Colossians 4:2
Continue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful in it with thanksgiving.
Is there anything in your life that you have continually dedicated yourself to? If you are a mother, you had little choice but to continue steadfastly in raising your small children. If you ever started a business, that certainly required you to continue steadfastly in your efforts, especially in the early days. Perhaps you have pursued an advanced degree in some field of study. That certainly would require you to continue steadfastly if you hoped to earn that Master’s or PhD. I’m sure there are numerous examples for most of us where this kind of dedication has been required…but do we approach our prayer lives with the same commitment?
The Apostle Paul labored in prayer over the churches and people the Lord had connected him to. He obviously didn’t lock himself in his prayer closet 24/7 because he was busy about his Father’s business, as well as continuing to earn money by being a tent maker (Acts 18:3). Paul had a lifestyle of prayer. It was a BIG part of his Christian journey. How many times a day did Paul pray? How long were his prayers? We don’t know for sure, but one thing is abundantly clear from the scriptures—prayer played an integral role in Paul’s life and ministry.
There are three aspects to this short verse: Praying diligently, with expectation, and with thankfulness. In the original Greek, praying steadfastly meant single-minded fidelity to a certain course of action. It means to persist obstinately in a task, to keep on with devotion, to continue to do something with intense effort, to be steadfastly attentive unto, to give unremitting care to a thing. When people say, “I prayed about it!”, I always want to ask, “How many times? For how long a season?” My own prayer life is nothing to brag about, but my wife’s has been truly inspiring. She has continued steadfastly in prayer over our four kids for over two decades now. When God moves in their lives, I know it has been impacted by their mother’s prayers.
Secondly, we need to be watchful when we pray, aware of changing spiritual conditions and on the lookout for God’s answers or the leading of the Holy Spirit. When God whittled Gideon’s army down to its appropriate size, it was the 300 men who drank from the stream with their eyes open and alert and looking around that made the final cut. The others just buried their faces in the water and drank. They were not watchful.
Finally, Paul continues to exhort us to do everything with thanksgiving. Spurgeon comments “See how he keeps putting that in—’Be ye thankful’—’with thanksgiving.’ Why? That is the oil that makes the machinery go around without its causing obstruction. May we have much of that thanksgiving!” God loves you and is working in your life! His plans are far better than our own and He wants what’s best for us! His commitment to your well-being should create thankfulness in your prayer life. He is listening. He is moving. He will not always agree with your requests—what good parent would—but even in His “no’s” there is love and grace and blessing.
