DEVOTE YOURSELVES TO PRAYER

Colossians 4:2-6

Key Verse 4:2

“Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful.”

Today we would like to ask God for his special help in improving our service to him in three areas: prayer, the proclamation of his word, and witnessing. 

The word “improve” has different meanings. Merriam-Webster defines the word as “to enhance in value or quality, to make better, to increase the value of (something) by making it more useful for humans (as by cultivation)…” 

In order to make improvements in one area or another, we must first realize that we need improvement. Yesterday, a friend of mine bought dinner for me. I was not really hungry so I originally said “No, thank you” to his offer. But because he insisted, and in order not to make him upset, I relented and said, “Okay.” At that moment there were two restaurants right in front of us, McDonald’s and a sandwich shop. So I said, “Oh, here’s McDonald’s. Let us go there. I can just order some fries.” But being a medical doctor, he said, “A sandwich would be better for your health.” Again, I was reluctant to go there because I hate sandwiches. But because he was a medical doctor, I reluctantly agreed. You see, every sandwich that I’ve ever eaten has been pretty bad. Thus, I suspiciously looked at the menu. Finally, I selected a turkey and cheese sandwich. The African-American lady in the kitchen then put the sandwich in a special “sandwich cooker.” She said it would only take a few minutes to cook it. But in my opinion it took almost an eternity. Eventually, it came out. Then I ate it. And you know what? It was really delicious. I have never tasted such a delicious sandwich as that one. That one sandwich completely changed my entire perception of sandwiches! Now each time I visit Chicago, I’ll probably try to fly into Midway Airport in order to drop by that sandwich shop. What is my point? Thanks to Dr. David Cho, that single sandwich drastically improved my perception of sandwiches in general. 

The real point of today’s message is that we need to improve our service to the Lord in many different areas, and today we would like to think about our need for improvement in three specific areas: 

First, improvement in prayer (1-2) 

The Apostle Paul was one of the most fruitful Christians of all. He was so fruitful, and so beloved for his service to the Lord, that a lot of parents today have given their sons the name “Paul.” In our ministry as well we have children by the name Paul such as John Paul and Dr. Paul Lim. 

What then made Paul so fruitful? When you read the book of Acts, you cannot ignore the fact that approximately two-thirds of the book is dedicated to describing God’s work in and through Paul. His words and actions as a servant of Jesus Christ are powerful. What then was the secret? Why was it that the Lord God used Paul ever so powerfully? 

You might be tempted to respond, “Oh, Paul is smart. I am not as smart as he is.” However, not all people who are smart are fruitful. Then you might consider other reasons like his strong Jewish background, his discipline as a Pharisee, or even his ability to write. But when we read many of his epistles like Philippians 3:8, where he calls what is good to him “rubbish,” or 1 Corinthians 1:18-31, where he calls human wisdom or intellect “foolishness,” we find that these things in and of themselves did not cut him out to be fruitful. What then caused Paul to be fruitful? 

We can find the answer to this question in the Bible passage we just read – it was his “fluency” in prayer. It has been said that there are two means to communing with God, to receiving God’s grace that comes from God’s throne room in heaven and into the life of men here on earth: through prayer and through his word. However, first things first, that is, prayer first. If you are a Christian, or if you have attended a Christian church for even a year or two, you might already have heard several sermons on the importance of prayer. But not all people are as “fluent” in prayer as they should. Not all Christians have a prayer life as powerful as that of Paul’s. So there is a need for us to learn how to pray. 

Specifically, in today’s passage, Paul identifies three important aspects in which we need improvement in prayer. 

(1) Pray continually

Look at v. 2a again. “Devote yourselves to prayer…” 

The word “devote” means “to commit by a solemn act, to give over or direct (as time, money, or effort) to a cause, enterprise, or activity.” This dictionary definition already tells us about a lot of areas in which we need improvement. 

For example, we cannot come to prayer with a casual attitude. Rather, in coming to prayer, we must remember that we are coming into the presence of God, the King of all creation. Figuratively speaking, prayer to God is like making a phone call to the most important and powerful person in the world. I don’t have President George W. Bush’s cell phone number. Suppose, however, that I did, and suppose further that I called him up on his cell phone, and he came on the line. Certainly, I would not be casual. After all, he is the President of the United States of America, the only superpower nation in our generation. But compared with President George W. Bush who is merely a collection of flesh and bones, the Lord God is the Creator of the entire universe. As we come to the Lord God in the name of Jesus, we know that nothing is impossible with him. All things are possible with him. In order to accomplish a goal, God does not need to exert himself at all, let alone lifting a single finger. All he needs to do is just to will it, and it is done. Upon God’s “willing,” things are completely and totally accomplished. Indeed, prayer is a solemn act. And we cannot be casual in coming to the Lord God in prayer. 

The word “devote” also means “to give over or direct as time, money, or effort, to a cause, enterprise, or activity.” But what Paul asks us to devote to prayer is not just time, money, or effort. What does Paul ask us to devote to prayer? You! Devote yourselves to prayer! Let us stop for a moment and think about the meaning of the word “yourselves.” What does “yourself” mean? The answer is obvious. It means your entire person, not merely your time, money, or some of your efforts, but your entire self. And the word “self” refers not just to your physical body, but to the essence of your entire being. In coming to God in prayer, every part of you must be there: your body, mind, heart, soul and spirit, your “everything.” On many occasions, we are so busy-minded that it is not easy for us to fully immerse ourselves in prayer. This is particularly true when a lot of things are going on in and around you. But still, Paul says that we must devote ourselves to prayer. So we must seriously think about Paul’s exhortation and put it into practice.

Last weekend, we had a staff conference. More than two hundred people attended the conference. The conference involved a lot of activities like singing, getting in and out of rooms, a lot of handshaking, etc. and so forth. Plus, after all the official programs were over, Mother Barry put some of us into a small room, and then put us through several long meetings, which lasted until after 2 a.m. Naturally, I felt exhausted. This was particularly true yesterday morning. When I woke up around 6 a.m., I tried to pray. But I could not pray. My body, mind, and spirit felt so heavy, that I could not even get out of bed. Feeling ever so miserably, I then remembered the key verse. But it caused me to feel even more burdened. I said to myself, “Man, I haven’t even started writing the message. When is this conference going to end so I can start working on the message?” As I was lying in bed, three words came to mind: “devote,” “yourself,” and “prayer.” In desperation, I prayed; I prayed “crying out to God for help.” The prayer lasted about 15 minutes. Yet after I was done with prayer, I felt so relieved of all my burdens. I felt as energetic as a young boy again. Deeply satisfied, I got up from my bed. Then Rebekah asked me to go and eat breakfast. But I said, “No. I am not going to eat breakfast. I am going to fast this morning.” I was so satisfied that did not feel like eating breakfast. She was surprised, for she has never seen me skipping a meal. 

When you think about it, to fully devote yourself to prayer “every once in a while” might be possible, but to always continue to do so is not easy. Yet, one of the important meanings of the word “devote” is indeed “to continue.” In fact, the New King James Version translates this verse as, “Continue earnestly in prayer.” Say, “Continue.” Here “continue” means continue in terms of time. When Jesus was physically present in this world, he taught this to his disciples as well. In Luke 18, in the parable of the persistent widow, Jesus taught his disciples that they “should always pray” and “never give up.” Once upon a time, Winston Churchill likewise said, “Never, never, never, never, never, never, never give up!” But never give up on what? Never give up in coming to the Lord with all kinds of prayers and supplications, especially in praying for our Bible students, and in praying for the Lord’s kingdom to come for the people of this nation and world!

(2) Pray watchfully

The next area of improvement in our prayer life is one that is not often realized by believers. It is in fact one of the most poorly neglected areas. Thus, the danger is that, even as one chooses to devote oneself fully to prayer, one may end up falling victim to the devil’s schemes.

We have heard preachers preaching on the importance of prayer, saying, “The devil trembles at the sight of a saint on his knees.” True, but we also must remember that the devil is not as stupid as we are apt to think. In fact, the devil knows the importance of prayer even far better than many of us. So each time a Christian kneels down on his knees and engages himself in prayer, the devil also tries to work on him, to disrupt his prayer life. Still, you should wish to pray more diligently than ever. But then the devil works harder. 

The Apostle Paul knew this full well, so in order to guard ourselves against the devil’s schemes, Paul adds a simple word: “watchful.” Devote yourselves to prayer, being “watchful.” Be watchful, especially in prayer. And we need to be watchful from the first to the last. 

How then can we protect ourselves from the enemies’ evil schemes? What is the practical way for us to be “watchful” in prayer? Two things come to mind: we need to pray not only in spirit but also in mind (1Co 14:14-15); and we must pray based on God’s word (Luke 8:12). Some people get so emotional in prayer. After going through a frenzied prayer session, like a long night’s prayer meeting, they become so emotionally high, that they get easily tempted by the devil. Do not get me wrong – there is nothing wrong with getting emotionally high. God can use our emotions in powerful ways. But emotions are just emotions. Someone once quipped, “Emotion means e-motion,” as in “electronic motion,” so although electricity can be good, at the same time it can be very dangerous. Unless you contain, harness, and direct electricity in the right way, it can cause you considerable harm, from electric shocks to even electrocution. Similarly, it is possible that you can be spiritually zapped, not by the right person, namely the Holy Spirit, but by the devil. After all, this is how a lot of religious gurus end up creating new religions, even proclaiming themselves as messiahs who will save the world. 

(3) Pray thankfully

The third area of improvement is the spirit of thankfulness. Normally, in coming to prayer, we bring our needs to God. In other words, we come to prayer mostly with our needs. We are in want of this or in want of that, we are in need of this or in need of that, so in prayer we lay down before the Lord all of our prayer requests. Understandably, although not acceptable, is the possibility that we start out with a complaining spirit. But in coming to prayer, we must never lose our thankful heart. 

In order to keep the spirit of thanks constant, it is a good idea for us to think about a lot of thanks topics in addition to prayer topics. Of all the thanks topics, Jesus Christ is the greatest thanks topic. The other day I opened an email from Jasmine. In her email, she shared with me three gifts that she had received on Valentine’s Day. Guess what they are. (Certainly, they did not include a box of chocolates.) The first item was her fellowship with God the Father, the second was freedom from the power of sin and Satan, and the third was her fellowship with believing sisters in the Lord. When you think about it, no matter what your circumstances are, you as a believer in and child of the Lord can always give thanks to God for these three things. So, we can always be thankful to God in prayer. 

There is one more important reason that we need to be thankful in prayer. That is, God does not like a complaining person. God is pleased with those who are thankful to him. 

Actually, there is still one more reason we need to be thankful in prayer, and it is a theological reason. That is, thankfulness goes hand-in-hand with faith. Hebrews 11:6 says that “without faith it is impossible to please God, for everyone who comes to the Father must believe that he exists and rewards those who earnestly seek him.” James 1:17 likewise says that “every good and perfect gift is from God the Father.” When we remember these Bible passages, as we offer our prayer requests to God the Father, we can remain very thankful to God from first to finish. Jesus set a perfect example on this when he fed more than 5,000 people with only five loaves and two fish. At that time, they only had five loaves and two fish for dinner for that many people. Yet, Jesus was thankful to God for even the little they had. In bringing these things to God, Jesus held them up to God. He gave thanks to God. Then he broke the bread and gave it to many. And everyone was satisfied. Why did God bless the five loaves and two fish so abundantly? I don’t fully know. But I know one thing for sure. Jesus thanked God, and then he offered what he had to others. 

Second, improvement in proclaiming God’s word (3-4) 

Now, let us think about the need for improvement in teaching the word of God. Last weekend we had a staff conference with the theme, “A workman approved by God.” Let us open the Bible and read 2 Tim. 2:15. While 2 Tim. 2 relates to us a few principles regarding how we can become better qualified as excellent Bible teachers, here, in this brief verse, Paul shares three areas in which we can improve ourselves as Bible teachers. 

(1) “And pray…that God may open a door for our message…”

First let us read v. 3a. Here, we learn that before we get involved in serving God’s word either in one to one Bible studies or in public teaching, or even in private Bible reading (e.g., in doing the daily bread each morning), there is one important thing for us to remember: that is, we must first pray that God would “open the door.” Here the word “door” has many different meanings. But mainly it means the door of our heart. 

It has been said that the lock on the door of our hearts is on the inside, not the outside. Once upon a time, I visited North Korea. There they checked us into a nice hotel. Everything was very comfortable. But I noticed one strange feature. That is, the lock was not on the inside of the door to my room, but on the outside. Thus I learned that, in a communist society, it is not I who controls my own privacy.  Thus, “comrades” could always come into my room, even while I am sleeping. I was kind of embarrassed about this. But this is not so with the Lord God, in the way he has built each of our inner persons. No one can come into our hearts, into our deepest inner being, without ourselves first opening our hearts to him or her. Even God himself cannot pry open our heart, or the heart of your Bible student. 

The question then becomes, “Why should I pray that a door for my message be opened?” The answer is obvious. God knows what makes each person tick, what makes a person open his or her heart. Because he designed each person’s heart, he knows all the secret ways in which a person will voluntarily and readily open his heart. Plus, God is the ruler of the universe. And every little thing is under his sustenance. He can orchestrate all the details of our life here on earth, and then in heaven, so that, as we pray, God finds all the fabulous ways in which our Bible students can open their hearts.  

(2) “that we may proclaim the mystery of Christ…”

The next thing we need improvement on in teaching the Bible is to know the point, that is, the mystery of Christ. Two things are brought to light: “mystery” and “Christ.” So in serving others and teaching them the word, we must remember that the ultimate destiny should be leading our Bible students to knowing and accepting Christ as Lord. But to many, the greatness, and even the necessity, of Christ, is not obvious. So we need to ask God for help in sharing God’s word, so that we would be able to present Jesus Christ as attractively and as compellingly as he really is.

(3) “Pray that I may proclaim it clearly, as I should”

The third point is for clarity of the message, especially for clarity on Christ. The word “clearly” means “in a clear way.” Not all people clearly understand who Jesus is. But in many epistles, especially in Colossians, Paul elaborated on the supremacy of Christ. Because we have already covered this epistle in many past messages, we are not going to go through all of them again at this time. Instead, let us go back and study this epistle, thus calling to mind all the teachings Paul had on Christ in this epistle, and pray that we properly bring them to light in the hearts of our Bible students, with clarity.   

Third, improvement in witnessing (5-6)

Preaching is one thing, but witnessing is another. In a sense, preaching is to teach what the Bible says, but witnessing is more about revealing Christ through our life. Thus, preaching is done through our lips, but witnessing is done through our lives. And people, especially unbelievers, see more of our persons, who we are, rather what we say. In other words, the person behind the message is as important as the message he speaks. 

Having said all this, let us read vs. 5-6, “Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity. Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone.” Here, Paul says that we need to improve ourselves in witnessing in three areas: in action, in seizing the opportunity, and in conversations. In actions, we need to be wise in the way we act toward outsiders. This is obvious. If you often watch corrupt shows on TV and/or R-rated movies together with your unbelieving friends, what will your unbelieving friend think of you as a Christian? Of course, some areas are tricky like whether or not to confront a professor who is ridiculing Christianity, so we need God’s wisdom. In seizing the opportunity, we need God’s special help, such as when trying to lead an unbelieving classmate to Christ, so we should not miss out the opportunity before the school is over. Finally, in conversation we must be especially careful, because a lot of people are turned off by religious terms such as “faith” or “prayer.” So we need to learn how to communicate the Biblical truths about Jesus in a way that others who do not know him can understand. 

In conclusion we have identified three areas for improvement. Paul then shared with us how we can improve in these three areas. Not all of us are as fruitful as the Apostle Paul – yet. But if we work on the instructions Paul shared in this passage, we can be as fruitful as, if not more than, the Apostle Paul. One word: devote yourselves to prayer

PAGE  

PAGE  1