A Walk Worthy

For this reason we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding; that you may walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing Him, being fruitful in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God; strengthened with all might, according to His glorious power, for all patience and longsuffering with joy; giving thanks to the Father who has qualified us to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in the light. (Colossians 1:9-12)

Paul’s prayer is that believers may be filled with the knowledge of God’s will, so that they may “walk worthy of the Lord.” By “walk,” Paul means how you live your life. Walking is a process, one step after another, “picking ’em up and putting ’em down.” There is a consistent pattern to a proper walk, or else we will stagger, limp along or stumble altogether. A walk worthy of the Lord is a life that is appropriate and fitting for our relationship and who we are in Jesus the Messiah. What does such a life look like? In this letter, Paul lists five characteristics.

• Fully pleasing to the Lord.
• Always bearing fruit in every good work.
• Always being increased in the knowledge of God.
• Always being strengthened with all might (Colossians 1:11)
• Always giving thanks to the Father (Colossians 1:11).

Notice that there is a fullness and a constancy to these things. It is a strong and steady walk Paul is talking about, but it is important to understand that we do not do this in our own strength or even in our own understanding. Remember that this is a prayer, something Paul is asking of God, and his primary request is that believers “be filled” with the knowledge of God’s will “in all wisdom and spiritual understanding.” “Be filled” is passive, not active. We cannot fill ourselves with the knowledge of God’s will, for who knows the mind of God except God? No, God is the one who must fill us; our part is simply to let Him, to look to Him and to yield to Him in everything. “In all wisdom and spiritual understanding,” Paul says. This is the wisdom of God and the understanding that is imparted to us by the Spirit of God into our spirits. As we yield to this fullness that comes from God, we will find all we need for the life God calls us to live.

*For more about the pastoral prayers found in the New Testament, see Praying With Fire: Change Your World with the Powerful Prayers of the Apostles.

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The Focus of Our Faith
Paul’s Letters to the Jesus Believers at Colosse
Bite-Size Studies Through Colossians
by Jeff Doles

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