“Attitude of Prayer” – Colossians 4:2-6

One of the greatest keys to living is to have the proper attitude. Experts tell us that a team with a winning attitude will almost always defeat a team with a losing attitude. When we have the positive attitude, we look for ways to win and expect we will find that way. When we have the defeatist attitude, we subconsciously look for ways that things will go wrong; we expect something to go against us.

Attitude extends to all parts of life. That’s one of the reasons the Bible focuses on having a positive attitude. Paul’s advice in Philippians 4:8 tells us to focus on the good things, the positive things. Jesus’ message in Matthew 6 is that we should never worry (negative anticipation), and should instead focus on the kingdom of God and His righteousness (positive thinking.) The Golden Rule and the Greatest Commandment are both admonitions to have a positive attitude.

When we dedicate ourselves to live a holy life, we must have the attitude that such a life can be attained by the power of the Holy Spirit that lives in us. And one of the ways we find that attitude is in our prayers.

Background

Though the apostle Paul had never been to Colossae, the influence of his ministry in Ephesus had allowed the Gospel to be preached throughout what is now modern-day Turkey. Epaphras, who was one of Paul’s disciples, had probably found Christ through Paul’s Ephesian ministry. Returning to his home of Colossae, Epaphras began to share the good news there, and a church was formed.

Paul writes this letter to address an error of theology that was threatening the Colossian church. There had arisen a false doctrine that maintained people, because we have a material body, are unworthy to relate to the Holy God. Instead, we had to rely on angels and other spiritual mediators, one of which was accepted to be Jesus.

Paul writes the letter to refute the belief, instead focusing on Christ as the “image of the invisible God” (cf. 1:15). Jesus is the “head of the body, the church” (cf. 1:18). Paul later writes that, “For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form, and you have been given fullness in Christ” (2:9-10). Paul calls upon us to set our hearts and our minds on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God (cf. 3:1-4).

Following instructions on how to live as spouses, parent-child and slave-master relationships, Paul comes to the passage we look at today. In this passage we find this truth:

Central Truth: The attitude of prayer prepares us for holy living.

The attitude of prayer is:

1. Watchful and thankful (2)

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

When a man and a woman come before God and witnesses to pledge their commitment to one another through marriage, they are making a covenant to devote themselves to each other. The idea of devotion is to pour our lives into that which we are devoted. Paul tells us that, as a husband and wife devote themselves to each other, so are we to devote ourselves to prayer.

What this means is that prayer must not be taken lightly. It is not a thing we can step in and out of depending on our moods or our time available. Instead, devoting ourselves to prayer means we should set a designated time to pray. We know from Mark 1:35, Jesus prayed early in the morning. We also know Jesus prayed at other times. His life of devotion to prayer means that Jesus was always attentive to the need for prayer and communication with the Father.

In our devotion to prayer, we should establish a time and place where we will pray. People like to say that they don’t have to be in church to worship God, that they can worship Him on the lake or on the golf course. That’s true, we can worship God in such places. Most of the time, though, we are not there to worship God. Instead, we are at the lake to ski or fish, on the golf course to play golf. We worship God in church because we know the church is a place designated for worship. Finding a place and a time to pray will remind us that this place and this time are specifically designated for spending time with the Father.

Devotion to prayer should also include a list to keep at hand. This list is intended as a guide and as a prompter to help keep us on track and focused. One of the things I find that helps me keep focused is to pray out loud. When I pray silently, I find my mind has a tendency to wander and chase rabbits.

Devotion to prayer means a designated place, a designated time, and a focused mind.

Paul further writes that our prayers must be watchful and thankful.

Being watchful means we are aware. A mother is watchful of her children. If a child makes a noise in the night, the mother picks up on the noise. I can’t ever remember a time when I got sick in the night that Dad was there to help me through it; it was always Mom. It wasn’t that Dad didn’t care, only that Mom was watchful for the needs of her children.

Watchfulness in prayer is that we are attentive to the moving of the Spirit prompting us to pray. This allows us to be prayerful even if we are not in our designated place or time. Jesus tells us in John 10 that His sheep know His voice (cf. John 10:4, 16), so we should be able to sense the prompting of the Spirit in leading us to listen to the voice of the Shepherd who leads us.

Thankfulness is the attitude we have of recognizing that all good things comes from the Father. Even in times of trouble and uncertainty, we can know that God is with us, leading us by His Spirit as the Son intercedes for us while at the right hand of the Father. The gratitude of our spirit before God grows out of our daily walk with Him. Walking with the Father enables our faith to grow and be strengthened. It is the fulfilment of Scripture that “God . . . works in you to will and to act according to His good purpose” (Philippians 4:13). Even when our world seems to be crashing in around us, we can gives thanks to God because God is greater than the circumstances that distract us. It is the thankful heart that enables Paul and Silas to sing songs of praise while suffering in the darkness of the Philippian prison. It is the thankful heart that allows us to overcome Satan’s best efforts to defeat us.

The person who is devoted to prayer with a watchful and thankful heart is the one who has an attitude that leads to positive outcomes.

2. Intercessory (3)

“And pray for us, too, that God may open a door for our message, so that we may proclaim the mystery of Christ, for which I am in chains.”

In this verse, Paul reminds us that we are to pray for others, and that the prayers should be as specific as possible. When we know that someone is undergoing medical treatment, our prayers should be for that specific need. I know in our Sunday worship prayer, we are primarily generic in our prayers, and there’s nothing wrong with that. God knows the concerns. But we should be specific when we can be, not to direct God in how to do things, but to remind ourselves of the person’s need and be open to how we can minister to them.

Prayer is intercessory because it provides us an attitude of service and compassion.

3. Surrendering (4)

“Pray that I may proclaim it clearly, as I should.”

If we are attentive, we can learn something about Paul’s attitude toward life in the way he asks for prayer for himself. To the Romans, Paul writes, “I urge you, brothers, by our Lord Jesus Christ and by the love of the Spirit, to join me in my struggle by praying to God for me. Pray that I may be rescued from the unbelievers in Judea and that my service in Jerusalem may be acceptable to the saints there” (Romans 15:30-31). To the Ephesians, Paul writes, “Pray also for me, that whenever I open my mouth, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare it fearlessly, as I should” (Ephesians 6:19-20).

In his prayer requests for himself, Paul is almost always in prison or confinement, but he only asks for release in order to come to Rome. Otherwise, he asks for strength to minister in the prison or captivity.

What Paul is demonstrating for us here is that prayer should include an attitude of surrender to the Father’s will. When Paul asks for prayer, he asks that God enable Him to minister effectively where God has placed Him. Paul has given himself over to Christ’s lordship and in that surrender the apostle is not concerned about his circumstances, only the effectiveness of his words, and that those words come to him by the Holy Spirit.

I’ll be honest. When I find circumstances crowding in on me or those I love, I will often find myself asking God to change the circumstances. It’s only natural that we would want to be free of things that are affecting us adversely.

A prayer that is watchful and thankful, though, will remind us that we are not slaves to our circumstances. Rather, we are slaves to Christ. He is our Lord and Master, and He sends us places where we can minister in His name. Granted, some of the adverse circumstances in which we find ourselves are of our own making. Even then, though, our prayer should be to seek forgiveness of whatever we did (or didn’t do) to put us in the precarious position we find ourselves, and we should ask God to show us how He can use us in even those bad surroundings.

Prayer that surrenders to the One who calls and leads us will give us an appropriate attitude.

4. Prepares us for holy living (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.”

When we pray, we gain an attitude that is more consistent with God’s will and calling. Just as our love for God is expressed in the way we love others (cf. 1 John 4:20-21), so is our commitment to Christ reflected in the way we live out the Golden Rule. Prayer brings us into alignment with God, in obedience to Christ, and responsive to the Holy Spirit as we live a holy life.

Because prayer makes us more in tune with the Holy Spirit, it gives us the wisdom that comes from God. It’s our task, as holy people, to use that wisdom in dealing with non-believers. There are times when God will want us to share our testimony; there will be other times He will bid us to remain quiet on the matter. Jesus’ words to not cast pearls before swine and Paul’s advice to Timothy not to get involved in quarrels and godless chatter means we need God’s wisdom in dealing with non-believers.

Regardless whether we are to share our testimony, though, we are always called to treat people the way we want to be treated. We look for opportunities to share and minister, we speak with respect and grace and we always present ourselves in such a way that God is glorified and honored.

To have “conversation seasoned with salt” is to have words that are not argumentative. We can argue without being argumentative. We can disagree without being disagreeable. We can state our position, but we must also be willing to listen to other, perhaps divergent, views.

Conclusion

To live a holy life, we must be in communication with God. Part of the effect of prayer in our lives is that it will change our attitude. As we learn to walk in faith, trusting Him to lead us in each step, we find our attitude conforms to His, and that we reflect His attitude in the way we treat others, particularly those who have no understanding of God and His ways. Perhaps, as we live holy lives, God will use us to bring His salvation to others.

He will as we prayerfully allow Him to transform us through holy living.