"Devote yourselves to prayer; stay alert in it with thanksgiving." Colossians 4:2
We've looked at what it means to practically "devote [our]selves to prayer." Now we'll take a look at what it means to "stay alert in it," and then to do it "with thanksgiving."
"Stay alert in it ..."
What I like about the phrase "stay alert" is that it implies activeness. We can't passively pray. We must always be alert in it, always thinking about it, always preparing for it, always doing it. The HCSB Online Study Bible suggests that "Stay alert or "staying awake" refers to the mental attitude of expectancy and watchfulness." We're always watchful in prayer.
"... with thanksgiving"
The next phrase is a little bit different. How do we pray "with thanksgiving"? Well, simply, we must pray with a thankful heart. That includes expressing thankfulness in our prayers. God has given us so, so many good gifts, and we often don't even take a minute to express our thanks to the Giver. When we pray, we must always thank the Lord for His work, His gifts, and even the trials and difficult things in our life. But thanksgiving is not the only thing we should express in our prayers. Adoration, confession and repentance, and requests are all a part of speaking to God, too. But, thankfulness is a huge part of prayer, a part that must not be neglected.
Prayer is a wonderful, fantastic, mind-blowing gift that we should never take for granted. This is precious, holy communion with our Creator. This isn't a chat with our BFF, or even a talk to our parents; this is the King of kings we're talking to. We should hold a great sense of reverence and awe. That doesn't mean we need to be scared of God, though. He is our Friend, but we must never lose the fact that He is also our Lord and Master.
So, what does Colossians say about prayer? We must be devoted to it. We must be watchful and alert in it. And we must be thankful in our prayers.
We've looked at what it means to practically "devote [our]selves to prayer." Now we'll take a look at what it means to "stay alert in it," and then to do it "with thanksgiving."
"Stay alert in it ..."
What I like about the phrase "stay alert" is that it implies activeness. We can't passively pray. We must always be alert in it, always thinking about it, always preparing for it, always doing it. The HCSB Online Study Bible suggests that "Stay alert or "staying awake" refers to the mental attitude of expectancy and watchfulness." We're always watchful in prayer.
"... with thanksgiving"
The next phrase is a little bit different. How do we pray "with thanksgiving"? Well, simply, we must pray with a thankful heart. That includes expressing thankfulness in our prayers. God has given us so, so many good gifts, and we often don't even take a minute to express our thanks to the Giver. When we pray, we must always thank the Lord for His work, His gifts, and even the trials and difficult things in our life. But thanksgiving is not the only thing we should express in our prayers. Adoration, confession and repentance, and requests are all a part of speaking to God, too. But, thankfulness is a huge part of prayer, a part that must not be neglected.
Prayer is a wonderful, fantastic, mind-blowing gift that we should never take for granted. This is precious, holy communion with our Creator. This isn't a chat with our BFF, or even a talk to our parents; this is the King of kings we're talking to. We should hold a great sense of reverence and awe. That doesn't mean we need to be scared of God, though. He is our Friend, but we must never lose the fact that He is also our Lord and Master.
So, what does Colossians say about prayer? We must be devoted to it. We must be watchful and alert in it. And we must be thankful in our prayers.