Prayer amidst uncertainty: The Knowledge of God’s Will - Part One
I do not know about you, but these past few months have been wrought with so much uncertainty and many unknowns. To top things off, there have been several curveballs in the form of life’s changes, challenges, sickness, forgetfulness constantly coming my way. It is enough to leave one disoriented and anxious.
The lack of normal rhythms and routines has completely thrown us off-track. We may find ourselves living in a kind of “survival mode” - living life on a day-to-day and moment-by-moment basis. Our prayers are most likely to be shaped by this mode of living: praying for our daily needs, the energy and strength to get through the day’s agenda that the Lord has set before us. All the while there is a huge cloud of uncertainty looming over us – the uncertainty of how long it will be until the pandemic is over and things are in the clear again or whether this is how things will be from now on. Added to that, the uncertainty of how the future will look like in each of our lives.
Although it may not feel like it, this is for our good because through these times our Father calls us near to rely on him for our needs as well as with our future. However, living within the confines of the day-to-day and moment-by-moment can take quite a toll on us. We grow tired and our hearts grow weary. Our weakness and limitations are ever before us, sin is crouching at the door waiting to devour us. We are prone to anxiety and fear, as everything seems out of our control and things not going according to our set plans. I have never been to prison but I would like to think Paul’s experience in prison might have been similar to us with restricted freedoms and movements living in “survival mode”, though the circumstances of his imprisonment had more to do with persecution for the gospel and not the pandemic. Much like Paul’s prison cell, life for us has become a COVID-19 induced prison surviving each day under lockdown – taking it one day at a time.
I have been struck by Paul’s prayer to the Colossians, that in the confines of the prison cell, he is not wallowing in his surroundings. Neither is he letting his circumstances depict his outlook on things. No, his eyes are lifted away from himself and to the God most high who, despite Paul’s limitations of being in prison, is working all things for His glorious purpose. Paul knows full well that even in the powerless state he is in, God is working all things for his glory in the saints of Colossae and all over the world as the gospel continues to spread and the saints continue to grow in their faith and love for one another (Col 1:3-7). Paul is overjoyed by this!
For part one, we will hone in on verse 9, Paul’s prayer for the saints to be filled with the knowledge of God’s will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding.
Paul is aware of his situation in prison and the uncertainty it brings for him. The saints who know of his imprisonment are also wary and uncertain for Paul. Paul being in prison can give a reason for fear and anxiety to the saints, leading them to have concerns about the gospel too with false teachings taking place. Yet Paul in his chains boldly prays for them that they are to be filled with the knowledge of God with all spiritual wisdom and understanding.
Why?
Paul is confident that despite all the uncertainty in his life amidst persecution and imprisonment and of the saints in light of the false teachings, one thing is for sure that God who is sovereign over everything is bringing all things under Jesus Christ despite the threat these circumstances bring to the gospel. Paul knows that all of life is heading in that direction – towards Jesus Christ (Ephesians 1:7-10; 1:5). God’s will has been set and is taking place, nothing will thwart or affect the trajectory, not chains, not false teachings. Nothing! Paul encourages the saints to trust in the will of God set in Jesus.
Therefore, God’s will gives us a sure hope and great confidence that God’s purposes will come to fruition despite everything and that by the Holy Spirit and by the Scriptures will the saints continue to grow deeper in their knowledge in the will of God and will continue to be equipped on how to live lives that are worthy of him, being effective as they live fruitful lives and knowing God more and more.
There is definite certainty in the Lord. The certainty is evident in Paul’s confident prayer for the Colossians.
What can we draw from Paul in his prayer?
Paul’s Prayer is such an incredible encouragement regarding the things to pray for in the confines of COVID-19 (for ourselves and for others). Paul teaches us that despite the various circumstances that we find ourselves in, the uncertainty, suffering as well as struggles that we may encounter do not define us. We have hope in a loving and sovereign God, who despite the circumstances works all things for the good of his people and for the glory of his precious name. God’s people are the most joyful and confident people for they know the will of God, and they know that the Lord is faithful and trustworthy.
Paul teaches us the priority of prayer: the will of God, pleasing him, fruitfulness in life’s moments and knowing the Lord as our God and Father. He teaches the antidote to fight against anxiety, fear, sin, and weariness - to look up away from our feeble selves and to the one who is above all things and to let the finer details of our lives be shaped and coloured by the bigger picture of what God is doing through his beloved son Jesus Christ (Col 3:1-4).
May the Lord continue to draw us near grow us deeply in prayer as we rely on Him and trust in his good and perfect will.
Nelisa Mthethwa
