There are times in Holy Scripture that the term “thanksgiving” is found among some powerful spiritual activities. This becomes more important as we draw near to the end of the Gentile Age and the Church. Consider the wording of Colossians 4:2-4 (ASV):
Continue stedfastly in prayer, watching therein with thanksgiving; 3 withal praying for us also, that God may open unto us a door for the word, to speak the mystery of Christ, for which I am also in bonds; 4 that I may make it manifest, as I ought to speak.
I have selected the American Standard Version instead of the
usual New American Standard (NASB) because the ASV is more true to the Greek texts. Along with thanksgiving there are three elements and when we look at the whole section we can see spiritual power that can work inwardly and outwardly from Christ’s disciple as he {1} follows through in the following ways.I. Pray 2a
“Continue stedfastly in prayer, . . .”
While it is necessary and good to have focused times of prayer in any given day a true disciple of Christ must eventually realize that prayer is continuous. It is like breathing, and it could be very well said that prayer is our spiritual breathing.
Many, if not all Authorized Version based works like the King James will begin verse 2 with something like, “Be diligent in prayer,” and rightfully so. That is the intent of the ancient text. Satan would like us to grow weak in and even stop praying. Our soul can grow tired, especially when it needs a spiritual tune up. I found out when pastoring in the 1980s that heaviness in prayer is lightened by following Philippians 4:6 and our current text in putting thanksgiving in our prayers of supplication.
And prayer, which may described as communicating with God, is more than asking. It includes praise, thanksgiving, worship and more. And this is to happen continuously. If you know Christ as Lord and Savior aim for the goal of being conscious of continually communing with Him {2}. Do not let anything stop you from developing this as well as Holy Spirit directed focused times of prayer.
II. Perceive 2b
“. . . watching therein . . .”
James Strong {3} defines the Greek word for “watching” as . . .
2) metaph. give strict attention to, be cautious, active
2a) to take heed lest through remission and indolence some destructive calamity suddenly overtake one
Additionally it is see the verb is a participle, showing that watching is also to be continuous. 2a) of the above definition partly brings out what we should be watching for. One might very well ask “what does watch mean?” The Holy Scriptures indicate that every true Christian has a level of discernment {4}, something like a warning system. Our spirit senses what the Holy Spirit desires to inform us about.
The Holy Scriptures also show that while Christ’s disciple can definitely sense something amiss, they are also to sense other matters like direction of ministry, precisely what words to pray, intercession for others and much more. While praying in the Spirit (Ephesians 6:18) may mean praying in tongues (Romans 8:26), it also includes direction by the Holy Spirit of what to pray about, how to pray about things, and more.
Watching is the listening to God that we are to be doing while we communicate with Him. For example, while I am preaching part of me is also asking God to help me to make things clear and so on. However, I am also listening to hear what God says to me. Occasionally on some of my online recordings {5} you might hear me about to say something then I hear His Spirit telling me not to say it. Or, the Holy Spirit might prompt me to say something at a certain point. I am not bragging. I consider this to be the spiritual normal for every Christian.
III. Praise 2c
“. . . with thanksgiving . . .”
When we think of it, thanksgiving to God is a form of praising Him. First and foremost from the unending things we can thank Him for is the salvation from His wrath, from sin, from self, that He wrought through the life, death, resurrection and ascension of Christ. With His salvation comes a godly wholesome wellness for our entire being. I often must think of the tremendous peace, and the tremendous release of guilt, when He made me born again.
A true Christian ought to thank Him for His provision in a multitude of other areas, regardless of what their condition is. Even in the most dire circumstances by His grace we can thank Him for many things. Now, that is easy for me to say since currently I am under no duress. That might be true for many reading this article. Often when I thank Him for temporal blessings the Holy Spirit reminds me I have brothers and sisters throughout the world that are in very difficult situations. This brings us back to
the point of “watching.” While we thank God for the blessings we have we need to be ready to hear from the Holy Spirit in regard to interceding for those truly in need.But far better than the temporal is the eternal, and above all God Himself. We are to thank Him for His presence through Jesus Christ {2}. Considering our text began with “Continue" thanksgiving to God is to be continuous. Certainly it is easy to give thanksgiving to God when things seem to be going well. But by His grace we are to give Him thanks at all times, even during the most trying, the most sad times (Ephesians 5:20).
IV. Persevere 3-4
“withal praying for us also, that God may open unto us a door for the word, to speak the mystery of Christ, for which I am also in bonds; 4 that I may make it manifest, as I ought to speak.”
The whole counsel of Holy Scriptures shows that a main objective of prayer, whether we realize it or not, is to set our heart in tune with the heart of God. With that in mind consider well that God is not willing anyone should perish, but that each person would come to repentance (2 Peter 3:9). He is indeed merciful (another thing to constantly thank Him for). The salvation of Israel is included, and the Holy Scriptures indicate the Great Tribulation is coming at the end of which the remnant of Israel will be saved (see Zechariah 12 to 14).
So our dynamo of thanks includes that God is merciful. This is why the apostle Paul, who was a prisoner for preaching the Gospel, asked the Colossian church to pray that he would receive an opening to proclaim the salvation of Christ, which, is indeed a mystery to the unsaved until we come into the direct knowledge of God through Jesus Christ.
Notice how closely verse 4 matches what was noted from the phrase “watching therein” in verse 2. Spirit directed prayer in Christ will lead to Spirit directed ministry for Christ. Thanking God that He is merciful, that He is not willing any should perish, enables us to have joy and not fear in proclaiming the Gospel.
And let us not think that propagating the Gospel should be left up to those “in the ministry.” The Word of God says (Revelation 1:5-6) anyone who has been born again is a king and priest to God. If we are truly redeemed then we as priests need to continue to reach out to the lost with the good news that Christ can save a person from hell and the ravages of sin. He can take anyone and bring them into real life now, and true, vibrant life for all of eternity.
Notes:
{1} Used in the proper traditional sensible sense, denoting all people, male and female. I could not care less about being politically correct.
{2} Please read Get Into The Presence Of God at http://holybibletreasures.expertscolumn.com/article/get-into-the-presence-of-god .
{3} From an electronic version of Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance by James Strong incorporated in the Online Bible program, and so throughout the article whenever the ancient language is referred to and no other authority is cited.
{4} For more insight into this very important topic please read Every Christian Ought To Have A Mighty Big Nose at http://holybibletreasures.expertscolumn.com/article/every-christian-ought-to-have-a-mighty-big-nose .
{5} Most of my online recordings are located at http://www.sapphirestreams.com/life/audioM.html .
This article was written in the form of a sermon (message) outline with comments. God willing by December 21, 2017 (hopefully much sooner), you should be able to hear the actual message (sermon) by selecting a link at http://www.sapphirestreams.com/life/audioM.html#M478 .
Unless otherwise noted all Holy Scripture is from the American Standard Version.
Not responsible for any advertisements appearing with this article nor am I necessarily in agreement with any of them. The statements of this paragraph hold true not only for this article, but for everything I have placed on the Internet.
