9And so, from the day we heard, we have not ceased to pray for you, asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, 10so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him: bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God; 11being strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy. (Col. 1:9-11 ESV)
If the Colossians had not yet believed the Lord, we would understand Paul’s prayer for them. But not only did they already believe, they were also well-known for their faith, love, and hope in Christ. Yet Paul did not relieve them from his care, rather he prayed for them even more earnestly. Let’s pay close attention to Paul’s prayer for them, since we share the same faith with the Colossians, this prayer equally applies to us. This is a prayer only for Christians. This one area that all believers must grow is to be filled with the knowledge of God’s will. All believers have already known God and His will, therefore the key of Paul’s prayer here centers on the idea of being filled with complete knowledge of God. If the will of God is a vast ocean and we come to its shore with an empty bucket. Do not leave with a few scoops but fill your bucket to the brim. This is the privilege exclusively granted to the children of God, no one in this world could know the will of God, not even a single drop of it, because they have no spiritual wisdom and understanding.
When you are driving on the highway with other cars moving around you, you know neither those drivers nor their thoughts. You have no interest in knowing them anyway, because you want to focus on the road. If suddenly you see the car driving behind you turns on its flashing lights, immediately you know who is driving behind you and you know his thought too: this police officer wants you to pull off right now for a traffic stop. You better obey him to avoid bigger troubles. Likewise, the moment you see God, you would immediately know His will, and you want to obey His will right away. These three cognitive steps are actually one and the same. Our outside obedience reveals our true knowledge of God. This obedience from knowing God manifests at: walking in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to Him, bearing fruit in every good work. When you start to obey, you start to know God. As we are increasing in our obedience, we are increasing in the knowledge of God. Obeying police officer for traffic stops always brings us anxiety, and we pray that we would never meet police in that manner on the highway. Meanwhile, obeying God will bring us joy, therefore Paul prayed that we would always meet God in the highway of life and walk with the Lord daily.
If we are not careful, “Walking with the Lord” can become a cliché for Christians. As if for Christians, walking with the Lord does not require any effort. Yet in order to know more about God, not only we must press on without reserve, but we also need some divine help. This is exactly how Paul prayed: being strengthened with all power, according to His glorious might. This “walking” takes a combined effort of both God and man. There is an outward sign for someone to get this far, a milestone in his journey of knowing God, that is his endurance and patience in all things with joy. From a worldly view, this is a strange and even conflicting combination, because by nature enduring is no fun at all. But with spiritual wisdom and understanding, we can recognize the power of God. The Son of God with the same divine power has accomplished the work of redemption. As it is written, for the joy that was set before him, Jesus endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God. (Heb. 12:2) Therefore, all who are walking with the Lord are in for a spiritual distance running team, with Jesus as team captain and forerunner. It is an ultimate marathon for life with endurance and with joy. (Heb. 12:1)
For many people, distance running means suffering. Yet, many distance runners have a different experience. They enjoy a euphoric feeling during and after running. It turns out during strenuous cardiovascular exercises, human brain would release endorphins, which are hormones that block pain and bring on euphoric feelings. Occasional runners would not get these, only daily runners will maximize the potential benefits of endorphins. Likewise, our spiritual distance running also means suffering, because we must carry our cross to follow Jesus daily. Everyday when you sacrifice you time, your money, your physical strength, and your sweat for someone else, the one you care may not care, and may even return your love with insult. Will you stop loving that person? If you can carry on, that is endurance. If you can carry on with joy. That is beyond endurance, because you know God is walking alongside with you and He is pleased with what you are doing. Realizing that, you would be happy to run even harder in this race of love. This is what Paul is praying for all believers. He would love to see all of us set off on this spiritual distance running of knowing God. Therefore, let us put on our running gears and get outside, run with Jesus in rain or in shine, through the cycle of four seasons of our life.
Prayer: O Lord! May your love lead the way and your power push from behind, so that we can carry out this spiritual distance running and walk with the Lord daily!
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