Devoted to Prayer
Masters, deal with your slaves justly and fairly, since you know that you too have a Master in heaven. 2 Devote yourselves to prayer; stay alert in it with thanksgiving (Colossians 4:1-2)
Scripture is inerrant, meaning without error, and is inspired by God. But chapter divisions are manmade, as the book of Colossians is one long letter written by Paul. Colossians 4:1 is an example of one chapter division that may have been cut off early and should have been grouped with the previous section. With that note established, from last week, we saw that Christians are to show their transformed lives in their daily lives, specifically in different relationships, such as slaves and masters (modern day employees and employers). We saw that employees are to work as if they are working for the Lord and glorify Him through hard work. Colossians 4:1 then focuses on the employers, the bosses, the ones with authority: “Masters, deal with your slaves justly and fairly, since you know that you too have a Master in heaven.” Just like how husbands and fathers from last chapter, employers are to not abuse their position of authority. Instead, they are to treat them with fairness because they too have a boss, God.
Then, from verses 2 to the end of chapter 4, Paul gives some final general exhortations. With verse 2, Paul challenges the believers to pray with three aspects: devotion, alertness, and gratitude. First, believers should be devoted, “busily engaged in” prayer. Prayer is not just something that you do in times of emergencies, but constantly in conversation with God to hear where He wants to lead you.
Second, believers are to pray with alertness, spiritually aware of what is happening around them. Peter warned believers to be alert in 1 Peter 5:8, “Be sober-minded, be alert. Your adversary the devil is prowling around like a roaring lion, looking for anyone he can devour.” For Paul’s audience, the believers in Colossae were being pestered by false teachers. The believers needed to be vigilant of the truth. C. S. Lewis stated, “No one in his senses, if he has any power of ordering his own day, would reserve his chief prayers for bedtime—obviously the worst possible hour for any action which needs concentration.… My own plan, when hard pressed, is to seize any time, and place, however unsuitable, in preference to the last waking moment.… The body ought to pray as well as the head.”
Finally, Paul tells the believers to pray with thanksgiving. Having that humble mindset, aware of the plentiful blessings that God provides will keep the believers away from the temptations of false teachers. In the same manner, when we recognize how much God has blessed and continues to bless us, we look towards him and are not so easily tempted by the world.
Blessings,
Isaac De Guzman
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