Colossians 1:9-14 Paul is writing this letter from prison to a church he has never seen. From the news that he has heard about them, they have become very important to him and he prays for them regularly. In one sense the prayer can teach us to know how to pray for some one we have never met. More important; however, is the way Paul takes spiritual truth and fastens it squarely into practical daily life. He wants them to be filled with the knowledge of God's will or as one commentator has said, "... come to maturity in respect of the knowledge." of God's will, "the experience of a personal God revealed in Jesus Christ. They did not mean merely a mental grasp of abstract propositions; they meant' the perception of God's will as seen in Christ, and the response to it (or rather, to him)." (C.F.D. Moule) In verse 10 Paul gives the purpose of his prayer. This knowledge, wisdom, and understanding needs to be translated into a life style that is worthy of our relationship with the Lord. We need to be dedicated to pleasing the Lord in every way. Our motivation is not to be doing just to be doing good things; but for the purpose of bearing fruit i.e., producing kingdom results. So often the results of our efforts are, at best, mediocre because we depend on our own abilities rather than being "strengthened with all power according to His glorious might." Just imagine, God offers us His power in the conduct of our daily lives. Perhaps our prayer should be, "Lord, teach us to appropriate Your power in our lives and stop depending on our own." We need His power for great endurance (remaining under difficulties without succumbing) and patience (long endurance that does not retaliate). We have been res cued out of darkness.

Growing in Knowledge and Bearing Fruit