#2 Colossians 1:9-14 "Kingdom Come Praying"

9 For this reason also, since the day we heard this, we haven’t stopped praying for you. We are asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding, 10 so that you may walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to Him, bearing fruit in every good work and growing in the knowledge of God. 11 May you be strengthened with all power, according to His glorious might, for all endurance and patience, with joy 12 giving thanks to the Father, who has enabled you to share in the saints’ inheritance in the light. 13 He has rescued us from the domain of darkness and transferred us into the kingdom of the Son He loves. 14We have redemption, the forgiveness of sins, in Him.  HCSB

Read vs13-14 one more time. Let the power and the profundity of these truths soak over you. The Father of your Lord Jesus Christ has personally rescued you from the rule and reign of the dark world in this life and in the life to come. There are only two worlds – two kingdoms. Every person on the planet is either in one or the other. You were in the other. But by God’s amazing grace and through your faith in Jesus, you are a permanent member of the Son’s kingdom, fully forgiven of every sin, past, present and future. “Redemption” is a Greek word from the first century that was a legal term describing a slave who had been freed by a ransom payment. Was your ransom paid for by your acts of kindness or good looks? Of course not. You have redemption in Him.

The Kingdom has come to you. It is in you. You bring the Kingdom wherever you go. And you have been instructed by Jesus to ask the Father to make his kingdom come more and more in you and through you. That is the first request in Jesus’ prayer outline he gave to his followers in Luke 11. Jesus’ prayer outline has five points: 1st - Praise and thank the Father, 2nd - Ask for his kingdom to come, 3rd - Ask for the tangible things you need, 4th - Confess your sins and forgive everyone who owes you anything, and 5th - Acknowledge his presence and power to protect you. Notice that the very first request Jesus instructed his followers to ask his Father was to make the Kingdom come. That’s why God gave us prayers like Colossians 1:9-12. It is a "Kingdom Come Prayer". 

There are two things we are to ask the Father to do from this prayer. The first one is in v9: that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding. God wants you to continually ask him to fill your mind and heart so that you will know what he wants you to say and do – the knowledge of his will. Understanding God’s will means you have been given wisdom and insights by his Spirit into your spirit. The Spirit takes God’s truths, that come to you in reading the Bible, from sermons, songs, books, poems, experiences, etc. and he opens the eyes of your heart to be able to comprehend and apply those truths. Being filled with the full knowledge of God’s will is an on-going need because he has created all kinds of wonderful things for you to do that will produce lasting fruit (Ephesians 2:10).

The Spirit knows everything you will need to know today. He knows all of God’s truths, which include quantum physics, nuclear fission, the weather and every intention of each person you will interact with today and tonight. Because he knows everything about everything, what you need more than anything is the Spirit’s help. With his wisdom and insights, you will know how to navigate through your day so that what you think, say and do will please your Father in the heavens.

The three results of asking him to fill you with deeper understanding of his will are found in v10: 1st so that you may walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to Him, 2nd so that you will bear fruit in every good work, and 3rd so that you will grow in your knowledge of God. Read those three results again! Isn’t that the life you really want? Don’t you want to live so that your choices please God? Don’t you want to do things that will make a lasting impact for the Kingdom? Don’t you want to understand God better? Then ask, and keep on asking for him to fill you up to the brim with the full knowledge of his will in every situation and circumstance. This is exactly how I began writing this devotional, asking the Father to fill my mind with understanding of how I can explain this passage so that it honors him and inspires you.

When you aren’t sure what to say or how to react, pause and fire up this flare prayer. Ask your glorious and loving, heavenly Father to give you all the wisdom and spiritual insights you need to respond so that he is pleased and so that fruit abounds. As you keep asking and experiencing his help, you will grow closer to him, understanding him more completely as you grow in your knowledge of God.

The second request in this prayer is equally as practical to your daily schedule: 11May you be strengthened with all power, according to His glorious might. Whoa! How much power does he have available for you? How much strength do you need each day? If you are not in the habit of asking God to give you his power throughout your day, you are about to experience an entirely new life-dynamic. Once you begin regularly asking him to empower you with his strength, you will never stop. And you will learn how desperately dependent on him you actually are. And that, my friend, is the most important reality for you to grasp today. You need his power in you more than you will ever realize. Once you begin to experience the Fatherstrengthening you, you will grow closer to him and your life will have more purpose, joy and meaning.

Look what’s going to happen as you ask and keep on asking the Father to empower you with his unlimited strength: you will be given all endurance and patience, with joy 12giving thanks to the Father, who has enabled you to share in the saints’ inheritance in the light. His power in you will make you able to endure every difficult situation that the world can throw at you. His strength working in you will give you the patience you need for the most challenging person in your network of influence, even those terrible drivers you face each day. In the midst of tough times, his power can keep your joy secure because it will be based on the fact that you belong in his kingdom since he took the initiative. These results can be yours, each and every day, as you continue (menó) asking your Father to strengthen you with all power according to his glorious might.

Take Action:

- Begin using this prayer after each daily reading, taking time to talk to your Father about the ways you need his knowledge and power.

- Develop the habit of using "flare prayers" to ask God to give you understanding or strength in the heat of the battle.

- As you interact with non-believers, remind yourself that they are still captive to the dark world. Ask the Father to rescue them like he rescued you. Be available to tell them about the hope you have in Jesus.

For further reading about this prayer and the other Kingdom Come Prayers, pick up a copy of  my book, How to Ask God - for What He Wants to Give You.