Prayer is more than a routine—it’s the lifeline that keeps us connected to God’s power and purpose. Join us in Colossians 4:2–4 and answer the call to be devoted, watchful, and thankful in prayer.
The last time I spoke at chapel for Dallas Theological Seminary, my wife suggested I purchase a new suit. So, we headed out to Macy’s. I like their suits because they sell sport cuts which give me room for my broad shoulders, while not including pants that are too large and baggy. After a few minutes of looking, I found the black suit that fit well and looked good.
I thought we were finished at that point, but I quickly found out from Liz that the new suit called for, you guessed it, a new shirt, and, of course, a new tie. With all of those items in hand after more shopping, my new outfit couldn’t have been more complete. Later, I traveled to DTS with all of the new apparel. I left all the old suits in the closet.
Let this be a metaphor, a word picture of the Christian life. What is that life? It is a purposeful wearing of virtuous clothing as opposed to vile clothing from your former life as a non-Christian. We didn’t invent this metaphor. No way. Paul gave it to us over two thousand years ago when he wrote Colossians chapters 3 and 4. In these chapters, Paul, by way of divinely inspired commands, tells believers in Jesus as their Savior, to daily work at removing unholy clothes only to replace them with holy garments that reflect the character of Christ. All of these commands merely support the overarching motif of these pragmatic chapters:
Your Christian Life Should Always Be Moving From The Old Life To the New Life (Col. 3:5-4:6)
Starting with verse 12, Paul turned from identifying the garments that need to go to mentioning those believers need to wear constantly. Based on this change, I’ve rightly labeled this motivational section . . .
The Identification of the Right Clothing (Col. 3:12-4:6)
With chapter four, verses two through six, Paul concludes his discussion about the godly garments that should make up your wardrobe as a saint. To the seventeen he has addressed thus far, he adds one more.
Garment #18: Perpetual Prayer (Col. 4:2-4)
Let’s begin by reading the verse in question:
2 Devote yourselves to prayer, keeping alert in it with an attitude of thanksgiving;
Colossians 4:2 Τῇ προσευχῇ προσκαρτερεῖτε, γρηγοροῦντες ἐν αὐτῇ ἐν εὐχαριστίᾳ,
Now, let’s make some observations, and then we’ll reevaluate and ask some timely questions.
The main verb in the first clause, proskartereite (προσκαρτερεῖτε), is a present tense active imperative. The active nature of the verb means the subject, you, is supposed to be doing the action. If it were a passive verb, it would mean that the subject, you, would be affected by an outside force. The stress, therefore, is upon personal action in relation to the meaning of the verbal command. What action is commanded? Devotion to prayer. That is what the Greek word means. Literally, it is used in the NT of the devotion or dedication of a soldier (Acts 10:7). What is a soldier but someone an officer can count on when he needs him. Think, in this respect, of the relationship between, say, a Colonel and his Executive Officer (XO). The XO’s job is always to be reading to fulfill the desire of his commanding officer. This is, therefore, how we should view prayer to the Lord. It is a discipline we are completely sold out and devoted to, meaning we practice it more often than not. Do you? Will you?
In addition, the command underscores the fact that prayer in the life of a believer is not optional. It is mandatory. Really, prayer doesn’t need a command because it should come naturally to a person whose life is impacted by the grace, forgiveness, and presence of the God-man, Jesus the Christ. Knowing us, however, moves Paul to make prayer a command.
The article (Τῇ ) before the word prayer, proseuche (προσευχῇ), can be classified as the par excellence use of the article. This use shows that prayer stands out in a class by itself, and rightly so, because how else are we to think of the opportunity and privilege of speaking to the Lord, who created all things, whenever we want? So, just like you will call the final game of the World Cup on July 19 at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey THE game, you can rightly call prayer to God Almighty, THE prayer, or THE method of speaking directly with him. That is some opportunity and privilege.
With these grammatical observations in order, we are now positioned to pose some pertinent questions.
Question #1: Why should you devote yourself to prayer? Here are a few answers:
- Prayer is the tool we use to combat the forces of darkness. Speaking about the trouble the disciples encountered with a particular demon-possessed boy, Jesus stated, “But this kind does not go out except by prayer and fasting” (Matt. 17). “This kind” denotes a certain high-level demonic being.
- Jesus prayed all night when choosing spiritual leadership (Luke 6:12). In his humanness, He appealed to the Father for wisdom and insight, and to know the Father’s perfect will. The Father gave it to him the next morning. What do you do when you are facing a big decision, especially one that is spiritual in nature? Stress out? Complain? Consult friends? Talk to your counselor? Talk to your team? Talk to your husband or wife? You should approach the throne of the living Lord.
- God commands us to pray. It is our communication with him. It shows that we are dependent on Him rather than on ourselves. Failing to pray, therefore, is a sin because it is a direct rebellion against a divine command. As Samuel once quipped: 1 Sam. 12: “23Moreover, as for me, far be it from me that I should sin against the LORD by ceasing to pray for you; but I will instruct you in the good and right way.”
- Prayer leads to inner peace from God. Paul says this much in Philippians 4, verses 6 through 7: “6 Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. 7 And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, shall guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” Note the cause/effect nature of prayer. It leads to inner divine peace, no matter what you are facing. Why? In prayer, you seek the help of your heavenly Father, who is omniscient, omnibenevolent, and omnipotent. When you know He is with you and that He goes before you, how could you not know a peace that passes understanding? When I came home after seeing my sister, Marla, for the last time as she battled three forms of ovarian cancer, I felt crushed by darkness as I lay in bed that evening. I called out to the Lord to help me, and He did. Instantly, the feelings of hopelessness, despair, and inner darkness fled. In their place, I had a resilient hope and peace that never left.
- Our prayers are like a sweet aroma that ascends before the lofty and holy throne of God Almighty (Rev. 8:13).
- Prayer is THE way to strengthen a dysfunctional marriage. (1 Cor. 7:5). Speaking to Christian husbands and wives who are experiencing dysfunction in their marriages and who decide to separate for a while, Paul gives this advice: “Stop depriving one another, except by agreement for a time that you may devote yourselves to prayer, and come together again lest Satan tempt you because of your lack of self-control” (1 Cor. 7). Are you separated right now? If so, then make prayer your focus to bring health and life back into your relationship. What should you be praying about? How can I improve my communication skills? What have I done to them that I need to seek forgiveness for? What blind spots am I not seeing? Give me wisdom on how to love them better? How am I disrespecting them? What does a priestly husband look like? Help me to be that man.
- Fervent prayer produces divine results. James reminds us of this timeless truth: “17 Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed earnestly that it might not rain; and it did not rain on the earth for three years and six months. 18 And he prayed again, and the sky poured rain, and the earth produced its fruit” (James 5). As a child, I struggled with having warts on my body. While visiting my grandmother, Lilly, in South Carolina, one of her ten daughters told me to talk with her about these warts. “Why should I talk with her?” I responded. One of my aunts said, “Because she will pray for you.” So, I proceeded to stand before my grandmother as she rocked in her favorite chair on her front porch. When I told her I needed to talk with her about warts on my body, she said, “Let me know where each is located so I can touch them.” After she did that, she said, “Okay, let me pray.” She prayed aloud for God to remove these troublesome warts. When she finished, she replied, “Alright, in three days they will be gone.” Guess what happened in three days? I didn’t have those warts anymore. They never came back. I learned at a young age that sometimes God answers prayer in a powerful, profound fashion.
- Pray because God hears and answers prayer according to His wise, perfect, and beneficial will (Jer. 33:3). Jesus promised us this much when He stated: “9 Or what man is there among you, when his son shall ask him for a loaf, will give him a stone? 10 Or if he shall ask for a fish, he will not give him a snake, will he? 11 If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more shall your Father who is in heaven give what is good to those who ask Him!” (Matt. 7). Christ’s statement here is powerful because it is a fortiori in nature, arguing from the lesser to the greater. Since earthly fathers give good things when their child asks for them, how could the heavenly Father act differently?
This list of reasons is far from exhaustive. Hopefully, they will move you to spend more time in your prayer closet with the Lord who redeemed you.
Question #2: What inhibits prayer? Many things keep prayer from being powerful:
- Disobedience. Jeremiah 11: “9 Then the LORD said to me, ‘A conspiracy has been found among the men of Judah and among the inhabitants of Jerusalem. 10 They have turned back to the iniquities of their ancestors who refused to hear My words, and they have gone after other gods to serve them; the house of Israel and the house of Judah have broken My covenant which I made with their fathers. 11 Therefore thus says the LORD, Behold I am bringing disaster on them which they will not be able to escape; though they will cry to Me, yet I will not listen to them.’”
- Doubt. James 1: “5 But if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all men generously and without reproach, and it will be given to him. 6 But let him ask in faith without any doubting, for the one who doubts is like the surf of the sea driven and tossed by the wind. 7 For let not that man expect that he will receive anything from the Lord.”
- Hypocrisy. Mark 12, “38 And in His teaching He was saying: ‘Beware of the scribes who like to walk around in long robes, and like respectful greetings in the market places, 39 and chief seats in the synagogues, and places of honor at banquets, 40 who devour widows’ houses, and for appearance’s sake offer long prayers; these will receive greater condemnation.” Pharisees absolutely loved to pray long, drawn-out prayers in public to be seen and heard by men. God, on the other hand, wasn’t listening to them droning on and on.
- Meaningless repetition. Matt. 6, “6 “But you, when you pray, go into your inner room, and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in secret, and your Father who sees in secret will repay you. 7 And when you are praying, do not use meaningless repetition, as the Gentiles do, for they suppose that they will be heard for their many words.” God doesn’t want to hear memorized, repetitive, canned prayers. No. He wants you to pray from your heart.
- Unconfessed sin. Isaiah 59, “1 Behold, the LORD’s hand is not so short That it cannot save; Neither is His ear so dull That it cannot hear. 2 But your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God, and your sins have hidden His face from you, so that He does not hear.
- An unforgiving spirit. Mark 11, “25 And whenever you stand praying, forgive, if you have anything against anyone; so that your Father also who is in heaven may forgive you your transgressions.” Have you been wondering lately why your prayer life lacks power? Could it be that you need to forgive someone who has wronged you, but you’ve been harboring your anger for what they did or said? Confessing an unforgiving spirit will release the flow of the power of prayer in your life.
Again, these points are by no means exhaustive. And again, may they move you to take action to remove anything in your life that might be keeping the Lord from answering your prayers profoundly.
In the last clause of this verse, Paul challenges believers to pray with a watchful eye. Why? The verb here is a present active participle, γρηγοροῦντες, denoting continual action on your part. The word speaks of keeping on watch, like a soldier who stands his post. Here are its three lexical meanings according to Ardnt:
γρηγορέω (on this new formation in H. Gk. fr. ἐγρήγορα, the pf. of ἐγείρω [Herm. Wr.; Achilles Tat. 4, 17, 3; Cyril of Scyth. 80, 19; Phryn. 118 Lob.], found also PSI 1413, 9; LXX; PsSol 3:2; JosAs 10:2; Jos., Ant. 11, 47; TestBenj 10:1 [Thackeray 263; Helbing 82; 84] s. B-D-F §73; Nägeli 44; Mlt-H. 386; PKatz, Philo’s Bible 160) fut. γρηγορήσω Jer 38:28; 1 aor. ἐγρηγόρησα.
① to stay awake, be watchful (Herm. Wr. 11, 21b; 1 Macc 12:27; 2 Esdr 17:3) Mt 24:43; 26:38, 40; Mk 13:34; 14:34, 37; Lk 12:37, 39 v.l.
② to be in constant readiness, be on the alert (fig. ext. of 1; cp. Bar 2:9 al.; cp. our ‘keep one’s eyes open’) Mt 24:42; 25:13; 26:41; Mk 13:35, 37; 14:38; Ac 20:31; 1 Cor 16:13; 1 Th 5:6; 1 Pt 5:8; Rv 3:2f; 16:15; IPol 1:3. ὑπὲρ τῆς ζωῆς be vigilant for your life D 16:1. Of alertness in prayer γρηγοροῦντες ἐν αὐτῇ (=προσευχῇ) be wide awake about it Col 4:2.
③ to remain fully alive, be alive (opp. to be dead, fig. ext. of 1) γ. and καθεύδω, be alive and be dead 1 Th 5:10 (this opposition develops in association w. the popular consolatory motif of death as a sleep[1]
Think of a soldier on guard duty while in enemy territory, and you have the proper meaning of this ancient word nailed down.
Why should you be alert in prayer? Here is an answer: If the Lord doesn’t answer your prayer right away, the Devil can insert his hoof into your life and wreak havoc with questions that are trained on you like destructive laser-guided spiritual missiles: If God really loved you, wouldn’t he answer you forthrightly? If the Lord answered in a way you did not ask for nor anticipate, the Devil, again, could cause you inner turmoil by saying, “What kind of God gives you what you don’t ask for? How could what He gave you be better than what you asked for?” Being alert can also indicate readiness to spot things in life that need prayer. When a co-worker tells you their marriage is falling apart, take this as a cue to pray. When your car breaks down on the 495, pray before you dial AAA. When your daughter is having a tough time with some peers at school, don’t waste any time heading to God’s throne.
Why should you stay alert like a spiritual soldier with an attitude of thanksgiving? Here is an answer. Be thankful that the Lord of glory has chosen you to communicate with Him about what you encounter in life, whether good or bad, wanted or unwanted. Put differently, there is nothing better than a radio operator in the military who is thankful he has this particular job. His communication with headquarters will make an appreciable change on the battlefield. What could be more important? A thankful radio operator will do a great job and achieve great results. A radio operator with a bad attitude is going to be a problem. So, be thankful you’ve been chosen by the God-man, Jesus, to stand on the wall of life to talk with Him about what you see. Are you thankful or unthankful for your new calling in Christ?
How should you pray? Paul tells us in the next two verses:
3 praying at the same time for us as well, that God may open up to us a door for the word, so that we may speak forth the mystery of Christ, for which I have also been imprisoned; 4 in order that I may make it clear in the way I ought to speak.
Paul’s point here can’t be missed: Pray with specificity. Paul did. He asked for specific things from other believers. As a prisoner in Rome, Paul asked saints to pray that God would open a door for the spread of the word, or the gospel, to the world. Interesting. When most would ask for prayer for God to deliver them from the grasp of the Roman Empire, to get them out of these chains so they could really get to work for God, Paul prayed for an open door, not for the prison, but for the Word, the gospel of Jesus. How interesting. How selfless.
For Paul, that open door in prison could have been to the Roman guard chained to him. It could have been for slaves who cooked his food while he was under house arrest. It could have been to non-believing people who came to pose theological questions to him. And, of course, it could have been for God to free him, as He did in Philippi (Acts 16), so he could continue preaching and teaching the good news of Christ’s salvation for sinners.
What should your prayer be? Contextually, it should be for God to open a gospel door for you with your non-believing wife or husband, with your brother who is an agnostic, with your caustic and prideful science professor, with your, well, you fill in the blank. And beyond this, might you always remember from Paul’s teaching here about the importance of praying with specificity, not in generalities. Why? When you pray with specifics, and God moves, you will most certainly know it.
Paul didn’t just pray for an open door for the gospel; he (please, place stress on that pronoun, HE of all people), the master communicator, prayed for clarity in communicating the mystery of Christ. What is the mystery of Christ? That God would become a man and bear our sin, not His sin, on the cross, to pay the penalty for that sin before the Father. That He would love us, who didn’t love Him. That He would leave the glory and grandeur of heaven for the dust, dirt, and heat of this world. That He wouldn’t call legions of angelic beings to deliver Himself from the cruelty of the cross, even though He could have. That He would choose twelve men with personality issues to be the purveyors of His good news story for sinners. That Jesus was the eternal God, not a god created for the moment, as we find in some Greek gods.
It is so important to be clear when you communicate the gospel because non-Christians sometimes struggle to grasp its simplicity and grace. Think of the Greek culture. It was superstitious. As Durant observes: “What oppressed the pious Greek was the cloud of spirits that surrounded him, ready and able, he believed, to spy upon him, interfere with him, and do him evil. These demons were always seeking to enter into him; he had to be his guard against them at all times, and to perform magical ceremonies to disperse them.”[2] The Greek world was crowded with a plethora of supernatural powers or gods. According to Durant, “To discover [the will of these gods] the curious Greeks consulted soothsayers and oracles, who divined the future by reading the stars, interpreting dreams, examining the entrails of animals, or observing the flight of birds.”[3] Spiritual salvation was reduced to the perpetual, meticulous observance of numerous religious rituals designed to please the gods. And while we are speaking of gods, we must ask, “How many were there?” Ancient sources say there could have been upwards of 3,000 gods in the Greek pantheon. These gods were divided into seven groups: sky gods, earth gods, fertility gods, animal gods, subterranean gods, ancestor or hero gods, and Olympians. Durant concludes that there were so many gods that, according to one unknown ancient poet, the sky was so crowded with gods (good and evil) that there was “not one empty chink into which you could push the spike of a blade of corn.”[4] Of these, there were the twelve primary Olympian gods who supposedly resided on lofty Mount Olympus: Zeus, Hera, Poseidon, Demeter, Athena, Apollo, Artemis, Ares, Aphrodite, Hephaestus, Hermes, and either Hestia or Dionysus.
Enter Paul. He taught that there was only one true God, who was composed of one divine essence existing in three unified persons. He taught that all of the other gods of the nations were not divine at all, nor did they even exist. He taught that man was a sinner before the one true God and was incapable of saving himself from God’s divine wrath against sin (Rom. 3:23; 6:23). He taught that God’s only son, Jesus, left the glory of His heavenly throne to become a sinless God-man who went to the cross to bear and die for our sin, not His (Phil. 2:5-11). He taught that Jesus defeated sin and death by rising from the grave on the third day, and now anyone who comes to Him in repentant faith is forgiven of all their sin and given the eternal holiness of Christ (1 Cor. 15:1-11; Cor. 1:30).
To a person steeped in polytheism and in the belief that their religious works would procure and possibly secure the favor of the gods, Paul’s teaching needed great clarity to cut through the falsity that the Greeks, in this case, had historically believed. No wonder, therefore, he asked for this from the believers in Colossae. With his great mind, it would have been easy for him to be heady and hard to understand. But with his great heart, he wanted the life-giving gospel to be understood, and the best way he knew how to achieve this worthy goal was to ask saints to pray for him in this regard. What a humble and strategic prayer. Would you pray it over me? Would you pray it over yourself?
Our world is not full of the false belief of a plethora of gods as existed in the Greek Empire; however, we have our share of false religions that wrongly wed belief in a divine being or beings with the thought that your repetitive religious actions will hopefully give you a place in heaven, Nirvana, or whatever the system teaches awaits adherents.
Whether you are speaking with a Muslim friend who believes that their good works might cause Allah to accept them on judgment day (Sura 23:10-103, “In the day of judgment, they whose balances shall be heavy with good works, shall be happy; but they, whose balances shall be light, are those who shall lose their souls, and shall remain in hell forever”), or a new college graduate who is a Marxist who believes that man’s fall, or the cause of his suffering and oppression is the rise of private property and that the solution, or salvation, to this is by means of revolution, whereby the oppressed overthrow the oppressors and create the original paradise, you will need great clarity in presenting the simple, but true, gospel of Jesus Christ.
So, while you are thinking about ramping up your devotion to prayer, why not pray that God would give you the ability to present the gospel so clearly to people in your life that they get it and choose to turn to Christ in faith. This prayer must have been answered in Paul’s life because look at what he did with the gospel. Now it is your turn to pray for the power of the gospel to be unleashed in your life with precise prayer, prayer that prays for clarity.
And while you are thinking about all of this, get some motivation from this story about an old lady who prayed specifically and couldn’t believe how quickly and precisely the Lord answered her:
While crossing the Atlantic on an ocean liner, F. B. Meyer was asked to address the first-class passengers. At the captain’s request, he spoke on “Answered Prayer.” An agnostic who was present at the service was asked by his friends, “What did you think of Dr. Meyer’s sermon?” He answered, “I didn’t believe a word of it.”
That afternoon, Meyer went to speak to the steerage passengers. Many of the listeners at his morning address went along, including the agnostic, who claimed he just wanted to hear “what the babbler had to say.” Before starting for the service, the agnostic put two oranges in his pocket. On his way, he passed an elderly woman sitting in her deck chair, fast asleep. Her hands were open. In the spirit of fun, the agnostic put the two oranges in her outstretched palms. After the meeting, he saw the old lady happily eating one of the pieces of fruit. “You seem to be enjoying that orange,” he remarked with a smile.
“Yes, sir,” she replied, “My Father is very good to me.”
“Your father? Surely your father can’t still be alive!”
“Praise God,” she replied, “He is very much alive.”
“What do you mean?” pressed the agnostic. She explained,
“I’ll tell you, sir. I have been seasick for days. I was asking God somehow to send me an orange. I suppose I fell asleep while I was praying. When I awoke, I found He had not only sent me one orange but two!”
The agnostic was speechless. Later, he was converted to Christ. Yes, praying in God’s will brings an answer.[5]
[1] William Arndt et al., A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2000), 207–208.
[2] Will Durant, The Life of Greece (New York: Simon and Schuster, 1966), 195.
[3] Durant, p. 197.
[4] Durant, 178.
[5] Our Daily Bread, April 16, https://www.sermonsearch.com/sermon-illustrations/4909/ocean-voyage/, accessed July 9, 2026.
