Just Keep Praying!

9 For this reason we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding; 10 that you may walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing Him, being fruitful in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God; 11 strengthened with all might, according to His glorious power, for all patience and longsuffering with joy; 12 giving thanks to the Father who has qualified us to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in the light.
Colossians 1:9-12

Look around any day, and you’ll see people who need to make changes in their lives. Maybe you have a family member who does not know Christ or a believing neighbor who struggles to tame her gossiping tongue. The most powerful way to effect change in another person’s life—or your own—is by praying. God, through the apostle Paul, has given us a prayer pattern that is Christ-centered and specific.

Too often, believers are lazy prayer warriors. We say, “Lord bless sister so-and-so” without giving a single thought to what form the blessing should take. God does not work in generalities; He makes deliberate movements in every person’s life. And He is pleased when we use His Word in communicating with Him. The prayer from Colossians 1 includes God’s greatest desires for His children. When we go before the Lord and continuously read our own name or the name of a friend or family member into this passage, we are praying His specific will for that person.

God answers the Colossians prayer with a transformation of the one whose name is being called. He delights in responding positively to requests that someone be filled with knowledge of His will and a desire to please Him!

Results may not be instantaneous. We could wait weeks or even years before we see a loved one turn to Christ or finally witness that gossipy neighbor bear loving fruit instead of rotten. But behind the scenes, the Lord is working to build that person’s spiritual understanding and impress on him or her a desire to choose a faithful lifestyle. Our responsibility is to keep praying in a Christ-centered and specific manner.

Lord, teach me to pray for others, using the power of Your Word. I will continue to pray for loved ones, even when I do not see the results. I know that You are working in their lives, bringing them closer to You! In Jesus' Name~Amen