All I Need, Colossians: Living Prayerfully

All I need, Colossians: Living Prayerfully, Colossians 1:9-14

Today: Living prayerfully and how living prayerfully moves us from living carefully to living purposely.

“There was a very cautious man, Who never laughed or played, He never risked, he never tried, He never sang or prayed. And when he one day passed away, His insurance was denied, For since he never really lived, They claimed he never really died.” Unknown Author

Surprising sign you might be too careful: Over 90 percent of what you try works out.

According to the dictionary carefully means: in a way that deliberately avoids harm or errors; cautiously.
Now this seems like a good thing right?, and in many ways it absolutely is.
We were taught as children to be careful…examples. (Street, strangers, health, interactions)
That helps us do important things like survive, function at work, home, school, avoid pain and suffering.
If you are a careless person, in many instances… bad things can happen.
Living carefully is necessary/good, but there is a limit, a point at which living carefully can become a problem
Because when living carefully evolves into always needing certainty , we start to base our life and decisions on fear.
I am all for reasonable caution and certainty is a good thing as well
It is nice when things like the laws of physics, markets, weather, medical science are stable and certain.
But there is a cost to playing it too safe and always needing close to 100% certainly in our life. Missed opportunity.
The tricky thing is caution can lead to success in many ways. But not all.
While I certainly wouldn’t want my surgeon to be careless
No surgeon could do what they do with being a person who is willing to take risks.
There was a point where that talented surgeon, so careful and diligent, had to take a leap of faith
And apply for medical school, not knowing how it would pan out.
He or She might go through years of school and then not make it, or not like it. No way to be certain up front.
Likewise, the Kingdom on God will only advance as God’s people live in faith and not fear.
As we step out and take faith based risks. Same for your life, family, schooling, career.
You see God’s plan for us, involves HOLY RISKS.
Today, I want to talk about how living prayerfully can be a bridge from fear to faith.
If you think your faith is boring, you probably aren’t living prayerfully.
If fear is dominating your decisions, living prayerfully can help.
Because when you begin to live prayerfully it opens up the world of the Spirit to you,
Let’s read our passage and talk about that.

Colossians 1:9-14 9 For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you. We continually ask God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all the wisdom and understanding that the Spirit gives,[e] 10 so that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God, 11 being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience, 12 and giving joyful thanks to the Father, who has qualified you[f] to share in the inheritance of his holy people in the kingdom of light. 13 For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, 14 in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.

We will look at Paul’s prayer and desire for the church
The things Paul prays for them are things they will find as they, themselves pray.
Paul shows us here how to pray, and what can happen when we live prayerfully.

Paul touches on the Frequency of Prayer

V 9 Have not stopped praying, continually, prayer isn’t a one time thing.
ILL: Microwave vs crock pot. Prayer is a crock pot meal. It gets better with time.

Then he hits on the Motive of Prayer

Knowledge of His Will still in v 9

How to know God’s will for my life? Is a common and important question
The question of how to know God’s will for my life starts with what is God’s will for everyone’s life.
Walk in that prayerfully, and you will not miss God’s specific will for your specific life.
ILL: ARENA, Recently we went to a hockey game, we knew we had seats but not sure where
What we needed to do was just head to the Arena. Once we got there, we were told our seats.
Some of us don’t ever head to the arena, he are too worried about which seat.
As you follow God’s general lead, his word, commands, nudges in your life, you will find your seat!!

V 10 Live a life worthy of the Lord

Not about earning God’s favor, we live by grace not works, we can’t earn our worth in God’s eyes.
Means to to live out God’s value for us. Doesn’t it change you when you know how loved you are?
Paul’s concern was not to get his moment of fame, or playing time, but to just please the Lord
I love how Pastor Mark Batterson puts it, “To live for an audience of One, for the applause of nail scarred hands”
Andy doesn’t make my life about all God, diminish me, why would God want that?
ILL: Teaching kids to ride bike, eyes on me, as they do, not looking around they find themselves riding.
As you keep your eyes on Jesus, you will find yourself doing and being in the most amazing way.

IF we do the above: We will have this: Results of Prayer

Wisdom and Understanding that the Spirit gives back in v 9

How the Spirit takes from what is Jesus and illuminates it to us: John 16:13-14

3 But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come. 14 He will glorify me because it is from me that he will receive what he will make known to you.

Holy Spirit is the ultimate power broker or agent.
Agents take complicated things and make then easy to understand for their clients.
HS take the things of God and make them clear and working in us.

V 10 Please Him in every way

To put it simply, prayer helps us serve and obey God.
Which leads to… bearing fruit.

V 10 Bearing fruit in every good work

Prayer brings God’s work to fruition in our lives
ILL: Seeds in the packet: Many of have some seeds that are stuck, they ain’t growing, they need prayer.

V 10 Growing in the knowledge of God

Not just about God but with God, relationally
ILL, personal relationship, get to know that person little by little, day by day.

V 11 Strengthen with all power, According to his glorious might

Live in your strength v living in God’s strength, when man works man works, when man prays God works.

V 11-12 To have great endurance, patience, joy, thankfulness

Prayer is how we plug in. When we have little prayer we have little power.
ILL: My phone is always on low battery it annoys me and all in my family
There is only one reason for that. I don’t plug it in.

This motive and these results anchor us in this: from last week, Colossians 4:12 Epaphras, who is one of you and a servant of Christ Jesus, sends greetings. He is always wrestling in prayer for you, that you may stand firm in all the will of God, mature and fully assured.

When we are firm in the will of God, mature and fully assured we have a Mindset of Prayer
Prayer opens our eyes to the reality of the Holy Spirit.
V 12 Father, who has qualified you

I am convinced many people don’t think prayer is for them often because of guilt, shame, insecurity.
They think they are disqualified from prayer and basically what God has for them.
But you don’t qualify yourself, Jesus does that through the cross and resurrection.
His love qualifies you not your talent or track record.

V 12 To share in his inheritance

Scarcity vs Abundance
ILL: Raiding the fridge
If I were to go to your house, and was thirsty I would ask for a drink, I wouldn’t just raid ur fridge…
But if I am at my parent’s house, I don’t ask, I know I can go get whatever I need.
Whatever they have, I know that is available for me.

Power of Prayer

V 13 Rescued from the dominion of darkness

Prayer reminds us that we are saved from something and for something
Without Jesus we are lost, we are bound by darkness.
That there is a spiritual battle, that we are a part of whether we like it or not.

Assurance of Prayer

V 14 For we have redemption: ILL To pay off one’s debt imagery.
Prayer reminds us of the grace and mercy of God
V 14 The forgiveness of sins. We need it everyday.
Show me a bored or unengaged Christian and I will show you one who has forgotten they were forgiven, redeemed, rescued from the dominion of darkness.

Altar

Maybe you are here today, and you are centering and orienting your life around the certainty of your circumstances.
You don’t mean to, but you are sort of bound by that, fear.
When Jesus is allowed to work in our lives through relationship and prayer it brings us to a place where...
I don’t need certainty in all my circumstances, I just need Jesus.
WHERE I know my life will change, but Jesus won’t ever change.
Today is not just about committing to pray more, which is good,
It is about how we need to surrender our need for certainty in all our circumstances
To trust an unchanging Jesus in an ever changing life.
That’s when we start to thrive by taking good and holy risks
Maybe it is to start a relationship with Jesus, to tell those around who about your faith, to commit to church, to serve, to give, to invite, to pray with your spouse, to start a new career, or stop one, to become a coach, a foster parent, a mentor, to ask that friend who you know is down, how they are doing, to start counseling.
Maybe your HOLY RISK today is to just say yes to Jesus as your Lord and Savior
Maybe to commit your life to him.
What is your Holy Risk today?
Let’s pray. - Salvation,
Fill in blank, my HOLY RISK today is ______________________________ .