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Sound & Season is a daily audio devotional designed to connect the routine moments of life to the rhythms of the Church seasons.
This is Sound and Season. It's Ash Wednesday, the first day of Lent. Our passage today comes from Paul's letter to the Colossian church, chapter one, verses 15 through 20. And let us listen carefully, for this is God's word. We have not ceased to pray for you, asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will and all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so 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 being strengthened with all prayer, according to his glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy, giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in light.
Jeffrey Heine:He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us into the kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. This is the word of the Lord. Thanks be to God. Letting a friend know that you're praying for them is often helpful and encouraging. It needn't be boastful, but it can be a blessing for the friend to know that you are taking their needs and experiences before the Lord and his loving care.
Jeffrey Heine:And I would venture to say that sharing specifics of your prayers encourages the friend to consider where the Lord may be at work answering your humble yet bold prayers for them. The Apostle Paul is doing just that at the start of his letter to the Colossian followers of Jesus. He is letting them know that since he heard of their faith in Christ, he has continually brought them before the Lord in prayer. And, Paul does not simply stop there. He goes further with specificity to share exactly what they have been praying for, for these new believers in Christ.
Jeffrey Heine:He says we have been asking God to fill you with the knowledge of his will, that you would have spiritual wisdom and understanding. And the purpose of this knowledge is not merely that they would grow in information, but that this understanding would manifest itself in their lives in a worthy manner of living to Jesus. Because when this wisdom leads to this living, there is fruit in every good endeavor of obedience to Jesus. Paul goes on to share that they are praying that God would strengthen them with his power, his glorious might of following Jesus, so they could endure with patience and joy the costs and consequences of following Jesus. This indicates that these Colossians are not Christians due to cultural expectations, nor through ease or in pursuit of comfort, neither are they Christians because they are strong of character or even wisdom.
Jeffrey Heine:That is why Paul must pray for God to supply these essential gifts of knowledge and strength, and not simply knowledge and strength about God, but knowledge and strength from God himself. The confidence that Paul has in these prayers for the Colossians is found in his words of thanksgiving, that the Father has qualified these unqualified believers to share in the inheritance of the saints in light. The Father has delivered them from the domain of darkness. And not only that, he has transferred them into the kingdom of the beloved Son. Because the Father has already demonstrated his love and the wealth of his mercy in qualifying the unqualified and liberating the condemned, these prayers for wisdom and strength can be confidently offered to him.
Jeffrey Heine:So this Lenten season, may we grow in our boldness and humility to also ask God for his wisdom and strength, both for ourselves and for our brothers and sisters, so that we too would walk in a manner worthy of our savior and king. Lord, hear our prayer, and let our cry come to you. Let us pray. Our God eternal, unto whom our hearts are open and by whom our souls are guarded by your peace, which passes all understanding. By your spirit, empower us to know your perfect will.
Jeffrey Heine:Free us from the worries that distract our hearts from both joy and worship so that we would find rest in your Spirit today, whom you have given us as a seal of your presence with us. Grant us your wisdom to know what delights you and the strength to do it and endure with thanksgiving. We do not know what this season of Lent may hold for us, but above all else, may we receive more of you, and may we each endure with patience and joy. O Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world, have mercy on us. Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be forever.
Jeffrey Heine:Amen.