This is the twenty-second in a verse by verse exposition of the book of Colossians. This message was delivered at Hillcrest Baptist Church on the evening of October 25, 2015. This message deals with prayer. This post contains an audio recording of the sermon, as well as my sermon notes (sermon notes are not necessarily a complete transcript).
SERMON AUDIO:
SERMON NOTES:
v.2:
Have you ever grown tired of praying for something or someone? We are told to continue earnestly in prayer and be vigilant. Our persistence is an expression of our faith. Faith shouldn’t waver if the answers come slowly. We need to remember that God is working His will in our life.
When you feel tired of praying, know that God is present, always listening, always answering—maybe not when and how you want, but in ways that He knows are best.
When should we pray? Daniel prayed three times a day, but we can rest assured that his prayers weren’t limited to those three times each day.
We are to continue earnestly in prayer. Therefore, there is no set time to pray, it is always appropriate.
- 1 Thessalonians 5:17
We should pray as Paul exhorted Timothy
- 1 Timothy 2:1
We should pray as did Paul prayed.
- Philippians 1:4
We should pray as Stephen did, as he was being stoned to death.
- Acts 7:59
We can pray like David
- Psalm 5:3
Or like Paul and Silas In a Philippian prison at midnight.
- Acts 16:25
Just as there is no set time to pray, there is no one correct posture for prayer.
- Bowed: Genesis 24:26
- Standing: Luke 18:13
- Sitting: 2 Samuel 7:18
- Lifted hands: 1 Timothy 2:8
- Face between the knees: 1 Kings 18:42
- Looking upward: John 17:1
- Prostrate (face down): Matthew 26:39
There is no circumstance in which one should not pray. We should pray in times of sorrow and also in times of joy, as did Hannah.
- 1 Samuel 1:15; 2:1
vv.3–4:
The “mysterious plan” is Christ’s Good News of salvation. The whole focus of Paul’s life was to tell others about Christ, explaining and preaching this wonderful mystery. We should pray and seek prayer for opportunities to share the Gospel, it is our foremost obligation. Paul asked for prayer that he could proclaim the Good News about Christ clearly, and we can request prayer to do the same.
No matter what approach to evangelism we use, we should never obscure the message of the Good News of Jesus Christ. It is a most marvelous privilege that we have through Christ, that we are able to speak to the infinite God in prayer, and to know that He hears, and cares! Therefore, pray!
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Posted on October 25, 2015
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