Series: Foundations Text: 2 Corinthians 5:11-6:13 Message #8 INTRODUCTION: 1. There are many commands and illustrations and examples of prayer in Scripture. We are taught about prayer in our earliest days - and reminded of the need to pray when we make ourselves ready for bed or when we sit down to eat a meal. 2. Prayer is a difficult activity. Most of us know more about prayer than we practice. We know prayer is essentially talking to God, but none of us do that like we ought. Consider the typical prayer at mealtime: the same things; "scratching our eyebrows," "social pressure." What if we don't like the food? How about our typical prayer time - devotions. For what do we ask? (Healing, provision, encouragement, etc.). 3. I think, if we pay attention to what Paul is saying here, we might change, or at least adjust the manner in which we pray. We have God's revelation concerning prayer. What we need is some fresh illumination. Let's see if this text can shed some light on prayer for us. It has been correctly stated that, “a deepening grasp of Scripture is bound to have a reforming influence on our praying.” May it be so with us today. 4. To help us see, I want us to consider a simple outline. 1) What I need to do; 2) What will result; 3) What the Father has already done for me. I. WHAT THE FATHER WANTS FROM ME (9) A. When we pray, the Father wants us to trust Him. (9a). 1. It was Paul's regular, daily habit to pray. (That's a general word for prayer). (He taught and practiced the admonition to "pray without ceasing."). Since Paul has heard about the Colossians, he has made it a point to intercede with God on their behalf in his regular times of prayer. There are some things we need again and again. We are instructed to continue to pray for those matters. 2. It was Paul's regular, daily habit to make requests. (All of this demonstrates Paul's dependence, and therefore his trust, in God. (I don't know about you, but I tend to be fairly self-sufficient. It is hard for me to trust anyone - including God, to care for things that are beyond my reach. (Illustration - E. M. Bounds, Necessity of Prayer, p. 9) Sometimes God puts us in situations where we have no other choice but to trust Him. That really is what He desires from me. Trust in Him glorifies Him. It acknowledges our desperate need for Him. B. When we pray, the Father wants us to know Him (9b). When you pray for yourself and for others, two requests ought always to be included. 1. "Fill us with the knowledge of Your will." a. This is a constant need for believers (None of us has arrived. There is always more to learn about God and His will for us. The idea of the request is to "be filled to completion with a full, deep understanding of God's plan for us." To suggest that we have arrived is like the college freshman who wrote a ten page report on "The History of the Universe." It only declares our ignorance!). b. There are some basic principles (Remember, our basis for knowing God's will are found in understanding and applying God's Word. Specific decisions find their direction in the general revelation of Scripture. God wants us to know His will. He desires that we be fully-equipped and controlled by Him). Keep in mind that prayer is not telling God what we want, but asking God what He wants. We need to start with requesting the knowledge of His will. Like the Psalmist (143:10) we pray, “Teach me to do your will, for you are my God! Let your good Spirit lead me on level ground!” It is not just “teach me your will”, but “teach me to do your will.” (As someone has said, “It is folly to pretend to seek God’s will for your life in terms of a marriage partner or some form of Christian vocation, where there is no desire to pursue God’s will as He has already kindly revealed it”). 2. "Grant us spiritual wisdom and understanding" a. Wisdom is the practical, effective use of knowledge, the art of living well. (Internet: Knowledge is understanding that a tomato is a fruit. Wisdom is not putting it into your fruit salad). Some people are brilliant, but they lack wisdom. They make poor decisions perhaps based on much knowledge, but no insight. What we need is the practical spiritual insight into the things God is doing. We tend to see everything from a very limited, earthly perspective. We are human and limited. We are also tainted with sin. Do you understand how important it is to ask for wisdom? b. Understanding involves clear analysis and effective decision-making. It is applying specific knowledge to practical problems and concerns. The false teachers invading the church, promised a super-knowledge to be gained through philosophy and various prohibitions, etc. God is offering it freely to believers if they will continue to ask for it. Do we seriously and persistently ask God for the knowledge of His will - for spiritual wisdom and understanding? (Carson, Call to Spiritual Reformation, pp. 103-104) Is there any wonder why Paul would encourage constant prayer in this direction? When we pray, the Father wants us to trust Him and to know Him. When I do that something happens to me. II. WHAT THE FATHER WILL DO IN ME (10-12). The Father wants to bring me to the point where I walk worthy of Him - where I please Him in all I do. What the Father wants to do in me is to bring me to the place where I anticipate and do His wishes in every aspect of my life. If I ask Him to fill me with the knowledge of His will, and to grant to me spiritual wisdom and understanding - and He does that, then I will be walking worthy of Him and I will be pleasing Him! And here Paul lists what will happen in us as we walk worthy of Christ. (4 results). A. He will cause us to bear fruit. 1. Fruitfulness is not a command; it is a result. (If we have an apple tree, we don't command it to grow apples. That's what it was designed by God to do. If it is a healthy tree, it will produce fruit. As a believer, if I am trusting the Father and getting to know the Father, the result will be a fruitful life. 2. Fruitfulness is a change in attitude (Galatians 5:22-23). Those are not normally produced in my life apart from God doing a work in me. But as I please God, those attitudes are evident in my life. B. He will cause us to grow in knowledge. (As we seek to please someone, we learn what they like and what they don't like. Consider your spouse. Over the years, you have probably made some discoveries! As we ask God for wisdom and understanding, a by-product will be a growing, greater knowledge of Him!). That, in itself, ought to be enough reason to pray! C. He will cause us to be strengthened. (We are weak by nature, but God desires to make us strong. Lest we miss the point, Paul uses three words to express this result of walking worthy - of pleasing God. We are strengthened with all power according to His glorious might. To put it another way, "we are being strengthened by that spiritual dynomo within us, which is our glorious God who provides the might to overcome any resistance." How does that sound? We need it, don't we? Here is why. Three reasons. 1. We need God's strength to endure. (The word is "remain under."). A lack of endurance leads to despondency - or losing heart. When under pressure, we tend to collapse. But God lets us know that as we depend on Him, one of the results will be strength - strength enough to endure. 2. We need God's strength to resist. The word here is "macro-thumia". . .long-tempered. This is the self-restraint, which does not quickly retaliate. It carries the idea of gentleness or a sweet reasonableness. A lack of "patience" or "long-suffering" leads to outbursts of anger and the desire for revenge. (WWW, Be Complete, p. 39). (Proverbs 25:28). 3. We need God's strength to rejoice. (Here we are told that we can joyfully give thanks to God the Father, no matter what. I don't know about, you, but I need God's strength to be able to do that). D. He will cause us to be thankful (Thankfulness is often mentioned in Paul's letters. He expresses thanks to God for people. He encourages believers to be thankful. I Thessalonians 5:18 "Give thanks in all circumstances." Philippians. 4:6 tells us to "in everything by prayer and petition with thanksgiving. . ." Four more times in this book, Paul calls people to a thankful spirit). 1. When someone tells you to do so, are you automatically thankful? (Illustrate with children.) 2. When we know some special things about the person and they have, at great sacrifice, provided for us, are we thankful? (When we know Christ - and we are growing in wisdom and knowledge - and we are living a life pleasing to Him, we will be thankful!). III. WHAT THE FATHER HAS ALREADY DONE FOR ME (12b-14) Don't ever forget what God has done for us. Part of our motivation for desiring to please Him is tied to this. Paul summarizes this in two word-pictures. A. He made us "fit" for the light 1. We have been qualified! - He has made us so that we could share in the inheritance of holy people. We did not qualify on our own. He made us fit for that. 2. We have been included! We have an inheritance. Literally we have been given "a parcel of the lot." We have a "piece of the rock" so to speak in the light. B. He brought us in to the light 1. He rescued us from the domain of darkness (the word rescue has the idea of buying back - of paying a ransom to get back). We have been rescued from a rebel kingdom and brought under the sovereign control of the rightful King. (This ransom is a picture. No ransom was paid to the enemy. Rather, we were purchased by God, for God). 2. He brought us into the kingdom of the Son of His love. To do that, meant redemption through His blood, and resulted in the remission or forgiveness of sins. When I realize what the Father has done, it makes me want to please Him. And when I please Him, things start to happen! Conclusion: 1. To be sure, we need to pray for one another when they are sick or financially strapped or struggling in a difficult relationship. But don't you see how important it is to pray like Paul prays here? 2. Ultimately, God wants us to please Him. Too often our prayers have quite a different motive. We pray to receive our will - to please ourselves. God wants us to know His will and to please Him. When we do, He is honored - and we grow! (And we actually find our joy, our pleasure, in Him!) 3. Maybe you need to have your prayer life overhauled. Three things could be considered. a. Commit Colossians 1:9-13 to memory. b. The next several times you pray, begin asking God only for the requests in verse 9. c. Pray that not only for yourself, but for each other and then watch what He will do! | 
