Praying with Paul

My goal is simple…I want you to walk with me through the Bible’s School of Prayer.  I want to be more faithful in praying and I want to help you be more faithful.  To be honest, the Lord has convicted me of the need to pray more.  For over 30 years I’ve tried to become a better preacher…better in the pulpit…better in my public ministry, but while I want to continue to grow in those things, I am more concerned with devoting the remaining years of my life to being better in prayer and in my private ministry of prayer.
I was reading the first chapter of Colossians in my prayer time the other day and was reminded of Paul’s incredible statements and those words drew me to prayer.  If you read verses 10-12 you’ll find how to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord…fully pleasing to Him!  Then in verses 13-14 you’ll see what the Father did for us…He transferred us from the domain of darkness into the Kingdom of His beloved Son!  And then in verses 15-20 we find who reconciled us…it was Jesus!  Those verses are incredible and explain who our Savior is, “For in Him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell.”  Just those verses give you more than enough things to spend an incredible amount of time in praise.
Then you come to verses 21-23.  One long sentence in the Greek and the driving verb is “He has now reconciled.”  Verse 21 tells us what we were.  “And you, who were alienated and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds…”
It is helpful for me to remember who I was before Christ saved me.  I’m not sure I adequately appreciate my salvation if I don’t remember what God did in me.  I was cut off…alienated.  I was an enemy of God…hostile in mind.  I was sinful…doing evil deeds.  Remember what you were and thank Him for what He has done in saving you.
Tomorrow we will pick up with verse 22 and see how we were changed but spend some time reflecting on your past and thanking Him for saving you.  If you happen to be reading this and find that you are still what you were…call out to Him for salvation.