us. “Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect, keeping a clear conscience…” (1 Peter 3:15).
We are not all called to be evangelists or preachers, but we are all to be ready to speak humbly and truthfully of what God has done for us in Jesus Christ, by the Holy Spirit.

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            Grant me, Lord, to know what I ought to know,
            to love what I ought to love,
            to praise what delights you most,
            to value what is precious in your sight,
            and to hate what is offensive to you. Amen.

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The Family Prayer: Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as in heaven. Give us today our daily bread. Forgive us our sins, as we forgive those who sin against us. Lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil. For the kingdom, the power, and the glory are yours now and for ever. Amen.

To him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations for ever and ever. Amen.

The Bridge Prayers for 16 August 2020.

Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful Colossians 4:2

A phrase from an old Graham Kendrick song kept coming into my mind as I began to prepare the prayers for today. I had to ‘google’ it to see where it came from and when I read the words, I felt they expressed powerfully virtually everything that I wanted to bring to our Heavenly Father:

The refugees
The people of Lebanon
The countries where Covid 19 is out of control
The leaders of the nations as they try to steer a path through the pandemic
The effects of climate change
Our polluted planet
Those facing loss of their jobs
The young people who are getting exam results and face an uncertain future
Members of our church family who are distressed
The future of St Christopher’s as we work out how to be a gospel church ‘without walls’ and bring the good news to our community.

So, I invite you to use this song as a prayer as you focus on the issues that are on your heart, you may also find it helpful to listen to it on YouTube as we pray:

Beauty for brokenness, hope for despair
Lord, in the suffering this is our prayer
Bread for the children, justice, joy, peace
Sunrise to sunset your kingdom increase!

Shelter for fragile lives, cures for their ills
Work for the craftsman, trade for their skills
Land for the dispossessed, rights for the weak
Voices to plead the cause of those who can’t speak

God of the poor, friend of the weak
Give us compassion we pray
Melt our cold hearts, let tears fall like rain
Come, change our love from a spark to a flame

Refuge from cruel wars, havens from fear
Cities for sanctuary, freedoms to share
Peace to the killing-fields, scorched earth to green
Christ for the bitterness, His cross for the pain

Rest for the ravaged earth, oceans and streams
Plundered and poisoned, our future, our dreams
Lord, end our madness, carelessness, greed
Make us content with the things that we need

Lighten our darkness, breathe on this flame
Until your justice burns brightly again
Until the nations learn of your ways
Seek your salvation and bring you their praise

Graham Kendrick 
Copyright © 1993 Make Way Music, 
www.grahamkendrick.co.uk

Scriptures:

Psalms 107:1-43


Category: Prayers , Sermons , The Bridge

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