Staying Awake: Watchful Praying

This week we are looking at Colossians 4:2-4, 12-13...

v. 2-4

     Continue steadfastly in prayer,

            being watchful in it with thanksgiving.

             At the same time, pray also for us,

    that God may open to us a door for the word, 

                                    to declare the mystery of Christ, 

                         on account of which I am in prison— 

     that I may make it clear,

                 which is how I ought to speak…

v. 12-13

   Epaphras, who is one of you,       a servant of Christ Jesus,

                                greets you,

                  always struggling on your behalf in his prayers,

                                    that you may stand mature

                                                   and fully assured in all the will of God. 

   For I bear him witness

            that he has worked hard

                                     for you and

                                     for those in Laodicea

                                             and in Hierapolis. 

                                                                                                                   

It is probably no coincidence that this exhortation to pray comes on the heels of the button-

Sign in the Garden of Gethsemane

pushing passage about household relationships. Wives and husbands, children and parents, bondservants and masters are all challenged to a new way of thinking and living. I think that such changes cannot be implemented successfully over the long haul without our being watchful in prayer. Even though Simon Peter was confident that he would not deny the Lord on the night of his arrest, Jesus knew better. Later Jesus answered Peter, James, and John, “The spirit is willing but the flesh is weak” when they failed to watch and pray in Gethsemane.  

Here are a few simple directives about prayer that I have gleaned from these five verses in Colossians 4:2-4, 12-13.

1) Continue steadfastly in prayer! (v.2) 

What the ESV translates as “continue steadfastly” is actually one Greek word (proskartereō); meaning to devote yourself unto, to endure unto, to be earnest towards, to persevere, etc. Here are four other occurrences of this word as it relates to the early church:

Acts 1:14 All these with one accord were devoting themselves to prayer, together with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and his brothers

Acts 2:42 And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers

Acts 6:4 But we will devote ourselves to prayer and to the ministry of the word.”

Romans 12:12 Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer.

Cell in Rome

Such dedication to praying was a defining element in the life of the church. Today, we are not generally so given to prayer. For those who think prayer (proseuchē) is a passive process or an activity for wimps, I would suggest that they picture receiving this command while visiting a callused and scarred Eastern Mediterranean man chained to a soldier in a Roman prison and hear him say, “proskartereō proseuchē!” [Go ahead say it out loud] in perhaps a “you talkin’ to me?” style. This kind of prayer was the prayer of a warrior, or to use a Coast Guard metaphor, that of an experienced spiritual rescue swimmer seeking to save the drowning.

Such “devoted” prayer involves…

• Spiritual perseverance (Eph. 6:18-20). "…praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints, and also for me, that words may be given to me in opening my mouth boldly to proclaim the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains, that I may declare it boldly, as I ought to speak."

• Spirit-guided supplication brings surpassing peace (Phil. 4:6-7) "do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus."

• Struggling on behalf of others (Col. 4:12-13). We can see this exemplified in the example of Epaphras (see verses above) who was always struggling on the Colossians’ behalf. Literally, he is agonizing in prayer for them. This was prayer with an intensity that most of us know nothing about. Someone doesn’t pray for others like that unless they really care and they fully believe in the value of watchful prayer.

2) Be watchful in prayer (v.2) “Being watchful in it”

We are to be watchful (grēgoreō) in our praying in the sense of “keeping alert.” If we return to the Garden of Gethsemane scene I mentioned earlier, I am amazed that the three disciples were not moved enough by Jesus’ sorrow to watch with him in prayer.

Then he said to them, “My soul is very sorrowful, even to death; remain here, and watch with me.” And going a little farther he fell on his face and prayed, saying, “My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will.” And he came to the disciples and found them sleeping. And he said to Peter, “So, could you not watch with me one hour? Watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.” (Matt. 26:38-41)

Ancient Olive Tree in Gethsemane

Jesus made it clear the watchful prayer was tied to our ability to avoid falling into temptation. How does this happen? James addresses this, “But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire. Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death.” (James 1:14-15)

Being “watchful” in prayer can keep us from going down this slippery road, but how? To start with, when you are alerted in prayer to danger, you will not be taken by surprise. Secondly, watchful devoted prayer is an act of adopting the desires of God as our own. He has loved us so we respond in love. In this case, we are not enticed by “our own desires” but in watchful prayer, we enter into God’s desires—for ourselves and for others.

We are exhorted to “be watchful” and alert a number of times in the Scriptures, including the following two passages.

• “Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.” (1 Peter 5:8)
• ^“Wake up, and strengthen what remains and is about to die, for I have not found your works complete in the sight of my God. Remember, then, what you received and heard. Keep it, and repent. If you will not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will not know at what hour I will come against you.” (Rev. 3:2-3)

If we can see the importance of being watchful in prayer, it is natural to ask the question, “How?”

How can we be watchful in prayer?

Let me suggest that in this kind of prayer, we should allow our spirits to search—like the watchman on the wall uses his eyes and ears—for dangers that may be near. We need to develop not just an honest introspection, but an interpersonal sensitivity to the needs of others. Let me suggest two questions that will help us to begin to be more watchful in prayer:

• Where do we see ourselves in danger? I suggest that we start by examining three potential areas of threat. You might even make a list so that you can see these possible points of attack and pray specifically about them. Do we have…

• Unguarded strengths: These are areas where we can grow lax and arrogant, as is demonstrated repeatedly by the Empire in the Star Wars movies. Do you remember Motti's line,  “Any attack made by the Rebels against this station would be a useless gesture, no matter what technical data they've obtained. This station is now the ultimate power in the universe! I suggest we use it." –Admiral Motti”
• Unconfessed weaknesses: Are there areas of our lives that we have not brought to the Lord in confession and surrender? When we don’t confess our faults to the Lord we invite a catastrophic shakeup as stress on the fault increases. In the Pacific Northwest, we are regularly told of the coming "big one" earthquake.
• Unaddressed attitudes: Has pride crept into our hearts? Are we looking down on others? Do we feel a sense of entitlement and as a result serve ourselves first or do we care that everyone gets what they need even if we get less? Are we unteachable or easily irritated? The list of attitudes could go on much further, but you get the idea. 

• Where do we see others in danger? This is where our prayer advocacy watches out for and comes alongside, others. A good place to start is by using the same three-fold threat assessment (strengths, weaknesses, attitudes) we used in the previous section. To that list I suggest three more thoughts. 
• Pray that God would bless them. Instead of complaining (trying to educate the Lord about how annoying that person is) pray for God’s grace and peace to do their work in that person’s life.
• Pray how you would want someone to pray for you. Pray that the desire of God infiltrates their attitudes, words, and actions so that they might experience all that God has for them.
• Pray from inside their story. By this I mean to listen well and then use your imagination to put yourself in their shoes…and pray for them accordingly. If it was you, in their situation, how do you imagine you might be at risk?

3) Be thankful in our prayers. 

I am not aware of any angry prayers being held up as examples for us with the exception of a few imprecatory psalms. In addition, while the psalms give us a vocabulary to process our complaints and lament through the character of God, in the New Testament, thankfulness is the dominant spirit with which we are to offer prayer, (Eph. 1:16; Phil. 1:3; 4:6, Col. 1:3; 2:6-7; 4:2; 1 Thess. 1:2; 1 Tim. 2:1; 2 Tim. 1:3; Philemon 1:4).

Paul didn't stop there with the challenge to be devoted, watchful, and thankful in prayer, but made another request... be helpful!

4) Be Helpful in Prayer—Pray for us (v. 3-4)

At the same time, pray also for us,

              that God may open to us a door for the word, 

                                    to declare the mystery of Christ, 

                         on account of which I am in prison— 

                                                        that I may make it clear,

                                    which is how I ought to speak.

Paul asked the Colossian church that while they were praying watchfully that they would add him to their prayer lists. If we are honest with ourselves, we all need such intercession. However, have you stopped to consider what Paul was really asking? His prayer list centered on his faithfulness and effectiveness as an ambassador for Christ to proclaim the gospel.

A.  Open up to us a door for the word. Paul is in prison and doesn’t ask for the door of the prison to be opened so that he might get out, but that the Word would go forth.

B. To declare the mystery of Christ.  What is that mystery? I see at least four aspects of the mystery Paul was declaring.

• Christ in us the hope of glory (Col. 1:26-27). The mystery was hidden for ages and generations but is now revealed to his saints. To them, God chose to make known how great among the Gentiles are the riches of the glory of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. 
• The mystery of God is revealed in Christ (Col. 2:2).
• To unite all things in Christ (Eph. 1:7-10)
• “Christ beyond us”—The Gentiles are included in the kingdom (Eph. 3:1-6). This mystery is that the Gentiles are fellow heirs, members of the same body, and partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel.

C. That my message would be clear (v.4) I like this request, as it enables me (jokingly) to blame my congregation for any lack of clarity on my part—they should have prayed about it more. What was Paul’s message? It was preaching the Gospel by explaining and manifesting the mystery of Christ discussed above. Like Paul, we need to get the facts straight, the doctrines pure, and preach the gospel in the power of the Spirit.

D. To speak how I ought to speak: Paul didn’t want to speak in violation of the “ought” of the calling laid upon him by the Lord. Our words reveal the condition of our hearts so I think Paul was asking more than that his word choices would be accurate and timely. This begs the question about the divine “ought” which is something we always need help with. There is a right and proper time and way to speak. Paul was in prison for speaking the gospel “on account of which I am in prison.”

E.   What was Paul not asking for? He was not asking for relief. He wasn’t asking for an easier crowd, a lighter load, or a smoother road. He sought the release of the Word, not that of himself. As we advocate for others in prayer, let’s not settle for the tame and timid prayers of comfort and convenience but ask God to empower them to faithfulness in the furnace, to daring in the den, to love even when laughed at, to care even when cursed, to persevere even when physically exhausted, and to see heaven at work even when hell is shouting. 

5) Such prayer is hard work (v.12-13)

Epaphras,

         who is one of you,

                   a servant of Christ Jesus,

                    greets you,

                                      always struggling on your behalf in his prayers,

                        that you may stand mature and

                                     fully assured in all the will of God. 

For I bear him witness that he has worked hard

                          for you and for those in Laodicea and in Hierapolis. 

Watchful prayer is a labor of love.

6) Devoted prayer prays specifically. Paul gives us two things that Epaphras agonized over in his prayer for the Colossians. First, he prayed that they might stand mature. Secondly, he prayed that they might be fully assured in all the will of God. While we don’t know the complete scope of Epaphras’ prayer, Paul mentions that he prayed for the local congregation in Colossae and for those nearby in the neighboring towns of Laodicea and Hierapolis. May our prayers be as mature and specifically simple as those of Epaphras.

7) How will we pray differently this week?

As advocates for "the least of these" and ambassadors of the kingdom of heaven, we need to be proactive in guarding our hearts against the attacks of pride and privilege that can poison the work to which God has called us. We must guard our own hearts diligently (Pro. 4:23; Deut. 4:9; ), and remember that we should pray for our co-workers as well. Yes, we are our brother's keeper (Phil. 2:1-4; Gal. 6:1-3; 1 John 3:16-18)! 

As a result of this passage in Col. 4, and perhaps this blog, will you be devoted to praying with any more zeal this week? Perhaps one of the following keywords will serve as a reminder for you as you go down to the river to pray.

Steadfastly—Watchfully—Thankfully—Helpfully—Strenuously—Specifically