MESSAGE
FROM THE
WORD
HEAVENLY COMMUNICATIONS
Colossians 4:2-6
SERIES: Colossians Message # 24
If you are married or have children, you know the difficulty of communication. So much of it is non verbal and innuendo. Yet, there is nothing that we do which is more important than communicate with each other. Wars have been waged, feelings have been destroyed and families have been decimated because communication was not handled properly. Because of this, the Bible spends a lot of time discussing the issue of communication. The book of Proverbs is filled with principles on how to effectively communicate with each other.
As we come to our study in Colossians, we arrive at a passage dealing with the importance of communication. Because this is from the heart of God, we are given advice on two different areas of communication. Paul discusses Heavenly communication and he deals with Human communication. Paul writes, COLOSSIANS 4:2-6 Because this subject is so important, we are going to take two weeks to look at this passage. Heavenly communication goes by the term “Prayer”.
Prayer is one of the most critical actions in which a believer is involved. Prayer releases the power of God. Prayer changes nations and opens up the storehouses of Heaven. James tells us those prayers of the Godly “AVAIL MUCH…” The prayers of the godly healed the sick, fed the poor, released angelic protection, and freed people from prison. If this is true, why do we not pray more? Why are the prayers of the saints so lethargic?
In some cases the issue is selfishness. We live in a culture in which the primary issue is me. When we pray, it often centers on me. What do I want? What should God do for me? While we are told to pray for our needs, that is a small portion of what we are to pray for. If all we focus on in our prayer life is ourselves, not many answers will come our way.
In some cases, the issue is ignorance. When it comes to prayer, we don’t pray all that much because we are not taught what to pray for, or how to pray. So much of the church ministry is geared to cater to the immature and to not offend people. Because of that, sermons don’t deal with the critical issues of the Christian life and deal instead with the popular subjects of the time. As a result, church people conclude that prayer must not be that important because our church doesn’t talk about it much.
Let me say this as firmly as I can. Prayer is the power cell of the church. The most important meeting we have on our schedule all week is the prayer meeting that begins at 9:55 am every Sunday before our Sunday School time. The singing is important, the sermon is essential. But none of that matters without prayer, because prayer is the battery that energizes everything else. As we look at this critical passage, I want to look at how to develop a strong prayer life.
FIRST, WE SEE THE IMPORTANCE OF PERSISTANCE IN PRAYER. There is no characteristic that is more important in our prayer life than is persistence. One of the main reasons we do not see the desired results of our prayer time is because we give up. Paul calls for the church to, “DEVOTE YOURSELF TO PRAYER…” I like that word “DEVOTE”. There is a great implication involved in that word. We often read of someone who has passed away and they left behind a “Devoted Mate”. Without knowing anything about that individual, what do you know about them? They steadfastly stood by the side of their mate. There is a beautiful picture in that word. This word is used eleven times in the New Testament and ten times the KJV translates this word “CONTINUE…” That translation doesn’t have the visualization to it, but let’s see who it is used. We read ACTS 1:14; 2:42, 46; 6:4; ROM. 13:6 The NASV goes back and forth from “devoted” to “continue” and in a few occasions even uses both words. Regardless of what word you use, the idea is of perseverance.
Jesus talked about the importance of persistence. We read LUKE 18:1-8 The entire purpose of this story is to remind His followers of the importance of persevering. Do you ever grow weary in your prayer life? This is not an uncommon occurrence even for the spiritually mature.
One of the great prayer warriors in the Old Testament was Daniel. You will remember that he was thrown into the lion’s den. Maybe you don’t remember why. DANIEL 6:1-15 How would you like to have such a reputation that your enemies conclude that the only way to destroy you was to plan a trap regarding your godliness. They passed a law forbidding prayer to anyone other than the king. Did you notice Daniel’s response? He kept on praying, but it was specific. He prayed three times a day. There was consistency in his time of prayer.
There is another time we see Daniel in prayer. For those who do not know the background of Daniel, it begins with the sins of
This devotion to prayer is seen in the New Testament. After the book of Malachi was written, there was a 400 year period in which God did not speak. There was hope for a deliverer, but the Jews had become very discouraged. Just previous to the birth of Christ, God began to work in the hearts of His people. We read LUKE 2:25-38 Let’s assume that Anna was married in her teens and was married for the seven years mentioned, that leaves sixty years for her to pray for the coming Messiah. How many of you have prayed for any issue day and night for more than sixty years? This is what Paul means when he writes that we should be devoted to prayer.
Because of the importance of this subject, I think we need to look at the prayer life of Jesus. It begins early. We read MARK 1:35 In the New Testament less than forty days in the life of our Lord are mentioned. Of those, seven are the last week and three cover his childhood. Only about 25 days are actually mentioned. That being the case, you would think that Mark would write, “Knowing that Jesus had a busy day in front of Him, He slept in”. It didn’t say that. I enjoy taking naps when I am really tired. However, Jesus understood that His power source was His pray life, not His physical strength.
Moving along, we come to a teachable moment for our Lord. LUKE 11:1-3 This is the only time the disciples asked Jesus to teach them something. They could have asked to learn about studying the Bible, church administration, or preaching. However, they asked Jesus to teach them to pray. That should tell us something. When we do something well and it succeeds, we tend to praise ourselves. When we pray and something succeeds, we know God did it and we praise Him.
At the end of His human ministry, prayer was at the heart of how Jesus survived His ordeal. We read LUKE 22:39-46 How many times is prayer mentioned in that passage? It is many. This was going to be the worst day in the history of the world. No man was going to ever experience the incredible pain and agony that Jesus was going to endure. What was His response? It is the same response we should have when we go through trying times. We go to the Lord and pray.
The disciples asked Jesus to teach them to pray. How did they learn? We have seen already in our passages from Acts that they learned quite well. In Acts 1:14; 2:42, 46 and 6:4 we are told that they were, “DEVOTED TO PRAYER”. What was the result of all this prayer? In Acts 1 they prayed and revival broke out in Acts 2. In Acts 2 they prayed and the sick were healed in Acts 3. In Acts 6 they prayed and the Samaritans came to Christ in Acts 8. Throughout the ministry of Jesus and then into the lives of the Apostles you see a constant pattern. They devote themselves to prayer and God does a great work. There is a connection between the devotion to prayer on the part of the people of God and the mighty works of God in the culture. The great thing is we don’t have to be perfect. God understands our human frailties. We read ACTS 12:1-5; 7; 12-17 They prayed for Peter’s deliverance and were blown away when it came about. This is the human condition isn’t it? We pray for God to move and then are shocked when He does.
Let me encourage you with this passage. We read JAMES 5:16-18 I am grateful for that passage. Elijah was a man just like us. He saw God work in a powerful way, but he had feet of clay like you and I have. James tells of this incredible experience in the life of Elijah. He stopped the rain for 3 ½ years. Then, he spoke to the clouds and it began to pour. Elijah was able to do this, because God had told him what was going to take place. However, chapter 2 ends differently. Elijah was not always this spiritual giant. We read 1 KINGS 19:1-8 Here is this incredible story of a man with a spiritual life so deep and a prayer life so strong that he can speak to nature and change it. Then a woman says she’s out to get him and he panics. What a wimp!
In addition to that, when Elijah is in hiding, an angel appears to him twice to bring him food. If I was having a panic moment and an angel showed up twice, I think that might get me back on my feet. You might think that would never happen to you. We read HEB. 1:14 You may have heard about “Guardian Angels” and thought it was a nice idea, but didn’t know this is Biblical instruction. Angels are given many tasks in the scriptures. One of their most important tasks is to take care of the people of God. We saw that an angel provided support for our Lord in the
SECOND, WE SEE THE IMPORTANCE OF PERSPECTIVE IN PRAYER. When it comes to prayer, we need to understand it from God’s perspective. The key to prayer is not praying. That sounds like a crazy statement, but it is true. There are all sorts of religious groups that advocate praying to this deity, that individual, or repeating certain words. Prayer is not just saying religious words, it a spiritual relationship with Jehovah God. We looked at Elijah previously and there is a good illustration of this in his life. We are told, 1 KINGS 18:20-39 The prophets of Baal said prayers. In fact, they were very sincere in their praying, but they prayed to a non-existing deity. Have you ever made a phone call and either gotten a busy signal, a disconnect notice or a continually unanswered ring only to discover that you had transposed one of the numbers? In other words, you were calling the wrong number. It didn’t matter how sincere you were, or how often you dialed the number, it was still not going to be answered by the person you were calling. We read JOHN 14:6 This is a dogmatic statement, but Jesus said that the only way to reach God was to go through Him. Does that mean God doesn’t answer the prayers of unbelievers? It means He is not obligated to answer their prayers, but He does answer the cry of the heart of the individual who wants to know Him but who calls the wrong number. What should be our perspective as we pray?
First, we need the perspective of being alert. Paul tells us that when we pray we need to “KEEP ALERT IN IT…” This is an interesting word. It is used many times in the New Testament, especially in the area of prayer. We read MARK 14:34-37 This is one of the most famous stories in the life of our Lord. Knowing He was facing death, Jesus brought His disciples to the
When I think of someone who is alert, I think of all the CSI’s we watch on television. As they investigate a crime scene, they are looking over every square inch for even the smallest of clues. A strand of hair, a chair moved slightly, or a drop of blood can often times be the clue that solves the crime. I want to look at a great illustration of this in the life of our Lord. We read MARK 10:46-52 This beggar basically sat by the road and asked for handouts. There was not much to his life and it would be very easy to just go through the motions. However, he was paying attention and when Jesus came by, he leaped into action. He was alert and grabbed the opportunity as it passed by.
How does this relate to prayer? So much of effective prayer is watching for God’s move and then getting into that flow. When all we want is to pray for our thing, we are probably going to miss out on what God is doing in the lives of others. If, on the other hand, we are watching to see if God is doing something we will probably see the little things He is doing and be able to participate in His work.
You will remember that we looked earlier at the life of Elijah and saw him stop the rain for 3 ½ years. Let’s look at the rest of the story. We read 1 KINGS 18:42-46 Seven times Elijah sent his servant to look and seven times he saw nothing. On the last time up the mountain, the servant looked out and he told Elijah there is a little tiny cloud. Elijah told him, “batten down the hatches, get out your umbrella, and run because a storm is coming”.
We all like to see God do the big works. Let me ask you if you have seen God do some little things in your life? When I see the little things God is doing in my life, I will suddenly become aware of some of the big things He is doing in my life. We are to be alert to the things God is doing in our life. We are also supposed to be alert to the things God wants to do and is showing us what to pray for. A neighbor talks about the problems they are having with their teenager. A friend tells you of the financial struggle they are facing. A co-worker discusses a medical problem they are facing. All of these are simple, every day issues we all face. Yet, they could also be issues over which you could pray. What would happen if a friend shared a financial issue with you in passing and you began to pray for them? Next week you ask about their need and tell them you have been praying for them. Maybe God brought deliverance to them and they didn’t even see God working. However, when you tell them you were praying for that situation, suddenly they see that God is a big God. It all takes place because you are alert. What should we be alert for?
We should be alert for open opportunities. Paul calls for these people to pray that “GOD WILL OPEN UP TO US A DOOR FOR THE WORD…” The idea of a “DOOR” is an open opportunity. We read 1 CORINTHIANS 16:9, REVELATION 3:7, 8 These are opportunities that God gives to people outside of their control for which they can use to tell others about God. You will remember that Joseph was sold into slavery by his brothers. He was then falsely accused of sexual misconduct and thrown into prison. While there, two of the servants of the Pharaoh were also thrown into his cell and had very weird dreams. Joseph interpreted the dreams accurately and he thought he would be released. God had a different plan because the cupbearer, whose dream Joseph interpreted, forgot all about him. However, Pharaoh later had a dream and the cupbearer was reminded of Joseph. God had opened the door and Joseph ended up becoming the Prime Minister and saving the lives of the brothers who had sold him into slavery.
When you pray, do you pray for open doors by which you might be able to share with others the love and power of God? After Nicki was given a clean bill of health, the American Cancer Society had a workshop with medical personnel sharing some of the advances in technology and treatment. They decided to ask one person to come and speak from the viewpoint of a patient. Our oncology doctor just happens to be the president of the ACS this year and invited Nicki to share. We were given an open door to tell about God’s grace in our life. Have you ever been in a difficult situation which then gave you an opportunity to tell others about the Lord? This is what we should emphasize in our prayer time, because these are God moments.
We should be alert for open hearts. When God gives us an open door, it really helps to have an open heart to talk to. We read ACTS 8:26-38 You may remember that Phillip was one of the seven men selected by the church to take care of the widows. Phillip was a table server. He was a deacon. It was not a glorious job, but he handled it with grace and compassion. The result was God gave him an open door to tell one individual about the Lord. The consequence of that one faithful act was dramatic. This servant of the Ethiopian queen returned to his country, told of what had taken place and God opened up one of the great doors of all time. History records that a move of God began and reached the entire continent of
Some of you may remember the name of Barry McGuire. He was the lead singer of the group called the New Christie Minstrels. He later went solo and recorded a song during the height of the Vietnam War called “We’re on the Eve of Destruction”. Barry McGuire had everything anyone could ever want. He had everything except peace. One day, he was sitting in his mansion and decided that life was not worth living. He got his gun, filled the chamber, was getting ready to pull the trigger and the doorbell rang. Barry put down the gun, because you can’t shoot yourself if someone is standing at the door. He answered the door and saw that it was the paperboy collecting for his newspaper route. In those days you actually went to people’s homes and collected the money. Barry paid the bill was getting ready to shut the door when the young boy asked, “Mr. McGuire, do you know Jesus?” The question caught this famous singer off guard, so he invited the boy into the house. That night, Barry McGuire was transferred from the Kingdom of darkness into the Kingdom of His beloved son. That young man probably never even thought about knocking on that door and sharing Christ. However, an open door plus an open heart equaled the open arms of a Heavenly Father welcoming people into is family.
This is why we need to be alert. One of the reasons we don’t see open opportunities and open hearts is because we don’t look for them. We tend to see what we are looking for. If we look for God to be moving in the hearts of people, we will probably find open opportunities to talk to people.
Second, we need the perspective of being thankful. There is probably no characteristic that is more obnoxious than a lack of gratitude. We understand this when we give gifts to people and there is no thanks given. I’m sure God is grieved when His people are ungrateful for His many gracious gifts. We read LUKE 17:11-19 Can you see the hurt in the eyes of the Lord as He wonders about the ingratitude of these nine healed lepers? The modern equivalent of leprosy today is AIDS. Can you imagine the response of someone in the last stages of that dreaded disease if they had a doctor walk in, give the patient a pill and saw them instantly cured? Do you think all of his friends might carry the doctor out on their shoulders?
What do you think God wants to hear as He blesses us and answers our prayers? Do you think a “thank you” might be appropriate now and then? Here is the issue. The reason most believers are not all that grateful to God is because they see Him doing so little in their life. Why, because they are not alert. Do you see how this all flows together? Alert believers become grateful believers, because they see God doing incredible things in their lives. We read Acts 4:23-31 When was the last time you saw a trial as an answered prayer? We tend to curse the struggles. God brought this difficulty into our life so that they we might have an opportunity to be bold and watch God do great works.
Thanksgiving is so important in the heart of the believer. We read 1 THESSALONIANS 5:17; PSALM 100 1-6; PHILIPPIANS 4:4 Why should we keep alert with an attitude of thanksgiving? Because we know that God is working in the hearts of people and all we need to do to watch and the harvest will come. When our kids were younger, we camped several times at a campground on the
THIRD, WE SEE THE IMPORTANCE OF PRIORITIES IN PRAYER. There is only so much time and energy we have and this is why priorities are so important. Priorities help us to use our time, energy, finances and emotions on the things that are really important. Prayer is one of these issues in which priorities are so important. Not knowing what to pray for or how to pray, we tend to go with the least resistance and simply pray for self and personal desires. Paul gives us what our prayer priorities should be.
Our first priority should be people. If you find yourself praying more for stuff than for people, you need to take a step back and re-evaluate. Our highest priorities in our prayer life should be people. Paul asks this church to “PRAY FOR US…” It might be personal needs, family, individuals in the church, or friends and neighbors. I know of some believers who walk through neighborhoods and just pray God’s blessings on the homes in that area. One Hispanic congregation has divided up its congregation into certain groups and at least one person prayer walks through every neighborhood in our city and so every home in
Our second priority should be ministry. Another word for ministry would be the work of God. You might wonder what the work of God entails. There are many issues over which God’s people should be involved. Feeding the poor, providing for the sick and taking care of widows and orphans are all mandates of the Lord for His people. However, we need to ask the question, “why”? Why should we feed the needy and provide for the poor? The reason is so that we might have the opportunity to influence them to a deeper walk with their heavenly Father. This is why Jesus performed miracles. He performed a miracle to minister to people, attracted a crowd and the preached God’s word. We do this whether they respond in a positive manner or not, but this is the ultimate goal. We want them to see God as caring and compassionate. If we give them a nice meal and that is all, they may leave thinking we are wonderful. If we give them a nice meal and then tell them about the God who loves them, they leave thinking God is wonderful. Paul gives us two critical ministries over which we need to pray.
We need to pray for the scriptures to be preached. Paul asked these people to pray for an open door so that they “MAY SPEAK
The whole idea of preaching has fallen into a negative concept in our time. With the increase use of television and video games, the attention spans of people has been shortened and the idea of normal sermons has come under criticism. I had a man critique my messages and he told me never to preach more than 20 minutes. I discovered my life verse several years ago. We read ACTS 15:32 Can long sermons become boring sermons? Of course they can. Short sermons can become boring. The task of the pastor is to take God’s word to God’s people and show them how to apply it to their lives. There are a host of examples of this in the scriptures, but let me give you one. After our Lord was baptized, God led Him out into the wilderness and it was there that He was tempted by the devil. Three times the evil one tempted our Lord and three times our Lord used scripture to resist the devil. That alone should indicate what our message should entail. Shortly after this, John the Baptist was arrested. This grieved Jesus and He took some time to recoup His strength and moved back to His boyhood home,
Let’s see if that pattern was picked up by His followers. We read ACTS 2:14-16 The word for preach is not used, but it is obvious that this is what He was doing. Notice also his message. His opening statement is, “This is what the Bible says…” Notice the conclusion, ACTS 2:37, 38 It is not a coincidence that Peter used this style. It is consistent throughout the book of Acts. For the record, we read ACTS 3:12-19; 4:7-12; 7:1-3; 8:1,2,4; 9:19, 20; 13:5, 44-49 That last passage is very interesting. The Apostles preached the word and it was rejected. What do you do when that happens? Do you water down the word so they might better receive it? The answer is, “NO”! They looked for a group who would listen and then prayed for the group which had rejected the word. The call of God to His church is shared by Paul to his protégé as he faced his death. He wrote to Timothy, II TIMOTHY 4:2-4 “PREACH THE WORD…” That is the command by God to those who give leadership to the church. There are many ministries a church needs, but the primary one is to preach the word.
We also need to pray for the scriptures to be clarified. Preaching is simply the telling and the explaining of God’s word. It is not sufficient to just preach a sermon. There is terrible preaching. True preaching must clarify the truth. There is a great example of this in the book of Nehemiah. There we are told NEHEMIAH 8:1-8 It was the task of the preacher to read and then explain the scriptures. That is what I attempt to do each week. I read the Scripture and then I explain its meaning and relevance in your life. My task is to clarify God’s word. This is why I have you turn to other passages in the Bible. I want you to see how the Bible explains itself. There is a good example of this which we saw in an earlier passage. Remember in Acts 8, Phillip met a man from
Sometimes this is difficult because God’s word runs contrary to the cultural norms. The exclusiveness of Jesus Christ is one illustration. Moral issues might be another. When people leave any service, it is not essential that they agree with me, or even with us as a congregation. However, it is essential that they understand the issues clearly. If they leave a service upset because I preached one can only come to God through Christ; that is alright. God can work in their heart. However, it they leave a service thinking anything they believe is alright as long as they are sincere, they are in trouble. It would be like leaving a doctor’s office having been told you are well when in fact you have a serious disease. You might think the doctor was really nice, but if they didn’t clarify the truth, they have put you in great danger. If you understand the seriousness of your situation, you can deal with it, even if you don’t think the doctor was nice. We don’t try to offend, but we tell the truth. Paul wrote 1 TIM. 3:15 Then we pray that the Holy Spirit will take His word and bring conviction in His timing.
Prayer is the power cell for the church. When we live a holy life, pray in accordance with God’s will and walk in the power of the Holy Spirit, God is going to do great things in us and through us.
This message is from the teaching of Glen Jackson, pastor of the Faith Christian Church in
