Colossians 4:2-6 gives us great solutions on how to live as a Christian in a world completely given over to false values, where our senses are under a complete bombardment of every kind of evil and pursuit that directly opposes our faith and virtue.
Paul starts off with one word that tells every Christian throughout the ages what to do when they are faced with such corruption….PRAY! One version interprets verse 2 by saying “Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful.”
Jesus had similar words for His disciples on the night of His betrayal in Matthew 26:40 as He told them to “watch and pray” while He was in the garden called Gethsemane. You might recall that those men had a similar obedience problem as we do as they “fell asleep”. Is that not indicative of our struggle? We fail to rest in His presence when we should and fall asleep when we should be on guard! The outcome of this is seen in the garden that fateful night as we note:
•Peter denied the Lord
•John fled in the darkness
•And all the others abandoned Jesus
I have noticed how little I’m prepared for the dangers of daily living as it takes a very little thief to rob my joy, ransack my peace and restrict my love!
How better prepared I could have been if I would have just headed Paul’s words to “Devote myself to prayer, being watchful and thankful.” In light of my confession my greatest need is to “continue earnestly in prayer”. Why must I wait for the tsunami in life, the inevitable avalanche of catastrophes before I believe that the events have reached the level that warrants prayer?