I’ve recently been reading Colossians, and I love the way Paul and Timothy begin this particular letter to the Colosse church: “We always thank God . . . when we pray for you.”
When you pray for others, do you also thank God? Do you thank Him for those individuals? Do you thank Him that you are able to pray for them?
If you read a little further, Paul says this:
We continually ask God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all the wisdom and understanding that the Spirit gives, so that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God, being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience, and giving joyful thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of his holy people in the kingdom of light.
—Colossians 1:9-12
I’ve read this passage many times, but this most recent time was different. This time I felt the Lord prompting me to pray these words back to Him for my family. I have decided to make this my prayer for my family in 2023, and I invite you to do the same:
Dear Heavenly Father,
Thank you, Lord, for your Word and for the blessing and privilege to pray for my family. I ask You to fill my me, my husband, my children, and the rest of my family with the knowledge of Your will through all the wisdom and understanding that the Spirit gives, so that we may live a life worthy of You and please You in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of You, being strengthened with all power according to Your glorious might so that we might have great endurance and patience, and giving joyful thanks to You, who has qualified us to share in the inheritance of Your holy people in the kingdom of light.
In Jesus’s name,
Amen
I encourage you mark Colossians 1:9-12 in your Bible or copy down this prayer and say it regularly in 2023—or find another passage of Scripture that you can turn into a prayer. Let’s make 2023 the year that we pray the Lord’s Word over our families!
Happy New Year!
Scriptures for the post taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.com The “NIV” and “New International Version” are trademarks registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by Biblica, Inc.™