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, 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, being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience, and giving joyful thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of his holy people in the kingdom of light.
For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.
Colossians 1:9–14
In Colossians 1, we find Paul offering a prayer for the followers of Christ. It is beautiful and lofty, filled with requests to be filled with knowledge, to live worthy of Christ, to bear fruit, and to endure with patience and joy.
It’s so lofty, in fact, there may be an important truth that we need to keep in mind before we even start reading it. Because when you notice it, it changes how you read the entire prayer.
Let’s look again at the requests. Paul is asking God to do extraordinary things in the lives of believers:
- To fill us with the knowledge of His will.
- To help us live lives worthy of Him.
- To please Him in every way.
- To bear fruit in every good work.
- To grow in our knowledge of Him.
- To be strengthened with His power.
- To endure with patience and joy.
At first glance, it can feel overwhelming. Almost impossible. Who among us can truly live this kind of life?
But here’s the important fact we can’t overlook: Paul wouldn’t pray this if God couldn’t answer it!
In other words, inspired by the Holy Spirit, Paul is not offering an unreachable ideal that we are unable to achieve. He’s describing a reality that God is both willing and able to bring about in our lives. Why else would the Spirit move Paul to pray such things?
This, then, is incredible news!
Every item on that list can be true of you.
So if you’ve ever felt unworthy or incapable, hear this reminder today from Colossians 1: Yes, you can live this life. Not because of your strength, but because of His and through His Spirit that begins dwelling inside us when we find relationship with God through faith in Jesus Christ.
To those who are in Christ, God has given you everything you need through His Spirit to live the life Paul describes. No matter how far you’ve fallen, no matter how inadequate you believe your life to be, no matter what lie has been told you, you can be filled with the knowledge of God’s will, live a life worthy of Him, please Him, bear fruit, and endure with patience and joy.
So believe it to be true, brother and sister. Celebrate it. And embrace the responsibility to walk in it—day by day, through His power at work in you.
Because God never inspires prayers that He is unable to answer.
Prayer
Father, thank You that Your way is perfect. When I doubt or second-guess, remind me that Your wisdom is flawless. Teach me to rest in the comfort that I don’t need to double-check Your work—I only need to trust it. Amen.