The Power of Prayer

Colossians 4:2 Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful.

As we continue our journey with how to pray for your church, today we address the church to become a praying church. When we look at Colossians 4:2, Paul mentions two important aspects of prayer. First, believers are to be “watchful” in prayer. This carries the idea of standing guard, or staying awake at night to make sure a location is safe. Prayer demands ongoing attention, just like the guard at a city gate. In practical terms, this means prayer is not supposed to be a careless, casual, or frivolous act. We should pray with specific purpose and with deliberate intent. So with that in mind, we need to be intentional when we pray for our church and pastors. The enemy would love nothing more to find an area of weakness or to stir up strife.

Secondly, we are to be thankful. Having a heart of gratitude when we pray comes out of faith . Our heavenly Father has done so much for us that we need to make sure we give pause to all the things that He has done for us. His many blessings to us as a church deserve to be acknowledged. Those moments of thankfulness can stir our hearts, our faith, and offer a testimony to those around. He is faithful !

If you are involved in a prayer team or just have a heart for prayer, continue to devote yourself to prayer, be watchful , and be thankful. Remember, the body, the church is to be a house of prayer (Matt. 21:13).Everything we do as a body is to expand the Kingdom of God and it starts with a praying church!